WPCNR'S CITY CENTER JOHNNY ON TOUR. By John F. Bailey. October 3, 2003: The highlight of the Mayor's White Plains Performing Arts Center News Conference Thursday was "the tour."  A group of about 30 persons were given hardhats and proceeded to cross the street from City Hall to the City Center, proceeding into “Conroy Place," which now has its cobblestone drive mostly in place and gleaming black light posts emulating the new street ambience in White Plains.

DIGNATARIES from public relations persons to reporters, to councilpersons gawked at the imposing rich emerald green façade of the bridge from the new parking garage, the elegant cobblestones and the black granite fountain. Entering on the first floor street level, they were greeted by a brightly lit Circuit City store, looking ready to open. Photo by WPCNR News.

ENTERING STREET LEVEL ON CONROY PLACE: We proceeded to climb the escalators in the vaulted two level atrium/lobby,  to the fourth level of the City Center. As we entered from Conroy Place soon to be named City Center Place, we passed the Circuit City looking ready to open, and very inviting. Photo by WPCNR News.

PASSING CIRCUIT CITY, the party ascended the escalators which were not in motion to the fourth floor, the theatre level. Photo by WPCNR News.

THE THEATRE ENTRANCE: Main entrance, steel scaffolds of seating can be seen. Photo by WPCNR News

BOX OFFICE AREA IS TO THE RIGHT: We entered the theatre noticing that there is a shell of a theatre and that THE arc of steel seating structures were in the process of being installed. The stage is to our left. The walls of the theatre are sheetrock, awaiting interior decoration. Photo by WPCNR News.

PROJECT MANAGER, Steve Feinstein, of HRH Construction (in light blue shirt, slightly to right in photo), explained the next order of business was installing the light banks and control booth at top left of picture.  Photo by WPCNR News

CREATING THE VARIOUS SEGMENTS of the theatre will proceed on a simultaneous basis. To come: pouring concrete for the stage, and installing the polished wooden stage floor . Feinstein said work was proceeding at a 6-days-a-week-10 hours-a-day pace with a completion date of October 31 for the Performing Arts Center. He noted an elevator would whisk theatre goers directly from street level entry to the White Plains Performing Arts Center floor. Photo by WPCNR News.

ON THIS VERY STAGE, IN 35 DAYS, the Flying Karamazov Brothers will be doing the juggling. For now the intricate, precision juggling is being handled deftly by the HRH Construction crews who have been performing building miracles for two years, being counted on to finish a theatre in 28 days. Speaking to WPCNR after the tour, Co-Producer Jeffrey Rosenstock told WPCNR that he expected to be “running through” the theater control, lighting and production systems the first week of November. Photo by WPCNR News

Calling More Angels. Calling More Angels.

The Gala performance on November 9 is being relied on to produce a performance budget. In the meantime, George Gretsas, the Mayor’s Executive Officer, said a single sponsor (in Broadway speak, an "angel")  has underwritten Bob Newhart’s performance. He would not reveal that sponsor, saying that was up to the Board of Directors of the theatre to announce at their discretion.

Asked the source of future operating funds for the theatre and whether any advance contributions had already been made, Gretsas said he did not know and would get that information. Rosenstock and Stimac as operators of the theatre are paid a flat $100,000 for the first year of their contract to operate the theatre, and that is the maximum city contribution to the theatre.

Staffing Up

Tony Stimac said a third person had been hired for the White Plains Performing Arts Center staff in addition to Kathy Davidson, the Theatre Manager. The new hand on board is Melinda O’Brien, who Mr.Stimac said will be Development & Programming Associate. He said she would responsible for fundraising overtures and program development.

Community Groups Invited

Mr. Rosenstock, echoing a theme in the news conference said the theatre would be produce 1/3 professional performances, 1/3 community-produced performances and 1/3 new creative works. Mr. Rosenstock said that Ms. Davidson had worked out what he called “a Basic Rental Sheet” and said “we’re working on drawing up a standard contract.”  He said groups desiring to rent the theatre could contact Ms. Davidson now for preliminary discussions on how to do that. She can be reached at 422-1376.

Rosentock was bubbling with enthusiasm for the theatre during our sidewalk chat in front of City Hall.  He said he presents 425 performances a year at his Queens Theatre in the Park.  He said the synergy generated by persons coming to his Queens facility has brought many community groups throughout Queens to his theatre. "People come to the theatre, see groups performing there and inquire about how they can use the theatre," he explained, saying he has attracted rentals from many groups in Queens this way. He says the enthusiasm is contagious, and that he and Mr.Stimac have had the experience of growing theatres and looked forward to watching it happen here.

Financing to Come.

Asked about what financial contributions had already been received by the White Plains Performing Arts Center, George Gretsas, the Mayor’s Executive Officer, said a sponsor, whom he could not reveal,  had underwritten the Bob Newhart Gala performance. He said he would get the information as to whether any other donations had been received.

Early Thursday evening, Gretsas said that of the $100,000 the city is paying the non-profit organization of Stimac and Rosenstock to run the theatre, about $50,000 has been spent, and he said they would continue “to draw down” on it. He said that he could not tell what financing had possibly been already contributed to the Center’s “endowment” because the White Plains Performing Arts Center was a private nonprofit organization and only their Board of Directors could supply that information. He said Mr. Stimac was the person we should ask for that information.