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Music

Orchestra, Mahaffey still in disharmony

By JOHN FLEMING
Published December 31, 2006

The Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg underwent a $20-million facelift that was completed early this year. The complex includes office space, which the Florida Orchestra was to lease. Scheduling conflicts could threaten that deal.
	[Times photo: Bob Croslin]

The Florida Orchestra has a dilemma.

Should the orchestra go forward with a deal to move its offices into a building next to the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg? Or should the deal be abandoned because increased construction costs and a commitment to Broadway programming by the theater would do more harm than good to the orchestra's interests?

In April, representatives from the orchestra and Mayor Rick Baker signed an agreement on the stage of the city-owned Mahaffey just before the concert that marked the return of performances to the theater after a $20-million facelift. It called for the orchestra to lease office space in a building the city would construct.

The deal looked like a win-win situation for all concerned.

Baker never fails to cite the orchestra's presence at Mahaffey as an integral part of an arts district in the area. Other elements include a proposed new home for the Salvador Dali Museum across a plaza from the theater.

The city has gotten lots of good vibes as a result of the mayor's vision for the arts as a key attraction in its expanding downtown.

For the orchestra, which now leases space in a Tampa office park, the deal promised not just a nice view of the downtown waterfront but proximity to the hall where it seemed to have the best chance to put down some roots.

Throughout its 39-year history, the orchestra has been a vagabond, shuttling from one rented hall to another. Its main venues are Mahaffey, Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Tampa, all of which pay homage and offer discounted rent to the orchestra as vital to the bay area's cultural scene.

But when push comes to shove - usually in the form of potentially lucrative Broadway tours and pop acts - the halls give a higher priority to their bottom lines than to the orchestra's needs. Only at Mahaffey, where the programming was moribund for years, has the orchestra had reliable access to the dates it prefers, such as Saturday nights for masterworks concerts, as well as rehearsals during the week.

So the Mahaffey office deal seemed like a good bet on the future. The building's cost was projected at $3-million, with the city putting up $2-million and the orchestra $1-million. The orchestra lease is for five years, with four five-year options to extend its occupancy.

The unspoken assumption - by me, at least - was that the theater could eventually become the orchestra's artistic home. Of course, there would continue to be concert series at both Ruth Eckerd and TBPAC, but the mainstay venue for symphonic music in the area would be Mahaffey.

If the orchestra was playing, let's say, The Lord of the Rings symphony over two nights at the peak of the winter season when the other halls are booked - as is the case Feb. 21-22 - St. Petersburg is where you'd go to hear it.

There is a certain logic to the idea, because the orchestra has an extremely loyal following in St. Petersburg, although the potential audience may be larger in Tampa and north Pinellas. But you have to believe that music lovers would make the trek to downtown St. Petersburg for offerings they can't get elsewhere. (On the other hand, the experience of the Devil Rays and their woeful attendance at the Trop suggest some intrinsic problems in the theory that if you build it they will come to St. Petersburg.)

Not so fast

But now the orchestra's Mahaffey office deal is up in the air for two reasons. First, in a bid submitted to the city this month, the construction cost of the building came in more than $1-million higher than expected. Where the extra money might come from has not been determined. For the orchestra, which posted an operating deficit in the last fiscal year and lags badly in compensating its musicians, having to raise more for office space might not be a priority.

The second reason is a deal announced in October between the city and Live Nation, the Broadway promoter that presented shows at TBPAC for years. Live Nation didn't renew its contract with the Tampa complex and will switch to Mahaffey in 2007-08.

Broadway tours often shut out the orchestra from TBPAC, and the same could happen at Mahaffey. The problem is not so much a shortage of dates - surely there are enough to go around between these two entities - but the discrepancy between the booking schedules of Broadway and the classical music business.

Basically, Broadway books late, with seasons put together less than a year before a season opens, while guest artists and conductors the orchestra is interested in book much earlier. If the orchestra wants Yo-Yo Ma as a soloist, it has to make a commitment two years ahead of time, but that is hard to do when Live Nation has the right to block out chunks of time for possible, yet-to-be-determined Broadway shows.

The issue is complicated by the orchestra's insistence on playing every program in all three halls in the area. Trying to match up the availability of in-demand guest artists with the halls' schedules is like trying to solve Rubik's Cube.

A question of dates

The orchestra already had trouble getting some dates it wanted next season at Mahaffey, not just for concerts but also for the important business of rehearsals and auditions.

Broadway is far from a sure thing. Outside of smash hits like Wicked or The Lion King, the market has been somewhat soft in recent years, and next season at Mahaffey is less than overwhelming. Only the revival of Sweeney Todd is truly interesting. There will be stiff competition from TBPAC, which is presenting its own Broadway season. Live Nation has three years to see if it can meet its ambitious goals in St. Petersburg before the contract with the city can be terminated.

Eight months ago, when I wrote a story about the newly renovated Mahaffey, I interviewed Erika Shrauger, assistant principal clarinet and chair of the orchestra committee. She was hopeful about the office deal and the orchestra's place in the grand scheme of things at the theater. But she was concerned about the possibility of having to struggle to secure dates.

"If there are problems at Mahaffey," Shrauger said, "we could have some really nice office space but nowhere to play."

Sadly, that sentiment is looking prophetic now.

Does it make any sense for the orchestra to spend more than $1-million to find out if it comes true?

[Last modified December 28, 2006, 12:02:13]