Easy Street Productions will hit the road

Warren may be an example of an untapped market for the troupe.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Easy Street Productions has called this city home since 1988, when the professional stock theater company made a big splash with a little musical called "Pump Boys and Dinettes" at Uptown Theater.
Easy Street's base isn't about to change. Its offices are at 855 Mahoning Ave., less than a mile from its favorite performance space, Edward W. Powers Auditorium.
But in the coming months, co-founders Todd Hancock and Maureen Collins will find out how mobile their company can be.
Easy Street's revival of the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" will play next weekend in Boardman Performing Arts Center at Boardman High School.
Hancock and Collins are also talking to officials in Warren about bringing its annual "Miracle on Easy Street" holiday show to W.D. Packard Music Hall. That would be in addition to "Miracle" performances already scheduled at Powers in December.
They've also talked to planners of Westminster College's performance series in New Wilmington, Pa.
"We're anxious to make new relationships in these theaters," Hancock said.
Scheduling
One reason is scheduling. "Joseph" was to play at Powers Auditorium this month on the weekend before Youngstown Symphony Society's Broadway Series began. The crew of the musical "Miss Saigon," which plays Oct. 18-19, needed to begin installing its equipment on Oct. 17, which also was to be the final performance of "Joseph." Hancock and Collins had two choices: Drop its traditionally well-attended Sunday matinee, or find another location.
It was Sister Jerome Corcoran of Youngstown Community School who secured Boardman Performing Arts Center through her connections, Hancock said. YCS volunteers are selling advertisements in the "Joseph" program as a fundraiser.
"Powers is still our first choice," Hancock said, but "the busier their schedule gets, the more limited we get."
Longer runs
Finding new places to perform also could make life a little easier for Easy Street.
Shows such as "Joseph" can cost $50,000 or more, including theater rental and equipment needs. "We usually have only one weekend" to perform it in a place, Hancock said. "Other theaters can put it on for a month. We put the same effort into costumes and such. It's over before we really get a chance to enjoy it."
Also, "It's a little risky to try to get that [money] all back in one weekend. It would be helpful if we had two weekends."
Warren Mayor Michael O'Brien is trying to help them find a sponsor, Hancock said. If that happens, "Miracle" may be performed at Packard in December, before the presentation at Powers.
The sponsor would help with advance funding for hall rental or play royalties. "Finding a producer alleviates some of the burden on us," Collins said.
Unlike not-for-profit groups, Easy Street's producers can't write their contributions off on their taxes, Collins said. Easy Street has had to come up with other incentives to attract producers, including blocks of tickets and recognition in the show's advertisements.
Easy Street and O'Brien also are gauging support from Trumbull County schools for weekday matinees of "Miracle" at Packard as well as Powers. Those are moneymakers for Easy Street, even though those ticket prices are substantially reduced, because they are usually sold out. So far, Hancock said, response to the potential Warren shows has been minimal.
"We're a small company," he said. "We have no grant money to fall back on, just our tickets. We can't invest thousands on a show without knowing if the schools will participate. We want to make sure the community out there is behind it before we invest a lot of money."
Untapped audiences
Easy Street has developed a loyal following throughout the five-county area through its annual productions and by performing occasionally in New Wilmington and Greenville, Pa., the location of Thiel College. There's always the possibility of reaching some untapped audiences, Hancock said.
Collins believes Warren is one of those places. Easy Street performed twice last summer in Warren to enthusiastic audiences. The first show was at Packard Music Hall, when O'Brien publicly invited them to come back.
"For such a small town, those people don't cross barriers," she said. "Warren does their thing and Youngstown does theirs." Hancock wonders if Warrenites developed their habits when the Kenley Players theater flourished at Packard years ago.
If plans don't jell in time for a Warren production of "Miracle," Easy Street also has an annual spring production, Hancock said.
For now, Hancock and Collins are focused on "Joseph," the boy who can interpret dreams and who learns to forgive the betrayal of his jealous brothers who sold him into slavery.
The show will feature new costumes, new choreography by Renee Rogers and new lighting. "There are a lot of new things for people who have seen it before," Hancock said. "We always try to update it."
shaulis@vindy.com