The Demise of American Musical Theatre of San Jose
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San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research Spring 2015 The eD mise of American Musical Theatre of San Jose Mike Scott yC manski San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Cymanski, Mike Scott, "The eD mise of American Musical Theatre of San Jose" (2015). Master's Theses. 4535. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.f8tm-3jas https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/4535 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE DEMISE OF AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE OF SAN JOSE A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Theater Arts San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Mike Cymanski May 2015 © 2015 Mike Cymanski ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled THE DEMISE OF AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE OF SAN JOSE by Mike Cymanski APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE, RADIO-TELEVISION-FILM SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY May 2015 Dr. David Kahn Department of Theatre, Radio-TV-Film Dr. Matthew Spangler Department of Communication Studies Dr. Scott Fosdick School of Journalism and Mass Communications ABSTRACT THE DEMISE OF AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATER OF SAN JOSE by Mike Cymanski In 2008, American Musical Theatre (AMT) of San Jose filed for bankruptcy after more than 74 years in business. In this thesis, I identify the factors – both internal and external – that contributed to its demise. Interviews with former employees and board members were conducted, and newspaper articles, tax records, and internal documents were examined to explore factors such as management effectiveness, AMT’s relationship with its community, fundraising, the decline of the subscription model, unions, and venue problems. The conclusions of this case study have implications regarding the intersection that now exists between non-profit and for-profit performing arts in the United States, as well as significance concerning the future of the performing arts in the San Francisco Bay Area. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study would not be possible without the interview subjects who took time – in some cases, several hours – to meet with me and share their experiences. They are, alphabetically, Bernie Barden, Bob Bones, Jill Bowers, Sunny Claggett, Catherine Edwards, Jim Eller, Stewart Fahmy, Lorraine Gilmore, Margaret Hardy, Pat Havey, Marc Jacobs, Michael Jenkins, Kimberley Kay, Billy Liberatore, Annmarie Martin, Michael Miller, Nick Nichols, David Pogue, Betty Poindexter, Jane Sanchez, Gerald Sakamoto, Stephanie Schiro-Ronco, Dianna Shuster, Stewart Slater, R. C. Staub, John Traub, and Lee Toney. Thanks to Ilana B. Rose at Theatre Communications Group for providing me with thirty years’ worth of Theatre Facts. Thanks to my graduate cohort Cherise Mantia and Joel Abramson for their support and comradery. Thanks to my thesis committee readers Dr. Matthew Spangler and Dr. Scott Fosdick for their valued advice and insight. Thanks to Dr. Kathie Kratochvil and Dr. Karl Toepfer for their supportive input during the early stages of this study. And special thanks to Dr. David Kahn for believing in this project from the beginning and for guiding me through the process. This thesis would not have been possible without his wisdom and patience. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 I. Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................................. 1 II. Purpose and Significance ............................................................................................................................ 2 III. Inspiration for this Study ........................................................................................................................... 4 IV. Terminology .................................................................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 12 I. Overview ............................................................................................................................................................ 12 II. Research Question ........................................................................................................................................ 13 III. Approach to the Study ............................................................................................................................... 13 IV. Role of the Researcher ............................................................................................................................... 14 V. The Participants ............................................................................................................................................ 14 VI. Data Collection and Analysis .................................................................................................................. 14 CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF DATA ......................................................................................... 16 I. A History of AMT Prior to 1979 ................................................................................................................ 16 A Great Idea ................................................................................................................................................... 16 George Costa and the Star System ........................................................................................................ 17 II. The Golden Era of AMT – 1979 to 2000 ............................................................................................... 18 Financial Crisis ............................................................................................................................................. 18 Cabaret and Danny Newman .................................................................................................................. 26 Record Growth ............................................................................................................................................. 36 Community Outreach, Awards, and More Record Growth ......................................................... 43 Partnerships and Bumps in the Road ................................................................................................. 48 New Works and a Name Change ........................................................................................................... 53 The End of an Era ........................................................................................................................................ 57 III. Factors in the Demise ................................................................................................................................ 60 1717 Technology Drive ............................................................................................................................. 60 The Death of Ken Holamon ..................................................................................................................... 65 The 3hree Musketeers ................................................................................................................................. 67 The Partnership with the Nederlander Organization .................................................................. 72 Elimination of the Artistic Director ..................................................................................................... 91 Spending Practices ...................................................................................................................................... 95 A Mixed Model ........................................................................................................................................... 111 Loan from the City of San Jose ............................................................................................................ 121 Tarzan ........................................................................................................................................................... 131 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................... 140 I. Overview ......................................................................................................................................................... 140 vi II. Conclusions About Internal Factors ................................................................................................... 140 AMT Experienced Cycles of Expansion and Reduction