2-year-old, ‘very successful' Hanover expands offerings

Two years after opening its doors, The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts is bringing in more shows than it originally projected, and the number of ticket-holders to come through the doors since the opening gala may surpass 391,000 by the end of June.

But the 2,300-seat theater also has yet to turn a profit and continues to deal with about $4.8 million in debt, a financial burden that limits the theater's ability to fund community activities and outreach. Troy R. Siebels, executive director of the nonprofit Worcester Center for Performing Arts Inc. that owns and operates the theater, said the theater has been successful by many measures but still has work to do.

“We are becoming very successful,” Mr. Siebels said. “It's a good thing. We need to be successful because of this debt load, and we do have challenges. But we are optimistic.”

Turning the former Poli Palace Theatre, a shuttered landmark in a corner of downtown sometimes viewed as unappealing, into a venue for traveling Broadway shows, concerts, ballets, comedians and local groups took years of work and about $30 million in renovations.

Construction workers knocked out the back of the theater and rebuilt it with a larger stage suitable for traveling Broadway companies, while also restoring the theater's architectural details.

Today the theater operates with a full-time staff of 12 and about 80 additional part-time workers. It is on track to host 143 performances in the fiscal year ending June 30, well above the initial goal of 110 shows per year. Despite a recession that has knocked down consumer spending, operators estimate about 179,000 ticket holders will see shows this fiscal year, up from 160,000 last year.

That surge of people into downtown Worcester has been felt by some businesses.

“You get a big-ticket name in town, everybody gets busy and full,” said Alex Barbosa, manager of Maxwell Silverman's Toolhouse and Luciano's Cotton Club restaurants. Maxwell Silverman's operates a shuttle to the theater on performance days.

After two years, some of the Hanover Theatre's activities have emerged as successful.

Broadway shows have proven so popular that the theater now books five performances for each show, up from the three performances per show it originally booked, according to Mr. Siebels.

Musical acts, seasonal performances of “A Christmas Carol,” Cirque du Soleil traveling shows and “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn” concerts have done well, as have comedians such as Bill Cosby, Mr. Siebels said.

Other programming has not done as well, including an Elvis Presley tribute show last year, the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Pilobolus Dance Theatre, a Connecticut-based dance company that performed with about 600 people in the audience.

One lesson is that an audience for performances definitely exists in Worcester, Mr. Siebels said.

“It's all about getting the person off the sofa,” he said. “The competition is not the other theaters, it's the sofa.”

The theater uses a blend of methods — promoting some shows on its own, partnering with other entities for other shows — to present a broad range of programming, according to James D. O'Brien Jr., chairman of the theater's board of directors. He said directors and theater officials also try to consider what would do well in Worcester. After some directors saw “Spring Awakening” in Hartford, the theater passed on the Tony Award-winning but sexually frank musical about teens in 19th century Germany.

“We have to be careful as to what we think works for Worcester,” Mr. O'Brien said. “I think we want to make sure we're bringing in programming that the community will respond to positively.”

The theater posted a loss of about $150,000 in its first full fiscal year and is expected to lose less than $100,000 this fiscal year. Yet as losses narrow, the theater continues to carry about $4.8 million in debt, including a $4 million mortgage and an $825,000 bridge loan, both due in August 2014.

The debt limits the theater's ability to fund more community outreach and scholarships for youth programs, Mr. Siebels said. Financial concerns also impact the theater's ability to offer its stage to community groups.

“Right now we end up saying no because it's too far in advance, and it might end up encumbering a date that might be B.B. King or Aretha Franklin or David Copperfield,” Mr. Siebels said.

A new financial concern is the state's consideration of legalizing casino gambling. Casinos that include entertainment venues can pay more for acts and lock the performers into agreements that keep them out of nearby venues for six months, Mr. O'Brien said.

“We at the theater consider the Hanover an anchor for future downtown development,” he said. “If the casinos start to compete with us and they're less than 40 or 50 miles away, that poses a real problem for us.”

Among those betting on the Hanover, however, is Edward P. Madaus, who co-founded the theater with Paul J. Demoga. The men purchased property on Southbridge Street next to the theater and have been preparing 22,000 square feet of space for redevelopment as, possibly, a comedy club in the basement, a restaurant on the ground floor and offices on the second floor.

“Whenever you go to any theater that's going, there's generally lots of restaurants in the area so people can park once and dine,” Mr. Madaus said. “We're hoping to make the whole area an entertainment area.”