Interview: Act Two for Portland's Good Theater Theater

A hush fell over the audience at the Hill Center last March when Good Theater’s Executive/Artistic Director, Brain P. Allen, concluded his curtain speech with the news that the current production of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE would be the last for the GOOD THEATER on Munjoy Hill. The theatre company, which was celebrating more than twenty years as the resident company of what had formerly been known as The St. Lawrence Center for the Arts, had lost its home, and Portland was about to lose one of its most vibrant professional theatres.

Allen recounts: “ The St. Lawrence Center informed us in 2021 that they would soon be moving ahead with their plans for expansion and that once their new building was complete, we would no longer be their resident company.”  For the next few years until those words became a reality, Allen and his partner Steve Underwood combed the Portland area for other spaces but were still coming up empty handed in early 2024. “Then the Portland Press Herald ran a front-page story about the situation,” Allen notes, “and Developers Collaborative, which owns the Stevens Square Center, a former Catholic school auditorium in the Baxter Woods section of Portland, contacted us.  Amanda Bartlett, their development officer, and owner Kevin Bunker came to see A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, and they were impressed with the production and the vibe.  They offered to work with us to transform the space and to install us as the resident company there, where we would also be in charge of booking the space for the weeks when the Good is not performing.”

Allen and Underwood collaborated with the developers on a renovation plan that would create an auditorium with flexible seating from 100-450. “Steve [Underwood] was very instrumental in the redesign, and he will oversee the renovations,” says Allen.  These include cutting back the stage thrust to 14 feet; improving acoustics so that plays will not need to be amplified, (thereby retaining the intimate feeling for which the Good Theater is known), while allowing for microphones for singers in concert events; creating flexible curtains and panels to configure the auditorium to different seating capacities; upgrading the backstage area, lobby, and restrooms; and adding of a box office.

Allen enumerates the benefits of this new space.  “For the audience, there is ample on-site parking so patrons can pull into a space at 6:55 pm and be in their seats for a 7:00 pm curtain. There are no stairs, so the entire theatre is completely handicapped accessible; there are a ton of bathrooms. For us, there is much more backstage and wing space; we have access to the old band room which can be used like a multi-purpose black box space for rehearsals or for readings or small events, and we have signed a ten-year lease.”

The Good Theater plans to use the space at 145-seat capacity for 30 weeks, presenting 5 main stage shows, each running for three weeks, as well as a new cabaret series, which will be inaugurated by Tony winner Lilias White. For the remaining 20 weeks, the Good will book other Portland cultural groups into the space. Good ticket prices will rise slightly to $45 for main stage shows and $60 for cabaret seats.

This major new undertaking has necessitated a few changes in the Good Theater’s organizational structure.  Allen continues as Artistic Director and Underwood as Board President – both creatively involved in directing and designing productions.  And the company has hired Gusta Johnson as the new Executive Director. Johnson, who has appeared frequently on the Good stage in the past has training as an opera singer and 20 years’ experience in business, most recently having served as Portland Symphony’s Director of Marketing and Communications. She returns to Portland from two years abroad, where she just earned her MBA from the University of Glasgow.  Two additional trustees will join the Board as the company launches a capital campaign to raise a minimum of $500,000 to enable the renovations before reopening in the fall of 2025.

Allen and Johnson, asked what this new adventure means to them personally and what impact it will have on the arts scene in Portland, both wax eloquently optimistic. Johnson says, “ Personally, this is a dream come true to be able to use my business skills and my passion for theatre in this job. Theatre is about the drama, but it is also about the collaboration. I look forward to creating this cultural hub that can be a safe haven and a home for the Good Theater and other cultural organizations. I hope we can continue the legacy of the Good [Theater] to create amazing theatre, employing so many Maine-based artists. I envision the Good Theater at Stevens Center as a new cultural hub.”

Allen concurs: “The Good Theater now has legacy. It can become more than the Brian and Steve show – which wasn’t a bad show – but this move allows us to take our place more permanently within the city and to become leaders of this cultural hub. We get to keep the calendar and to curate what the complex becomes and whom it serves. The move provides a long-term residency that allows us to become a permanent part of the Portland landscape.”

 

Photos courtesy of the Good Theater

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