Luner on Theatre: We’re headed back to Boston today as we continue our coverage on Emerson College and it’s plan to destroy the historic Colonial Theatre continues. While the Boston theatre community, Tony Award winning producers and artists as well as students and faculty continue to speak out against the plan, no new agenda or blue prints for the historic playhouse have come forward. While many worry about the theater’s future, more leaders continue to speak up and against the current plans.
11 comments:
This article presents another well spoken decrying the destruction of the historic Colonial Theatre. I think it is fairly safe to say that at this point if Emerson goes ahead with the plan at hand they will be sending a clear message to the theatre world, to the faculty, and to the students of Emerson that they really just don’t care about their opinions. That would certainly be a blow to Emerson’s theatre program, one that has been highly regarded for a long time. I know that had I ended up at Emerson this year only to learn the administration was to do this I would have been devastated. Not only is it a beautiful and historic theatre but it is also one of the coolest opportunities for students to be able to design for such a beautiful space. We need to keep standing together against this plan but if we fail at least we know where the Emerson administration stands on the value of theatre.
I cant even begin to understand the logic behind the administration's decision to change this beautiful theater into a dining hall. When I toured Emerson after my interview one of the things that struck me the most were how many gorgeous spaces their students have to work in. One of the reasons it was one of my top three schools was because I could picture myself being happy spending a lot of time in those theaters. It seems like no one other than the administration is happy with this decision, and this makes no sense to me. In such a collaborative art everyone's voices should be heard, especially the students and faculty. One thing they should also consider is that this is right around interview and audition season, and potential students will see this. I know that if this had happened last year I might have thought twice about applying. Emerson has such a historic landmark in their hands with the potential to create great theatre, so why would they want to throw all of that away to create a dining hall?
I have this growing fear that nothing is going to stop the plans with the Colonial Theatre in Boston and that is a complete shame. I have these doubts because I’ve seen large organizations like Emerson develop a ban, receive negative feedback, and not change it because it does not outweigh the potential benefits. And to a certain degree, I understand that because business is business when you throwing large numerical figures around and you must separate passion from objectivity. I do hope that there is a chance that theatre will be kept in its current state. But I also think that there is a possible lesson to learn here and it may not be the popular opinion. Things happen and they are impossible to change. It is then time to accept the upcoming change and cherish the past for what it was and take the fact that there may be new opportunities ahead.
I don’t understand how Emerson, a school that advertises itself as a communication and performing arts school, can still be trying to go through with this plan to destroy a truly beautiful theater. It makes no sense and seems to be completely at odds with many of the other thing the school does. Beyond that, I don’t see the logic in the president’s stubborn refusal to budge on this plan. There’s been so much outcry against this action, not only by the very same people in the industry that Emerson wants to hire its students but by its own students and teachers. I almost went to Emerson, and if I had right now I would probably be greatly regretting my choice. If they’re willing to do this to one of their theaters what’s to stop them from doing the same thing to the Cutler Majestic or the Paramount in the coming years?
I think the idea of converting the Colonial Theatre into a dining hall is absolutely insane. This is an extremely beautiful theater with so much history behind it. When I was looking at Emerson, the Colonial Theatre was one of the main reasons I would have wanted to go there. It is very rare to find a college that has a beautiful theater that is just like a Broadway house. It is a huge theater and it is an amazing opportunity to be able to work on a stage like that as a student. It can definitely help students transition better into the industry and Broadway world. The fact that it might be changed into a dining hall of all things is insulting. How could someone take a theater with so much history and then change it into a place where people eat and make a mess? Is there really nowhere else on campus or in Boston that Emerson could use as a dining hall? I doubt they would take a chemistry lab and change that. This theater is the same to drama students as a chemistry lab would be to chemistry students. Why should the arts have to suffer to give the rest of the campus another place to eat?
When I visited Emerson, I did not like it at all. I didn't like the classrooms or the dorm rooms, and I didn't like how it had basically no campus at all. The one thing I did like, however, was the gorgeous theater. The Colonial Theatre is one of the most incredibly stunning college theaters in the country, and it blows my mind that Emerson would want to get rid of it. If Emerson were a normal college, I would still think this was a stupid decision, but Emerson is a performing arts school. They are known for their theatre program. Very few people outside the entertainment industry know what Emerson is. This school relies on its theatre program, and they are getting rid of their huge, beautiful theater to make a dining hall. Theatre students can survive without a dining hall. They can't survive without a theatre.
The more I read about what is happening to the colonial the more angry I become. Boston is a city that loves history, and is proud of its history, The Colonial is part of that. Why is Emerson being so secretive about these plans on their reconstruction? Closing, renovating to any extent the Colonial was obviously going to upset the Boston theater community, and to have not realized that is frankly stupid. If, the general community, the teachers, the students AND Stephen Sondheim called your plan ‘a crime’ and protested against it, you should damn well listen and get a new plan. I know its hard to find spaces in Boston, but PLEASE, PLEASE don’t take this beautiful historic theater and turn it into bunch of black boxes or essentially warehouse spaces, There has to be a better option to do that, and why re-do it to make another main stage? its beautiful as is. I obviously agree with Mr. Sondheim, this is a crime.
This article really frustrated me. Look, we basically all agree that the Colonial is too historic for us to even consider changing it into something else. The expression of surprise and anger in response to the leaked Emerson plans is completely valid. That said, the author of this article played up the drama (pun intended) a bit much in my opinion.
Let’s get the facts straight: The “secret” refurb plans for the Colonial were leaked before they were supposed to be made public and President Pelton stood by those plans.
The school’s administration has not spoken since, even following strong student, faculty, and alumni opposition, and local/industry voices opposition as well.
This article blows a few things out of proportion. First, isn’t the reason Emerson closed the theatre that the space was in need of refurbishing? The theatre was last renovated in the 1990s, so it’s not like the space didn’t need some sort of work done. The author treats it as if the space was in beautiful, perfect condition. The school’s plan is to refurb the space regardless. The author uses variations of the word “destroy” way too heavily in my opinion. Chill bro, chill.
Second, the apparent silence from the school administration should not be interpreted as the school ignoring public opinion. The leaked plan is supposedly one of multiple, and the school’s lack of a response doesn’t guarantee they are still going to turn the space into a dining hall.
Additionally, Pelton’s act of defending the leaked plan was possibly more of a move to cover his and the administration’s behinds than it was to say “we’re going through with this plan, screw you guys.” The plan was dumb, and he probably doesn’t want to come out and say he doesn’t support his own plan or have a logical explanation for it. Regardless of if his explanation was actually logical, I don’t think we should take his explanation and following silence as a definite indicator that the leaked plans will be carried out.
Lastly, let’s make one thing clear: theatre people are passionate. Like, really passionate. I have a friend attending Emerson and he is convinced that there is no way that the Colonial will be turned into anything but a more beautiful and modern (tech-wise) theatre. There may be tension—fighting even—moments of confusion and indeterminacy, but this too shall pass. Theatre people are damn crazy, and I know that there’s no way we’ll let the Colonial be turned into a food court.
So, Mr. Lunar, please take a couple of deep breaths, and stop playing the part of the ranting, alarmist-gossip who’s determined to blow things out of proportions and make people far more worried and upset than they need to be. Hysterics aren’t productive. Voicing our concern and making sure the administration knows how the grand majority feels is a far better plan of action. If the Boston, and greater-Boston theatre community stays vigilant, the Colonial will survive.
I find it hard to believe (optimistic as I am) that an administrative board of an educational institution for liberal and theatrical arts would consider making the decision that is described here. That being said, I am also internally sometimes skeptical of the decisions that appear to be being made by our administration, particularly in terms of their intervention in our productions. Obviously the two situations are different, as the potential Emerson decision is genuinely more stupid than they decisions that I am referring to at CMU. However, it gets at a more important aspect of the discussion: we often forget that our decision-makers are human beings, with the desire to make the best move (for somebody), and the ability to make mistakes and not see the flaws in their ways. I am incredibly guilty of constantly having poor oversight about the humanization of our administrators, on a school and even nation-wide basis. This is a tough lesson to learn, and an even greater reason that we have to hold everyone accountable for the actions that they take.
when I visited Emerson, the most striking thing to me was that on the tour, I walked to the backstage of the COlonial, and saw the exact view pictured in the photo at the bottom of the article of the house and seats. It took my breath away. And I'm sure many kids who thought the same thing chose to go there for that reason. If all these people, theater legends, like Stephen Sondheim and those who have watched over the theater for years are syaing "No please don't turn this into a cafeteria!", why aren't they hearing it. Why are they bent on turning a beautiful landmark into something so pedestrian? I can guarantee that a prospective student will care less about a revamped dining hall than one of the most beautiful theaters in Boston being owned by the university. I can only hope that the people of Boston and Emerson realzie what they're doing before its too late.
This really breaks my heart. The thought that a university would so willingly turn such a beautiful theatre space into something so mundane and banal as a dining hall is enraging, so much so that I used the word “banal” to describe it. The Boston theatre community is falling apart at the seams. The fact that Emerson is a school that focuses on communication, and by extension the performing arts, and they are so willing to convert this space is appalling. I know space for colleges located in cities is tight but I don’t think any kind of lack of space requires this kind of move. It is also disheartening that the board and president seem to not care what anybody thinks and is moving forward with the plan with no regards to anyone else. This is how we get in situations where the actions are for the good of the few at the cost of the many.
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