Wortham’s closure leaves arts groups scrambling
Houston Grand Opera, Ballet among those forced to find alternate venues
The Wortham Theater Center, a key cog in the downtown Theater District that was damaged by Hurricane Harvey, will remain closed until at least May, forcing Houston’s prestigious arts groups, including the Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet, to find alternative locations for their upcoming performance seasons.
The Wortham’s two theaters, which sit near the banks of Buffalo Bayou, took on up to 12 feet of water during the storm, which flooded its basement and required the removal of the stage floor of the Alice and George Brown Theater.
The Houston First Corporation, which operates the Wortham, announced late Monday that the entire facility would be closed until May 15, and even that time frame is “a best case scenario with circumstances as they are right now,” according to Holly Clapham-Rosenow, chief marketing officer at Houston First and Visit Houston.
The closure of the Wortham will have serious repercussions on the city’s fine arts groups. Not only does it create a scheduling frenzy, but arts groups, like Da Camera which orchestrates a chamber music and jazz series, are weighing how this displacement will affect other aspects of their seasons — from ticket sales to performance quality to the number of available seats.
The Brown Theater has just under 2,500 seats and the Cullen around 1,100, providing homes to productions of different type and scale.
“Obviously, step one was getting the water out,” said Clapham-Rosenow.
“Step two was making sure the air quality was sound so people could go in and do an assessment. Now we’re in step three, which is forensic work, a forensic evaluation of the structure itself, what mitigation is required. It’s all part of an over-arching plan.”
Houston First believes the two theaters that constitute the 30-year-old Wortham — the Brown Theater and the Lillie and Roy Cullen Theater — avoided structural damage from the storm, which they hope will be confirmed in the next month. But damage to mechanical and electrical equipment was described as “extensive” and created “potentially dangerous conditions.” Though a statement by Houston First said a full assessment by Gilbane Reconstruction Services is expected in two or three weeks, Clapham-Rosenow said she expected it may take longer.
The venue’s parking structure, she said, took on more than 200 million gallons of water in the storm. “That’s a pretty critical project, but they’re all big connected projects, each with their own set of complications and concerns,” Clapham-Rosenow said. “You never say never in any situation, so we may get an optimistic outlook. But right now May is where we’re looking.”
Ballet moves to Sarofim
A representative for Houston Grand Opera says the HGO is “in active negotiations with Houston First on a venue for our fall and winter presentations.”
In the meantime HGO says rehearsals for season opener “La traviata,” premiering Oct. 20, will continue as scheduled, moving to the Ballroom at Bayou Place. A venue for the show has not been announced, but HGO managing director Perryn Leech and artistic and music director Patrick Summers issued a statement that confirmed “La traviata” and “Julius Caesar,” beginning Oct. 27, “will proceed.”
The Houston Ballet has relocated its “Mayerling,” which opens Friday, to the Hobby Center’s Sarofim Hall. And the organization’s Poetry in Motion show will also take place at Sarofim Hall, though it was pushed back to Oct. 26-27.
Da Camera had already begun to relocate shows before the Wortham announcement was made. Its season opener, featuring the Harlem Quartet, will still take place this Saturday at Christ Church Cathedral. Performances by Houston native and pianist Robert Glasper on Oct. 6, Tiempo Libre on Nov. 10 and the Songs of Freedom concert on Dec. 1 will take place at the Cullen Performance Hall at the University of Houston.
“Starting with our Feb. 2 Charles Lloyd concert, we are working to identify appropriate locations for the remaining concerts scheduled to take place at Wortham Center,” said Leo Boucher, Da Camera’s director of marketing.
‘Delayed damage’
Damaged venues are one issue requiring attention. The need to relocate events is another. But they’re only part of the problem facing local arts organizations, which rely on season subscribers as well as ticket buyers for independent events. In the wake of a catastrophe, monetary priorities change for many potential attendees. Restoration of homes and replacing cars takes priority over art and entertainment.
Some venues have reported soft ticket sales for forthcoming shows. The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston wasn’t damaged by Harvey the way it was when Hurricane Ike flooded the venue in 2008. But the Grand’s Executive Director Maureen Patton said, “we are so grateful for that, (but) what we didn’t expect was the delayed damage in terms of ticket sales.”
Some upcoming shows that Patton says would have been full in years past have pre-sales that represent only about half the house. The Grand’s 2017-18 season opens Saturday with Houston native Tommy Tune and Chita Rivera.
Judith Kurnick, director of communications at HGO, pointed out that the organization’s phone and computer servers are in the Wortham, so they were “completely offline for nearly two weeks.
“So we have definitely seen an impact.”
Boucher said it’s too early to tell if there will be a financial impact on Da Camera’s season. “We’re very pleased that we have venues through the end of the year and we’re optimistic that our audience will follow us there.”
These groups and others are forging ahead with their programming. Some will return to normal faster than others.
Jones Hall — another Houston First venue damaged by Harvey and the Houston Symphony’s home — should be hosting shows again soon. The Symphony is currently performing at Rice University’s Stude Concert Hall, which is where it will present a Beethoven and Piazzolla program this weekend. The Sept. 25 Garrison Keillor show, which does not feature the Symphony, moved to Cullen Performance Hall. But October Symphony performances are currently still listed for Jones Hall.
Active in relief efforts
Another downtown arts group, the Alley Theatre, has also moved productions to the University of Houston.
The Alley’s downtown theater complex sustained substantial flood damage during the storm. Its world premiere production of “Describe the Night” began Tuesday at the Quintero Theatre on the school’s campus, which was yielded to the organization by the UH School of Theatre and Dance. The show will run through Oct. 15.
The Alley’s “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas” is scheduled to begin Nov. 17, though no location has been announced.
While displaced, many of the arts organizations are nevertheless active in Harvey relief efforts.
Jazz pianist and Houston native Jason Moran, as well as company members at the ballet and opera, will perform at a special event on Sept. 27 at Miller Outdoor Theatre called “Houston Strong: A Theater District Benefit Honoring Local Heroes.”
The event is free and open to the public, with attendees urged to contribute to the Harvey Relief Fund.
Holly Clapham-Rosenow, Houston First “You never say never in any situation, so we may get an optimistic outlook. But right now May is where we’re looking.”