The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Stratford group seeks new location to build
The organization had hoped to build a Globe Theatre replica on Shakespeare Theater site
STRATFORD — As town officials move forward with plans for a performing arts complex at the site of the old American Shakespeare Theatre, a local organization that hoped to build a replica of the famed Globe Theatre on the property is now looking for a home outside Stratford.
The American Globe Center, which is aiming to construct a historically accurate version of the theater once used by William Shakespeare, is exploring partnerships with multiple localities, according to Tom Evans, the group’s executive director.
Since the start of the year, Evans said the Globe Center has met with state tourism officials and local leaders across the state, including a recent visit with the mayor and city manager of Norwich. He said the center has also been in talks with officials in Stamford, Bridgeport and Middletown.
Evans said the center began searching for a different location after town officials told the group’s leaders earlier this year that they believed the proposal was too large in scope and that residents preferred a smaller venue for the 12acre property next to the Housatonic River.
“The American Shakespeare Theatre site was the inspiration for the American Globe Center,” Evans said. “However, as the town officials are looking into a different style of project, we have no choice but to move on to another municipality that would welcome the growth and tourism that we’d like to bring to town.”
The non-profit organization originally had an ambitious vision for the townowned site on Elm Street, including a separate modern playhouse to complement the timber-frame Globe replica, outdoor amphitheater, restaurant and education center.
Evans has argued the proposed $109 million waterfront complex could draw more than 300,000 visitors a year and bring millions of dollars to the community, but some have expressed skepticism that the venue would be an economic boost.
Mayor Laura Hoydick has proposed to replace the 1,500-seat Shakespeare theater, which was destroyed by arsonists in early 2019, with a much smaller performing arts complex. The $11.5 million complex would include a 350-seat “whitebox” theater, music pavilion and food truck court.
Town officials are now seeking the public’s input on two similar plans for the complex. The largest differences between the dueling options is the exact site of the theater, with one plan putting it on the western edge and the other locating it near the park’s entrance.
Sarah Matthews, Hoydick’s chief of staff, has said the overall proposal was developed after town residents urged officials to maintain much of the waterfront site’s open space while also incorporating a small arts venue.
She has suggested the yet-to-be-approved venue, which would also feature space for food trucks, picnic tables and public restrooms, would draw a wide range of guests, including traveling theater companies and youth sports leagues.
“The proposal highlights the beauty of the property while allowing for the most efficient use of the space for a multitude of purposes,” Matthews said last year after Hoydick unveiled her proposal.
The state has already set aside funds to help redevelop the property. The State Bond Commission voted last year to award the town $3 million in grant money to kickstart the effort. The rest of the funding will come from the town and through grant money, according to town documents.
Hoydick has proposed to build the complex over several phases, beginning with infrastructure improvements to the aging site. That would be followed by the construction of the music pavilion, which may be able to accommodate 2,000 to 3,000 people.
In the third and final phase, crews would build the proposed “white-box” theater. Town officials have described the structure as a flexible venue that could host plays but also be adjusted for various events and less traditional activities.
Tom Dillon, a resident who runs the Shakespeare Market and a member of a town task force that helped develop the current proposal, said he believes the adaptable venue would make the ideal community space.
“We’re calling it a whitebox theater because its design is for theater, but also for other community activities to take place,” he said. “Everything from an art gallery format to a yoga studio. The farmer’s market might actually be able to utilize it in the winters.”
Dillon said the current proposals would not impact the year-round farmer’s market, which currently meets every first and third Sunday. However, he noted the planned site improvements could benefit vendors and shoppers.
“I’d be perfectly happy to see either plan come to fruition. I think there’s lots of good things to be said about both,” he said. “The markets are very lightweight and flexible. We’ve used the park in many different creative ways. So I think there’ll be more and different opportunities for the market.”
The Stratford Redevelopment Agency is collecting public input on the two site layouts for the arts complex through April 15. Officials have said the fivemember agency will use the feedback to refine the plans for the complex before submitting a final proposal to the Town Council for approval.
Evans, who said he was happy to see the town moving forward with the redevelopment project, described the performing spaces now under consideration as fairly intimate and suggested the venue would only suffice for community theater productions and small traveling groups.
“I think that it’s very important that Stratford is able to make good theatrical use of that space,” Evans said. “The project that they’re bringing in sounds like it will do nicely to handle any immediate Stratford resident needs. It will be a local programming community theater for local groups that are in Stratford. It will not really be a draw to bring people into town, from our perspective.”
He said there were multiple communities in the state hungry for the kind of proposal the American Globe Center was seeking to build.
“If anything were to change and the Stratford property did become available for use, we would certainly entertain that,” he said. “But it seems like that is not the case.”