Stratford
gets bids to renovate theater
RICHARD
WEIZEL rweizel@ctpost.com
STRATFORD
— It's like an old show you've seen before.
But with a few new plot twists.
Two
groups that in the past failed to revive the
long shuttered Shakespeare Theatre — and
new groups from around the country and even
England — are among nine entities that
have submitted new proposals to reopen the Elm
Street showcase that has been closed since 1989.
The
Town Council voted unanimously during a special
meeting Monday night in Town Hall to schedule
two nights in March when the groups that submitted
proposals can present their plans and be available
to answer questions by council members.
The
council scheduled next Monday and March 11,
both at 6:30 p.m., to hear the proposals —
allowing 25 minutes for presentations and 20
minutes for council questions.
"I
am very excited with the quality of the proposals
we have received," Mayor Richard Miron
said Monday. "We have groups who have tried
in the past but with new plans, and we have
entirely new groups from New York, California
and England who have submitted proposals as
well. I believe we can find the right group
within these nine proposals."
Council
Majority Leader Michael Julian, R-1, who represents
the district where the theater is located, said
he is "very, very impressed" with
the quality of the proposals.
"I
have reviewed them all and believe we have a
very good selection to choose from," Julian
said. "I think it's only fair that we give
all of the groups an opportunity to present
their plans in person and to answer questions
directly from the council."
Among the groups that have submitted proposals
is Stratford Shakespeare Festival LTD, which
is represented by New York consultants Koerner,
Kronenfeld Parnters. KKP last June failed to
meet a deadline to raise $1 million to begin
renovations on the theater.
Stratford
Festival Theater Inc., which includes well-known
artistic director Louis Burke and was runner-up
in the most recent selection process and in
1993 failed in another bid to reopen the theater,
has submitted a new proposal.
"SFT
has a proven, successful record of accomplishment
in non-profit management," Chairman Fred
Frassinelli states in a Feb. 15 letter to the
council. "We believe we are well qualified
to work with the town to revive this once great
American cultural institution and make it again
a destination for theater lovers the world over."
A
Shakespeare artistic director from England,
Paige Newmark, writes in his proposal "although
brought up in England, I am a U.S. citizen who
was born in Connecticut and have had the good
fortune to work all over the world, with much
success, having directed numerous plays from
Australia, to England, South Africa and throughout
America."
William
Hanney, owner and producer of Theater By the
Sea in Wakefield, R.I., states, "I am very
intrigued by the opportunity presented by the
Town of Stratford and the American Festival
Theater and would like to submit myself for
consideration of consultant/operator of this
historic venue."
Other
groups that submitted proposals include Retzler
Development Group LLC of Grand Island, Neb.;
Harland Meltzer/The Colonial Theater School
Inc. of New York; Nonprofit Consulting of Waterbury;
Webb Management of New York, and Frank Tobin
Enterprises of Los Angeles.
Council
leaders said after two decades of failed efforts
to reopen the theater, this time will be different
because $2.5 million has been allocated to repair
the theater.
"That
sends a message that we are very serious about
reopening the theater," said Town Council
Minority Leader Alvin O'Neal, D-2.
-----------------------------------------------
Article
courtesy of the
Connecticut Post
Town
of Stratford
