An evaluation of Columbus Theater part 1

How good is Columbus Theater? Good enough? As good as most cities this size? Comparable to Atlanta?

Having a vibrant theater community depends on four things:

1. Venues-to have good theater, a city must have plenty of stages of different sizes for both the established organizations and those with new ideas.

2. Production talent-people who know how to direct and stage shows.

3. Acting talent-experienced and talented actors who love the stage.

4. Audiences-Whatever the resources a city has, it must also have people who want to expand their theater experiences.

So how does Columbus rate?

Columbus has three venues that are as good as any in the country and one average stage-the Liberty. The Springer Opera house is a large and beautifully executed venue and serves its resident theater well. There's no bad seats and the stage and backstage are large enough to create sweeping shows. Since it has a resident theater, it's not available for most other shows although it can be rented at a substantial cost. Small shows simply won't fit there.

The River Center for the performing arts has an excellent 150 seat black box theater that would be perfect for small shows in any configuration including the round. Unfortunately, the Center has chosen to make its use so expensive and restrictive that it's not used at all. A week end show costs $500 plus, $500 setup, plus $125 for cleanup, plus Tech (which could be several people) plus $125 lighting, plus security, sales tax and box office. The Center argues that it provides rehearsal and performance space for the Columbus State University Theater department but they have their own building now and have no use for this space. It's one of the shames of the city that this publicly financed theater is sitting empty.

Columbus State University has two theater spaces-one with a traditional stage and a black box available for any configuration. Although both of these spaces would do for smaller productions, they are University spaces and generally unavailable.

The Liberty was both a movie theater and a performance space which is now used exclusively for performance. It's adequate but has had trouble drawing audiences because of its location-an unjustifiable opinion.

There are other spaces. The old movie theater on Broadway now owned by Richard Bickerstaff held performances until recently. It has little parking though and is configured for music. Columbus State has a couple of other less than adequate spaces on main campus. There was a space on Broadway called the Human Experience theater which rented out for small productions but it's now turned into a bar. The Loft, usually a bar, can be used as a theater space.

So the verdict on the first criteria is mixed. There are great spaces, but they're unavailable. Columbus gets a C+ on venues.

Arts organizations

The Ledger-Enquirer today did a story on the health of the local arts organizations. The Springer was the only one that addressed attendance directly and Paul Pierce said they were up and headed for a record year. That truly is remarkable. My experience with other regional theaters is that their Christmas shows have performed well but the rest have declined. The other organizations talked generally about their successes but didn't address attendance.
It's not only a new world with all of the inexpensive entertainment (internet, Net Flix, cable TV, etc.) but now the bottom has fallen out of a lot of people's income. Uncertain times make for difficult choices so help your local arts organization if you can.

Springer Christmas theater

I haven't seen any of the Christmas related theater productions around town so I can't review them but I can comment. The Springer is reviving "A Tuna Christmas" with Paul Pierce and Ron Anderson playing all the parts. The Tuna series just isn't my cup of tea although I'm stuck with one at the end of the season in my package. One has to give Pierce credit, he may be the most successful Artistic Director in America if one measures by attendance and revenues. These are and have been tough times for theater but the Springer has continued to grow its subscriber base and attendance.


Pierce himself might not defend the Tuna series as art but it pays the bills and there's a lot of theaters who won't be putting on Hamlet this year (as the Springer will) because they couldn't pay the bills. The Springer is also putting on a holiday Peter Pan on the main stage. I've see that one enough.


What's a little scary is that the Springer has been running daily ads in the paper with discounts for both these productions. Given that these mass appeal shows are supposed to sell out, one hopes the fall back isn't too great.

More local all the time?

There's a lot going on in Columbus during this season. There's at least 3 theatrical productions, ballet, gospel concerts, the ever popular Cantus Columbus, on and on. With all that's going on, how does the Ledger-Enquirer Arts Columnist choose what to do her weekly column on?
This is really hard to believe but Sandra Okamoto chose to write about tubing at Stone Mountain near Atlanta.
It's possible she hasn't heard about the "more local all the time" theme of the paper. Or maybe she's moved to Atlanta and is writing locally and the Ledger is picking it up like they do AP stories. I really don't know what to make of it but she's being doing it a long time so you have to give her credit for knowing something I don't know.
So read the "to do lists" fine print and support you local artists.

Columbus Symphony

How good is the Columbus Symphony?
When reviewers rank Symphonies around the country, they are always listing symphonies with fully paid orchestras and so the Columbus Symphony will never be listed. However, I am amazed at how the orchestra can draw players from around the state, practice a little bit and put on a stellar performance. And lest you think I'm damning with faint praise, I think they compete with the fully paid orchestras.
The most important reason is George Del Gobbo, the symphony's Music Director for 22 years. George has never taken himself or the music too seriously and his enthusiasm spills over onto the orchestra and the audience. One cannot overemphasize the importance of continuity in putting these programs and players together every year.
Even the Concertmaster, Karren Berz, has been in her position for 12 years. She is a member of Orchestra Nashville and plays with orchestras around the country and yet she returns to Columbus every year. That says a lot about Del Gobbo's leadership.
Truth be told, I'm not qualified to discuss the merits of individual performers but I will say that I've been very impressed with the Principal Cello, Andre Gaskins. The Atlanta Symphony is generally considered to have one of the best Cellists in the country, Christopher Rex, but Gaskins plays as well as I've ever heard Rex play and that's no knock on Rex who truly is the best.

Cherish the Ladies

I saw the Cherish the Ladies Celtic Band with the Columbus Symphony last night. In an environment where even the classical performers are glamorous (Eroica Trio)this group stands out for its lack of glamor. In fact, if you were to meet one of them in another context you would think "bookeeper at the Ford Dealership". Not even dental office receptionist. Their leader, Joanie Madden, is an accomplished flute player and is the only one of the group who has any stage presence at all. The rest sit gloomily as if they were bookeepers living at home with their mothers.
Add to this the fact that something else was going on with them. The program listed six women and their web site lists six, but there were seven of them. The lead singer on stage wasn't listed in the program or web site but the program lead was there and was off stage for all but her 2 songs. There was a chair on the stage for her but she refused to sit on it and she looked as if she was about to cry. One had the feeling that we were watching a Celtic Dream Girls play out.
If you enjoy the Chieftins and Celtic music, Cherish the Ladies presents a competent program. They're at their best when the tempo is up and the dancers are on stage, but the slower music also compels when Joanie Madden's flute is employed. When they get over their angst and start dressing for success they'll be a lot more fun.

Ledger-Enquirer

It's depressing to watch how newspapers are reacting to the advertising slowdown. Some, like the Wall Street Journal have beefed up their reporting. The New York Times has a first class news web site.
Here in Columbus, it's a slow motion car wreck. The strategy the editors espoused was "more local all the time". Which might have been a workable strategy except they then fired their local reporters. I usually check the news on the web first thing and then read the newspaper. I find myself reading the same thing again-word for word. They're just picking it off the same place the web is getting it and expecting us to pay for it.
As bad as that is, even the local arts reporter, Sandra Okamoto, can't seem to find anything local to write about. The paper does a To Do section every Thursday and she has a column in it. Today, December 11, her whole column, 2/3 of a page, is about what's going on in Atlanta. There are 3 plays opening here, a symphony performance, an extraordinary new event at Westville and her idea is to go the museum in Atlanta.
There's a place for local print news and commentary. With television news reduced to car chases and anchor patter, we have no place to find out what's going on here. If I want to know what's going on in Atlanta I'll look at the Atlanta paper-on line.

Empire Brass

Columbus built a world class performing arts center with three stages and lots of space for education. One of the advantages of such a center is that you get world class acts who want to perform there. I've seen a lot of programs there and every one either praises the River Center for the Performing arts as "World Class" or the "best space in the country". They always tell us how fortunate we are.
And we are.
On Saturday, I saw the Empire Brass perform a two hour program that was celestial. Not only were the four players magnificent but the program was inspired. They did Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky, Greensleeves and Amazing Grace. And they did a Christmas program with the Columbus State Vocalists.
Folks in Columbus love brass. CSU has an outstanding brass program led by Robert Rubelow which has cut a couple of CDs. Empire Brass is made up of two trumpets, a french horn, a trombone, and a tuba. In a hall like Legacy hall at the River Center, every note is distinct and so the performance has to be perfect or everyone will know who missed a note. Empire Brass was pretty near there but their unassuming presentation would have made us forgive them even if they had missed a note.

Christmas diversions

Most of the annual Christmas celebrations around Columbus could be anywhere but there are two that really stand out.
The Callaway Gardens Fantasy in Lights is in its 17th year and has become one of the biggest celebrations in the south. Callaway is large garden resort near Columbus and every year it decorates the roads with some 8 million lights and draws thousands of people to see it. It really is spectacular.
The best time to see it is during the March of Dimes charity walk when you can walk the entire six miles or so. That's in November. The rest of the time you either ride a trolley or drive your car, but it's not as great an experience as walking through.
Prices range from $16 to $22 depending on when you go and how you travel through the gardens. It's well worth it.
www.callawaygardens.com/callaway/info/fantasy-lights.aspx for more information.
The other special celebration is in its second year at the living history village, Westville near Lumpkin. Each year they open the village in the evening for a candlelight tour. This year the tour is on December 6. Westville depicts preindustrial Georgia-about 1850-and so there's no electricity and it can be very dark. The village sets up several hundred luminaries on the streets and offers various programs in the homes such as dancing, food, story telling, and music. It's special and unique.
The adult price is $15 and includes all the homes and treats. In the rush of Christmas, the peace of a place like Westville is a welcome diversion.