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Tour the arts The Washington Center 2009-10 lineup

The Washington Center: From “Cats” to comedy to classical music, venue scratches out packed season

MOLLY GILMORE; For The Olympian | • Published June 22, 2009

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The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, which officially will announce its 2009-2010 season to Friends of the Center on Wednesday, is weathering the economic storm.

The center’s last season was only slightly below projections — and that is because the first quarter, when the country was focused on the presidential election and some shows fell on debate nights, was a tough one.

For 2009-10, the theater’s season will have more events, including the much-talked-about Broadway musical “Avenue Q,” a concert by Philip Glass — and the long-awaited arrival of a national tour of “Cats.”

“We had never been able, despite years of trying, to bring the national tour to Olympia,” said Kevin Boyer, the center’s marketing director. “Something different has come up every time. We’ve actually had to pull it from our season several times right before we went to press. Something different has come up every time.

“It’s an opportunity for people in the community to see something a lot have never had the opportunity to see.”

Still, the center’s planning has been affected by the economy. Because many California arts presenters are cutting back their seasons, scheduling them later or eliminating them altogether, there just aren’t as many touring acts coming to the West Coast.

“It introduces a level of instability,” said Tom Iovanne, the center’s executive director. “We’re at least two weeks later than we usually are getting the season on the street.

“There was one artist we were working with beginning last September,” he added, “and they were still unable to give me a definite answer when I finally pulled the plug in late April.”

That meant it was harder to book a season — and the final mixture of acts is a little different from in recent years. There are more films this year, including a series of films with music by Glass that will serve as a companion to his concert. Also on the schedule: a series of films of operas produced by the San Francisco Opera.

The center, which shows its films digitally, will rebuild its movie screen over the summer to accommodate a wide-screen format. “It will be approximately 35 feet wide,” Iovanne said.

It also means more shows with affiliated workshops — in comedy and songwriting as well as dance. That deepens the experience for performers and audience members alike, Boyer said. An engagement of more than one day also helps attract performers who aren’t simply passing through on their way to or from California.

The center is offering a wider span of ticket prices this year, so that seats far from the stage are significantly less expensive than those close to it. This could make the show accessible to more people — although the more expensive seats sell first.

“The people who really want to go to a show want to get good seats and go to the show,” Boyer said. “There is a finite entertainment dollar, it’s just a question of who’s going to spend it where.”

If he’s going out to dinner less often, Boyer said, he’s going to go to a place he’s really excited about when he does.

So the center is, as always, aiming to present shows people really want to see, including many that are tried and true: the Seattle Symphony, Capitol Steps, Kate Clinton, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, “Tap Dogs” and Comedy in the Box are all back.

The strategy makes sense. While the amount of funding the center will received from the city of Olympia is down, the theater always gets the biggest chunk of its budget from ticket sales. And you can’t sell more tickets by booking fewer events.

Iovanne also was inspired by the book “The Art of the Turnaround” by Kennedy Center executive director Michael Kaiser.

“I completely agree with his position that in order to be a successful arts organization you need to have a great program and you need to market it well,” Iovanne said.

And if that sounds like common sense, it’s not the strategy many arts organizations are taking in these times of budget cuts.

“We approached this season with an eye to making it the strongest program possible,” he said. “We didn’t want to put our heads down and try to hide from the economic winds.”

The lineup

For the complete 2009-10 season at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, see Page C4. 2009-10 season