Sunday, February 13, 2000
Troupes anxiously await fate of St. Marcus theater
Monday is Valentine's Day. In theatrical terms, that means it's almost next season. Around the country, artistic directors and producers are taking a hard look at scripts and at budgets, at what they want and at what's available. In St. Louis, however, that's not necessarily a "what" question. Sometimes it's a "where" question.
The answer for a number of troupes here has been the St. Marcus. Over the past 10 years or so, the tiny theater in the basement of St. Marcus United Church of Christ at 2102 Russell Boulevard has turned into the city's prime venue for cutting-edge work, a local off-off-Broadway. Will it continue in that form, or in any form? (The St. Marcus has seen its share of blunt-edge productions, too.) Some directors are concerned about whether the church will continue to make the space available.
At a January meeting, members of the congregation discussed three possibilities: keeping the sometimes-controversial theater open, closing it, or taking a "cooling-off" period to decide what to do. Postponement, however, could effectively close the theater, because troupes planning the 2000-2001 season don't have a lot of time left.
"I have no idea what's going to happen," said Scott Miller, author of two analytical books on musical theater, "From 'Assassins' to 'West Side Story'" and "Deconstructing Harold Hill." As artistic director of New Line Theatre, he has staged some of the most impressive St. Marcus productions, including stripped-down versions of "Camelot" and "Into the Woods."
"If we can't continue where we are, we'd have to shop for a space. But I don't know if we could find one at a comparable size or a comparably low rate," said Miller, who's deep in rehearsal for "Out on Broadway 2000," a new revue opening at the theater March 9. Like a number of St. Marcus shows, it is gay-themed.
"I cannot overstate the importance of the rent," Miller said. "At the St. Marcus, we pay $1 per member of the audience, $100 minimum. That allows us to take commercial risks. A financial disaster - which is what we had with 'Songs for a New World' - does not cripple us.
"Also, in spite of the two poles (in front of the stage), I love the St. Marcus space. It's versatile, it's intimate. I don't want to be anywhere bigger."
On Thursday, Joan Lipkin received the Missouri 2000 Arts Award in Jefferson City, honoring her role in shaping St. Louis theater. Lipkin, founder of That Uppity Theatre Company, is a playwright who has been produced around the world. She's a presenter through Uppity's AC/DC series at the St. Marcus and the Women's CenterStage series at the Center of Contemporary Arts, which opens its third season on Friday with "Out of the Mouths of Babes." She also organized the Disability Project, now performing original work all over town.
Lipkin points out that much of the work she was honored for began in the church basement. "So much was possible through the good graces of the St. Marcus, where people opened their hearts and their doors to us," she said. "I know that issues of taste are not neutral. That's why art is a model for democracy. Making room for art you don't necessarily like, or find discomfiting, is a model for the democratic process."
Christopher Jackson was the manager of the St. Marcus for about two years, a time when some works that were presented there were so controversial that some people objected to their being staged at all, especially on church property.
Jackson says he does not regret the most controversial productions - his own "South Beach," and Terrence McNally's "Corpus Christi" - because he considers them valid artistic choices. But he says that he would be glad to concentrate on his own productions and leave decisions about the theater to others.
"I hope there can be a happy compromise," said Jackson, who heads CJ Productions. His new revue, "Do You Have a Piano?" opened at the theater Friday night. "I hope we will all be able to work in the space together."
Julie George-Carlson is quick to point out that she has less at stake than the others. She never worked at the St. Marcus at all. Recently, however, she was nominated as new manager of the theater. (A vote was taken in which she was hired, but some members of the congregation have said that that meeting was confusing and its results are not clear. The congregation is expected to resolve the confusion soon.) George-Carlson planned to open a resident theater company at the St. Marcus and to coordinate scheduling among other troupes sharing the space.
George-Carlson says she still plans to establish a new troupe, if not at the St. Marcus then elsewhere. "I am not going to let my world crash down because of this," she said. "But if it works out, you'll see my participation for sure. My hopes have been high."