Brouhaha @ Boarshead

When Lansing's theater community was all atwitter earlier in the summer because Boarshead Theater let popular artistic director Kristine Thatcher go, a little noticed event was occurring in Grand Rapids.

On June 17th, Opera Grand Rapids broke ground for a $2 million opera center. The new building will sport 14,000 sq ft. for rehearsals, practice rooms, costume shops and storage facilities. It will be named the Betty Van Andel Opera Center.

Boarshead decision makers have taken the brunt of much criticism for the Thatcher decision, demonstrated by the many letters-to-the-editor sent to the Lansing State Journal as well as the City Pulse. Irate long time subscribers have shown their pique by refusing to re up for the 2009-10 season. John Dale Smith, executive director, has unfairly been singled out as the bad guy by many.

In speaking to board members, it appears that the release of Thatcher from her contract was a financial decision only. With benefits, she cost the theater company approximately $77,000 per year, a princely sum for an arts organization under sever financial pressure.

The issue at Boarshead is not Thatcher, but Lansing's difficulty in supporting its arts organizations. And the outcry over Thatcher's dismissal was more emotional than objective.

We remember Kristie Thatcher as the cute ingenue who starred in musicals, comedies, and dramas throughout Lansing. As a young adult she left for Chicago and continued her acting career and become a playwright of note. To our delight, Kristie decided to come back to her home town to be the artistic director at Boarshead. Everyone was thrilled.

Although cutting Thatcher loose was probably the correct financial decision to make, the board obviously did not understand the strong support and affection the charismatic personalty has in Lansing.

Now back to our western Michigan neighbors: The Van Andels gave $1 million as the lead gift for the Grand Rapids opera building (Lansing doesn't have a local opera) and the community responded by raising the other $4 million and surpassed its goal by $75,000.

Sadly, Lansing has no sugar daddies who can cough up million dollar gifts like the Van Andels - although Lansing always manages to find money for a baseball stadium, a new city market and other developments. Michigan's capitol city has no performing arts center or a suitable building for its only professional theater. Midland, a much smaller city, has had a lovely arts facility for several decades.

In contrast, Boarshead sits on a lonely corner on the south end of downtown Lansing, across from the bus station and the State Journal. There are no restaurants , coffee shops or gathering places nearby for patrons to socialize after the plays. Boarshead's building used to be a car dealership and was purchased by the city in hopes that it could become a parking lot some day.

Clearly, downtown Lansing is not a friendly place for the arts. The Lansing Symphony performs on the MSU campus in East Lansing, and the Lansing Concert Band plays in various venues throughout Ingham county (as well as Dart Auditorium at LCC) but without a more substantial arts presence in Lansing it seems like the award-winning Boarshead will always be fighting for survival. Lansing remains the only state capitol I am aware of that does not have a performing arts center near downtown.

The Boarshead Thatcher problem is not a Boarshead problem, it's a Lansing arts problem. If Mayor Virg Bernero wants to build a world class capitol city, he must see the importance of an arts center downtown with two performance spaces - a theater, and a 1000-1200 seat auditorium.

Ironically, to attract new students in the era of "schools of choice", area high schools are adding beautiful auditoria throughout the Lansing area. If high schools can build these impressive houses of music and art, why can't the city of Lansing?