Marcus plans move forward
The Marcus Center begins delayed redevelopment with new seats at Uihlein Hall and a new public plaza.
Downtown Milwaukee’s Marcus Performing Arts Center has started its redevelopment project — which includes removing the trees in its outdoor plaza — after a long delay.
The project’s $4 million first phase also features new seats, and a new seating configuration, at Uihlein Hall, the center’s main venue.
Those new seats will be installed by early 2021, said Marcus Center President and Chief Executive Officer Kendra Whitlock Ingram.
But there’s no word yet on when Marcus Center will again host Broadway shows, performances by Milwaukee Ballet Co. and Florentine Opera Co., and other events as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
It will depend on how public health authorities allow facilities like Marcus Center to operate, Whitlock Ingram told the Journal Sentinel.
She hopes Marcus Center will be hosting reduced capacity events in its other venues — Todd Wehr Theater and Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall — even before new seats are completed at Uihlein Hall.
Those shows could have capacity of around 20%, she said.
All patrons would be required to wear masks, and the center would use enhanced cleaning. Performances could be shorter and might have timed entries for patrons.
Other performing arts groups and venues face similar issues.
That includes the new Bradley Symphony Center, where the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is moving in January from Marcus Center with online performances.
The start of Marcus Center’s redevelopment will help ensure its financial health, Whitlock Ingram said.
“This project is really giving us all a ray of hope,” Whitlock Ingram said. “It’s helping us all look to the future.”
Marcus Center has been closed since mid-March. It shut down one week after Whitlock Ingram started as CEO.
That led to layoffs of 150 part-time employees who work on events. Another 13 full-time employees were laid off, with 30 full-time employees remaining.
With the center closed, Whitlock Ingram and her team reworked the renovation plans to do the Uihlein seats project first. That phase initially was planned for completion in 2023.
“We really wanted to think about what pieces of the master plan would make the most sense to do in a postCOVID world,” she said.
The Uihlein renovations feature new public health and safety features, including touchless payments and ticket scanning, as well as additional seating for people with disabilities.
Also, livestreaming technology will expand access to schools and other audiences across Wisconsin. That includes such virtual events as Wednesday’s “Road to Reopening Broadway.”
The first phase has two lead donors: a $1 million gift from Donna and Donald Baumgartner and a major gift from an anonymous donor. Other funding
sources include a grant from the Herzfeld Foundation.
The first phase includes replacing the sunken trees grove with an accessible lawn fringed with trees.
The grove plans, unveiled in December 2018, were opposed by preservationists. They said removing the trees would harm the legacy of designer Dan Kiley, whose other works include the Cudahy Gardens in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum.
The Historic Preservation Commission ruled the Marcus Center, which opened in 1969, should be designated as historic.
That designation would have forced Marcus Center officials to obtain commission approval for any exterior changes — including removing the trees. However, the Common Council in May 2019 voted against that designation.
Around 20 of the 36 trees have been cut down. The remaining trees are to be removed this fall, Whitlock Ingram said.
Future redevelopment phases include a new donor lounge facing the tree-lined lawn, a five-story projection wall where performances can be seen live from the street, and a new atrium and terrace overlooking the Milwaukee River.
Some of those plans might change, Whitlock Ingram said, with Marcus Center facing financial challenges from the loss of event revenue, as well as MSO’s departure.
In the last three fiscal years, the orchestra paid more than $1 million annually to Marcus Center for rent and other expenses.
The center’s annual budget is around $17 million, with $750,000 coming in 2020 from Milwaukee County. The county — facing declining tax and fee revenues because of the pandemic — owns the facility and leases it to the Marcus Center, a nonprofit corporation.
Milwaukee County has committed $10 million over 10 years to help pay for renovations and other improvements at the center.
Marcus Center’s challenges would be even greater if not for a 2019-2020 season that included big crowds for “Hamilton” and other Broadway shows, Whitlock Ingram said.
“It wasn’t as catastrophic as it could have been,” she said.
Whitlock Ingram also is heartened by strong community support for Marcus Center, including the generous donations from the Baumgartners and other funding sources.
“We enthusiastically support the remodel of the Marcus Center to not only invest in the future of Milwaukee’s performing arts community but to help create a more exciting and comfortable audience experience,” said Donna and Donald Baumgartner, in a statement.
The renovations drew statements of support from Michael Pink, artistic director of the Milwaukee Ballet, and Maggey Oplinger, general director and CEO of the Florentine Opera.
“The investments in the Marcus Center will revitalize the in-person audience experience, and our entire company is grateful for the generosity of these donors,” Pink said.
“A positive, memorable experience is an essential aspect of every live performance for theatergoers, and the Florentine Opera Company is thrilled to welcome back that experience in a space that prioritizes health and safety,” Oplinger said.