STRATFORD
— Theater developers pared to 5 finalists
BY
RICHARD WEIZEL - CT
POST
STRATFORD — The Town Council has "short-listed"
the number of candidates to revive the Shakespeare
Theatre to five finalists — including two
groups that already failed in efforts to reopen
the Elm Street showcase.
Out of nine applicants that applied to become
consultants and/or operators of the reopened
theater, the council on Monday night narrowed
the field to five. The theater has been closed
since 1989.
In
addition to the two groups that were unsuccessful
in earlier attempts to reopen the theater, the
finalists include a Shakespearean producer and
director from Great Britain, another from Los
Angeles, and the owner-operator of a similarly
revived theater in Rhode Island.
Their
ideas range from creating an all-encompassing
Shakespeare Festival season primarily featuring
works by the Bard to a diverse slate of productions,
including musicals and virtually no Shakespeare
at all.
But
the overall theme was that one of Connecticut's
biggest tourist attractions during the 1950s
and '60s could return to its former prominence,
or even better, as a national or international
destination similar in status to other Shakespearean
venues around the world.
Koerner,
Kronenfeld Partners LLC, of New York, is
among the finalists. KKP President Carl Koerner,
whose group last June failed to meet a deadline
to raise $1 million to begin renovations on
the theater, said his newly configured group
has the financial backing to make the project
work.
Director
Louis Burke, who has for nearly two decades
insisted he should lead the effort to revive
the Shakespeare Festival Theatre, despite a
failed attempt during the late 1990s, is also
a finalist. Burke is the artistic director of
Stratford Festival Theater Inc., who claims
his group has the resources to invest $10 million
in the project.
Another
finalist, Frank Tobin Enterprises of Los
Angeles, said his group would rely heavily
on producing both Shakespeare and other "classical
theater'' by featuring actor Randall Duk Kim.
The
plan would include a regular Shakespeare Theater
Festival season from April to November, operating
an academy for actors in training and conducting
outreach in theater and the arts to local schools.
British
Shakespearean producer Paige Newmark, who
traveled from Oxford, England, to make his presentation,
and presented the most ambitious of the proposals,
is another finalist. He indicated the theater
could become an international destination for
Shakespearean productions.
"I
envision this becoming a world-class theater,
but one that will take time to evolve,'' said
Newmark, artistic director of Shakespeare South
Africa. Stratford "has in its possession
the crown jewel of Shakespearean theaters in
America,'' Newmark said.
Finally,
the council selected William J. Hanney, owner
and producer of Theatre by the Sea in Matunuck,
R.I., as a finalist. Hanney said he would
produce musicals, contemporary dramas and concerts,
but with virtually no Shakespearean presentations.
`You
could have big-name stars like Carly Simon,
and other types of shows in addition to the
theater productions,'' he said.
Hanney,
who said he doesn't believe Shakespeare would
draw as many patrons, has also built, operated
and restored movie theaters throughout New England
including the Stratford 14 complex on Barnum
Avenue. He said he would present summer shows
already staged at his Rhode Island theater in
Stratford as well.
Town
Council Chairman Michael Henrick said the council
will submit additional questions to the five
finalists, and give them a chance to make final,
one-hour presentations at 6:30 p.m. May 7 in
Town Hall.
-----------------------------------------------
Article
courtesy of the Connecticut
Post
Town
of Stratford
