WSO to Move into Restored Pantages Playhouse Theatre

For most of my life, it was called the Playhouse Theatre but it was one of the early Pantages theatres built in 1913/1914 as part of a vaudeville circuit. It is now a national heritage site and aside from addition built in 1992, it looks pretty much the same as it is did when it went up. Over the last few years, it has not been on anyone's radar. It appeared to be part of a non-profit and private company's attempt to redevelop the corner for arts use but also for housing. Then nothing. Until now.

The Performing Arts Consortium (PAC) and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) have engaged designers and have come up with a $60 million dollar plan to upgrade the building. They have raised $15 million of that money and expect the three levels of government to contribute as well as private donors. The theatres has not seen any activity since 2018. Once $30 million has been raised, a capital campaign will begin and a construction timetable will be announced.

The city has administered Pantages since the 1940s. The WSO has been a managing tenant for a few years before the present closure. Many arts and music groups have made use of the facility through its history. It has had some legendary performers from vaudeville to rock. But it has also host high school musicals over the years.

Pantages would give the WSO a primary home when not performing at the Centennial Concert Hall. With a 1100 seats, it is an ideal size for some of the type of works the symphony would like to do. For full concerts, the 2300 concert hall remains the best venue. However, there is an objective to attract more commercial shows and musicals there as well. Presently, the WSO, Manitoba Opera and Royal Winnipeg Ballet share the hall there and will continue to do so. But a smaller hall might be appropriate for many groups to use more frequently. 

The Manitoba Museum and the Concert Hall have all been going through multimillion renovations. This is not surprising since most of the buildings are near 60 or 70 years of age. Thankfully, the commitment to the arts has been strong throughout our history from subscribers, patrons and government. 

The various arts groups in the area around Pantages make it a very busy area when they are all have events going on. The theatre will be one of three venues from Winnipeg's early day that have had a re-birth. The Burton Cummings and the Metropolitan have all come back from previous incarnations and have owners that care about their wellbeing and keeping them as venues for the arts.

While people in Manitoba have always supported the arts, having endowments is still fairly new. The Winnipeg Symphony has a $11 million endowment. The Manitoba Opera has a $10 million endowment. The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre has a $17 million endowment. Contrast that with the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis with a $65 million endowment and the Minnesota Orchestra has $186 million. Minnesota Opera has $23 million.

Granted Minnesota has more population than Canada and few government supports but no endowments means it is harder for arts groups to achieve what they want in a short time. The WSO has admitted that even if work starts soon, it will be about 2029 before they can move in. Till then they will have to do all performances in the concert hall as well as rent office space and do rehearsals there.

There will be changes to the inside of Pantages to give it a deeper stage with improvements throughout to audio, video systems and general acoustics. The last big changes took place 30 years ago so the next changes should take the venue 30 to 40 years into the future. However, once complete the work should held the WSO earn extra income that they could never earn in the concert hall such as the lounge.

There are other spaces nearby that could see development of the next several years. Despite the setback of homelessness and crime, there continues to be building of housing and a return of some businesses. A critical mass has brought additional security as has been reported this week. The truth is that people need to see security or they simply won't come to the area or any area. The fear that you are heading to or leaving from a performance and running into a violent altercation is all too real.

The Winnipeg Jets have been downtown many years and tens of thousands of people heading to games creates a certain safety in numbers. If an incident does happen, it is very likely there are dozens of people dialing 911. There is also the presence of police and security everywhere. Generally the presence of many people at The Forks prevents episodes of crime happening. However, a recent random attack at The Forks reminds people that even with a large security presence, things can happen and a suspect can get away. In this case though, not before a high definition picture was taken of the suspect.

Pantages will be a real step to continued success for the Winnipeg Symphony. There are very few Pantages theatres across North America left. Los Angeles and Toronto have theirs but most of the 75 theatres have fallen to the wrecking balls. The East Exchange for many years was a mix of culture, warehouse, offices and in recent decades housing. It is these type of investments that will keep the area vital. Let's hope the project can begin soon. The most disappointing thing is when projects take longer than a decade to get underway.

Winnipeg Fringe Festival July 19 to July 30

It is hard to believe as Winnipeg Fringe Festival begins Wednesday, July 19 that this is the 30th year of the summer theatre program. In 1988, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre became the only regional theatre to run a fringe and over the years it has become the second largest in North America with 170 companies performing. It is the second oldest after Edmonton which was founded in 1982.

It has come a long way since the inspiration of Edinburgh Fringe which is the granddaddy of them all. Canada now has more fringe theatre festivals than anywhere else in the world and attract artists from many countries. The acting companies are picked by lottery, are unjuried and can keep 100% of box office.

What does this mean for Winnipggers? It means that much of the downtown centered around Old Market Square and up and down three streets near RMTC's building there are thousands of people adventuring out to see a wild and woolly variety of theatre performances. Reviews by media, on social media or friends and family telling each other results in many sell outs.

There are times when Winnipeggers get down on themselves but Winnipeg Fringe is one of those times we do it better than almost anyone. The downtown is alive and well and there is something for everyone.

Here is to 30 more years.

List Time - Arts, Culture and Entertainment

Here is a list of what I thought were major achievements in arts, culture and entertainment this year.

1. The Winnipeg Art Gallery announced a major expansion of their gallery. Not only is the art gallery an architectural treasure but it is the foremost exhibitors of Inuit art. It has been a good year for the gallery with an amazing painting donated, some great exhibits and now the expansion.

2. Le Cercle Molière’s new théâtre opened in October. Canada's oldest theatre on Provencher Boulevard gets the street presence that it richly deserves and the venue to continues presenting French plays and culture.

3. Plug-In Art Gallery and the University of Winnipeg get together for a major presence of a well know gallery onto Portage Avenue and and a continued expansion of the university eastward to downtown.

4. Astron 6, a moviemaking collective from Winnipeg markets itself in Toronto and lands a film deal for Father's Day, a horror film put together by famed studio Troma of Toxic Avenger fame. Look for these guys for more films over the years.

5. Manitoba Theatre Centre get a royal designation from Queen Elizabeth. The continued strong showing year after year for Canada's first regional theatre deserves a salute.

6. Manitoba Museum wins international award for Beneath the Seas and hosts a retrospective of Manitoba rock, country, folk and French language music in Alloway Hall.

7. The Great Canadian Talk Show is cancelled by Kick FM at the behest of Red River College. The timing after the civic election is suspect.

8. Oldies rock station is killed on CFRW and becomes 1290 Sports Radio, the second time in a number of years sports radio tries to make a go of it in Winnipeg. Not to be outdone, Curve 94 FM kills their alt-pop music format and goes oldies as Fab 94.

9. Bachman and Turner go back on the road. Randy Bachman and Fred Turner might not be in overdrive but they are back to making rock music on tour across Canada.

10. ITV Brandon goes off the air. After the death of CKX in Brandon, it looked like the only alternative to the print media was ITV Brandon. Now it too has gone off the air.