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Playhouse season succumbs to storm
Bright spots include the reincarnation of Main Street Theater in Columbiana.
It’s hard to downplay the impact the tanking economy has had on the entertainment scene in the Mahoning Valley this year.
Ask any theater or music venue, and they’ll tell you — tickets aren’t selling like they used to. That’s hardly a surprise, as residents trim their household budgets. Some arts organizations are being hit with a double whammy as patrons and foundations cut back on grant-giving.
When the squeeze becomes too much, bad things can happen — like the Youngstown Playhouse’s decision in November to close for the winter. The Playhouse board had no choice but to go dark for several months, because it couldn’t afford to stay open.
The South Side theater intends to reopen in March with its production of “Blood Brothers,” but when — and if — it does, its problems will persist.
Ironically, it wasn’t slowing ticket revenues that got the Playhouse board so glum. Sales were down a little early in the 2008-09 season, but the theater has basically been holding its own at the box office.
The loss of grant money, coupled with the onset of cold weather, were the last straws.
It’s very expensive to heat the large and poorly insulated building, and as a result, its utility bills skyrocket in the winter. Also, the building is in need of expensive maintenance work to its roof and plumbing systems — work that has been put off.
“The Playhouse closed mainly due to the inefficiency of the building and the fact that it just sucks money out of there faster than you can put it in,” said John Ballantyne, marketing director of the playhouse and president of the Youngstown Area Community Theater Alliance. “Most of the other theaters in the area are not faced with that problem. The Playhouse problem stemmed from more of a physical problem than any other.”
Despite the tough times, there were many signs of optimism. The Columbiana Cinema, a vacant, run-down one-screen movie theater in a small town, was resurrected as Main Street Theater, a beautiful performing arts hall.
And the Mahoning Valley Historical Society purchased a downtown Youngstown building with a goal of turning it into a museum and host site for traveling exhibitions.
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