The new schedule attests that the theater's programmers want to present what has worked in the past.
By JOHN FLEMING
Published May 16, 2004
[Photo courtesy of Mahaffey Theater]
Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats perform Jan. 23.
ST. PETERSBURG - Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals, the Spencer Davis Group, Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, Charo and Elvis.
The Mahaffey Theater is stuck in a time warp, judging from the lineup for the 2004-05 season, released today.
Carol Edgerley, executive director of the Mahaffey Theater Foundation, which underwrites programming, said tributes to John Lennon, ABBA and Elvis this past season attracted audiences large enough "to encourage us that we were on the right track with oldies."
For the 1,996-seat Mahaffey, a good draw is the 1,150 who attended Elvis imitator Mike Albert's show. "I got letters and e-mails and phone calls after Elvis, begging us to repeat it," Edgerley said. "We did it around Elvis' birthday, and there still seem to be many Elvis fans out there who want to celebrate."
Albert returns with Memories of Elvis on Jan. 6, two days before the 70th anniversary of the King's birth.
The oldies helped the Mahaffey to balance its budget, Edgerley said, but the theater is a marginal player in the Tampa Bay area's entertainment market, compared with Ruth Eckerd Hall and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
The Mahaffey has struggled since the 1997-98 season, when it gambled on an expensive Broadway series and had to essentially drain the foundation's endowment to cover losses of more than $850,000.
For the first time in five years, Chicago-based Jam Theatricals will not be presenting a Broadway series at the city-owned Mahaffey next season, because its past presentations didn't draw large enough crowds, according to a consultant's report.
In April, a report by Art Resources International on the theater's future said Jam "seeks markets with healthy subscriber bases that can be augmented by single ticket sales. No such subscriber base exists for Mahaffey Theater Foundation presentations, and little institutional capability exists (fundraising, marketing) to build such an important cornerstone for attendance and funding support."
Without Jam, the foundation will book its own Broadway series, which presents both financial risk and opportunity, Edgerley said.
"We were at no risk for Broadway with Jam, but then we had no potential to make any money on it either. Whereas presenting our own Broadway, we have some potential to make some money on it. We have risk, yes."
The season will include The Graduate, a play based on the Dustin Hoffman movie that had a recent run on Broadway, and the well-worn musicals Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Crazy for You (which St. Petersburg Little Theatre currently is presenting).
"We've heard from the community that they want Broadway in this building," Edgerley said. "We're down to about 400 subscribers. If we increased it to 500 this season, I'd be very happy."
The demolition of the Mahaffey's next-door neighbor, the Times Arena at Bayfront Center, is scheduled for summer 2005 and will have little effect on Mahaffey's operations next season, Edgerley said.
Long term, razing the aging arena "can only make (Mahaffey Theater) better," she said. "An expanded lobby, more bathrooms. The city has said over and over that they're committed to enhancing the theater. It can only be good for us."
Last week, the Salvador Dali Museum proposed building a three-story museum on the arena site, connected to the theater by a pedestrian plaza.
The Dali "would make a wonderful neighbor, a very welcome addition to this part of the city," Edgerley said.
For the first time, the Mahaffey is presenting Langston Hughes' 1961 gospel song-play Black Nativity, which tells the Christmas story through poetry, Scripture, testimonials and music. St. Petersburg director and actor Bob Devin Jones will stage the pageant. "Many major cities have an annual Black Nativity: Dallas, Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia," Edgerley said. "We're expecting to have up to 150 onstage. We're looking at live music, a dance component, church choirs."
The Mahaffey will present its Young Children's Series, with four shows for 3- to 7-year-olds, at the 1,000-seat Palladium Theater; the Cavani String Quartet concert also will be there.
Season tickets to the Broadway Series are on sale at the Bayfront Center box office, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. Single tickets go on sale in September. Tickets to performances other than the Broadway series will be on sale June 30. To charge by phone, call Ticketmaster at (813) 287-8844 or call the Bayfront box office at (727) 892-5767 or (800) 874-9015.
Family series
Scrap Arts Music, Oct. 17; Red Grammer and Tom Chapin, Nov. 7; Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats, Jan. 23; Peter and the Wolf, Feb. 20.
Young Children's series (at Palladium Theater)
The Emperor's New Clothes, Oct. 3; The Three Little Pigs, Nov. 21; Jack and the Beanstalk, Jan. 9; Aladdin, April 17.
Broadway series
The Graduate, Jan. 25-26; Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, March 2; Crazy for You, March 30.
Holiday series
Heralds of Harmony, Dec. 3; The Nutcracker, Dec. 12; Rockapella Christmas, Dec. 17; Black Nativity, Dec. 18-19.
Oldies 104.7 Music Mania series
Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals, Henry Gross, Oct. 22; Elvis Presley tribute, Jan. 6; Bubblegum Pop Mania, Jan. 14; Chuck Negron, Spencer Davis Group, Jan. 29.
Noteworthy series
Queen Esther Marrow in Rock My Soul, Oct. 15; Pink Floyd Tribute, Oct. 16; An Evening with Charo, March 4; Ladysmith Black Mambazo, March 31.
