Reshaping the Shubert into a showcase

New Haven theatregoers are used to flocking to New York for the best and newest in American theatre. But in 1947, New Yorkers flocked to New Haven. The theatre was the Shubert, and the stir was over a handsome new star in a startling world premiere: Marlon Brando in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire.

Fresh off a major refurbishing, the Shubert Performing Arts Center is looking to recapture a little of its glory days. Though the glamour of world premieres (including The Sound of Music, Wonderful Town, Plaza Suite, and, in 1968, both Zorba and 1776) seems to be a thing of the past, physically the theatre has never looked grander. A new state-of-the-art sound system, royal red and blue carpeting, restored Tiffany chandeliers, and oc-casional gold leaf show off every dollar of Connecticut's, Yale's, and local businesses' one million dollar grant. As the theatre approaches its 90th birthday, at least its appearance hasn't aged a bit.

A larger question is whether any more survives from 1914 besides some armchairs in the lobby. In a decade that has seen increasing commercialization and conglomeration of touring productions and national theatres, the Shubert is set apart from touring houses across the country by its status as an independent, not-for-profit organization. But the artistic spirit that should accompany such a status is sometimes hard to detect from a theatre that at its best presents first-run national tours--and at its worst, tired umpteenth-runs like last year's disastrous Man of La Mancha and this year's all-too-familiar Peter Pan. Does the Shubert still have the means, or the will, to reclaim its status as an artistic pioneer, yesteryear's "birthplace of Broadway's greatest hits?"

When the PACE theatrical group, a producing organization which owns 41 touring houses throughout North America, announced in June its partnership with Ju-jamcyn Theatres, a producing giant and a Broadway theatre owner, an auspicious new trend was bolstered. Like Livent Entertainment and the Disney Company before it, Jujamcyn acquired a ready-made touring circuit for any shows it produces--regardless of whether or not they're ever going to New York. PACE theatres, meanwhile, are guaranteed flashy, tour-friendly productions to fill their theatres and keep subscribers happy.

The question is how friendly such new agreements will be towards innovative new works. Such a development could make it easier for new shows to be born, with an almost bottomless pool of capital and an endless network of producers and playhouses. But the agreement also could result in a cookie-cutter assembly line of low-quality cash cows that Jujamcyn and PACE send out on the road, monopolizing subscription sales and making it all the more difficult for new, independent work to see the light of day in the touring circuit.

In other words, the days of touring a show (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, for example, which played a pre-Broadway run at the Shubert in 1961) with the aim of refining it, shaping it, and creating an original work to then premiere in New York, are quite possibly over for many Shubert-like theaters across America.

This places the Shubert in an important position. Unassociated with PACE, Livent, or Disney, the Shubert is its own theatre in every sense of the word, a not-for-profit organization in a business rapidly becoming a for-profit battlefield. Unfortunately, both Marketing Director Robert Resnikoff and Director of Programs Stephen Lindsey declined to comment on what the Shubert plans to do with its unique niche.

Rekindling a flame of artistic integrity will be hard for the Shubert in the wake of the new PACE/Jujamcyn agreement. Not automatically included in the tours of their new shows, the theatre will be competing even more heavily with other independent theatres, like Wallingford's Oakdale, for the big Broadway tours sent out by independent producers (this season, Oakdale snagged the highly-sought-after Tap Dogs and Dreamgirls, while the Shubert will present two of New York's biggest recent hits, Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk andChicago).

Acquiring the hottest of these shows will have to become the theatre's top priority in order to compete financially with the PACE/Livent/Disney theatres, leaving precious little time and money for becoming a "birthplace" of anything.

Of course, other New Haven theatres offer plenty of innovative new productions. But the Shubert has the name and the history to attract big names and big shows. More and more playwrights, turned off by the economic disasters associated with opening a play in New York, are seeking new ways of building an audience--and the Shubert could be a part of this practice. In days gone by, Neil Simon premiered all of his plays at the Shubert. This year, the Shubert got a hold of Simon's new Proposals only after a premiere engagement in Los Angeles--and only as part of an extensive national tour.

Alfred Uhry and Arthur Fughold have both recently premiered important new works in regional theatres. Stephen Sondheim's new Wise Guys will open in Washington, D.C., and Triumph of Love was born right here at the Yale Repertory Theatre. Can the Shubert restake its claim as am upper echelon theatre, encouraging new productions? Can it bring world premieres back to New Haven?

Or will it only beg for the leftovers?

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• Event and seating information at The Shubert Theatre's Official Web Site

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