BAm ANNUAL REPORT 1976-1977SEASON -~~~~~~~~j[~~jl~~~----------------~ unity bo~d 8 ~ . resent at ~ocal co_m~he Atla~tic T + 's Repor u BAM 1S often P. participants . Ul d renovation ~nP.!Iu is definitelY eetings; we are ~itong Island Rau:~: Queens ~lay- ~.L1:iP~ ts center today . ce while ~ntic ; we sup _po~ we are asked to h:!'ttle to keep ticket unning an_ ~rb~ ~~ory tower_ exp~~i:~uiiding is at ublic hearmg ' roblems;and we t an elitiSt ft corporatiOn, ·t to BAM , ~se solve some p jlies. M It has be_en R. no b a non-pro i k which leases i M with a ho_ ces accessible to fa~enth year at BA th· the qualitY BA~e~s ~~h/City of r~~n1 o~hich pr~vid~~~\s deeply pn This was mY our internal ~tren~f the perfo~- olnwc., at a nominal rtenof operatin~ fudnal~:,g with the pl~nt battle to devel~P the renovation t and responsive .al amoun ts m e ... al Affaus a programming, a significan ried bill of ~~~i~~~i with Cityr~~~;;~;~rticul~lyB~~!~.r and Par:r~ ~~c~u~nd pub~~n~p~~~~d , staffduf~~e~ ~~~s~ituen¥~~ nd budgetatY p Management _an bstantial suPP d audienc~, a. s attentive to our. g arts discip~es . lid ~ublic Struc~ures, AM also recewes_ suon the Arts, an f e whiCh iS f performm e is fauly so . and Recreation. ~ork State counilc~ application proc:~~ ard to a spectrum o ow the structur d r perspective, from the N_ewthe Council's det~ ea plies as well to :derpinning is ~~hee ~utu~e wit~ a b~faa: arts center's partdic~i~r~~ panel refvie~~ r~;: inpWashinto~- fervent We/~~t~pir~~~teili\~~derstandmg mmitted to the an s E dowment or F d Richmon ' for an an d responsib i . deeply co in another Nationalou~ congress~an, vel~ping a constitue~fr on in- enlarge BAM is, of co_~rs~, also neck-deedghborhoods, of the arts, iS d~ . volving a check d cultural erforming arts, ~uk~ rebuilding_ of n suppo:~t arts subsidY billk.l~n Educational ~~g into the huportant task . al of New york City. ~~e :ax(ff~hlc~~f~fs aNm~~~~:;~~n offsht~~ f! which is the surviV Alliance o h Brooklyn a f th job poten "bilitY of t e_ il because o e 1 Tharp Dance ~~;~ort base, pnrn~ kawe, of ~he T~:ch's basketball loc%1 residentds. Tdoance session With p~lthe audience pahr- anY ha a h d members f Uy that e Lichtenstein comPand Chuck Dav~ a dance (so suc_cess ~out Brook­ HarveY team. African tnbal d enters throug Sorcha ticipate i~ "tin schools an c d his daughter' t st' will be domg i d Cyril Cusack an to students a . lyn in 1978), a~'Casey and theatre talked about Francis College. Theatre Programs In its debut season, the BAM Theatre The Abbey Theatre, in its first American Company presented highly successful en­ tour since 1938, performed Sean O'Casey's gagements of Langdon Mitchell's 1906 The Plough and the Stars for two com­ comedy The New York Idea and Anton pletely sold out weeks in the Helen Owen Chekhov's l'he Three Sisters. The company Carey Playhouse. The cast included Siob­ included Rene Auberjonois, Ellen Bur­ han McKenna and Cyril Cusack in an styn, Stephen Co llins, Blythe Danner, acclaimed production of this classic play. Denholm Elliott, Tovah Feldshuh, Mar­ Under the auspices of BAM, the Abbey garet Hamilton, Rosemary Harris, Barnard Players also performed in Boston and Hughes, Austin Pendleton, Rex Robbins Philadelphia. and Holly Villaire with Frank Dunlop serv­ .,...Eamon Kelly, one of the Abbey Theatre's ing as Director and Berenice Weiler as Ad­ "fmest character actors, performed his de­ ministrative Director. The BAM Theatre lightful one-man show In My Father's Company's season, the first step in the time in the Lepercq Space. formation of a classically based resident company at BAM, gave New York aud­ -The Che lsea Theater Center-BAM's resi­ iences the opportunity to see American dent theatre for the past nine yea rs­ actors perform some of the greatest roles continues to add t o its reputat ion as one in theatre. Both the Drama Desk and the of the premiere theat re ensembles in the Outer Critics Circle awarded the BAM country. Productions this past season in­ Theatre Company special citations for its cluded: Lincoln by Saul Levitt. Heinrich outstanding work . Von K leist's The Prince of 1-jomburg and S.l. Witkiewicz's The Crazy Locomotive. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Chelsea's fourth production Happy End, Dreamcoat, direct ed by Frank Dunlop Ellen Bu rstyn, Rosemary Hanis and Tovah Feldshuh in The Three Sislel"$ the Brecht -Wei ll musical never before and starring Cleavon Little, was so success­ seen in New York, transferrerl to Broad­ fu l that BAM plans to present the show as Joseph delighted audiences w ith its sassy way f or a commercial ru11. an annual holiday musical. With a score by version of the Old Testament story of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Josep h and his brothers. Dance Programs Music Programs Support for BAM BAM and the Community The Pennsylvania Ballet doubled the The Brooklyn Philharmonia under the The Brooklyn Boys Chorus, founded and In a newly establ ished program of major A member of the Academy;s Board of By special proclamation, the week of length of its fall and spring engagements aegis of its Music Advisor, Lukas Foss, directed by James McCarthy, complet ed support to arts institutions and compa­ Directors, Eugene H. Luntey (President, March 11-18 was designated BAM Week, in the Opera House. Its four programs in­ expanded its performance schedule from their second year of residence at BAM and nies, the Academy has been selected as Brooklyn Union Gas Company) observed in recognition of BAM's cu ltural con­ cluded the world prem iere of Margo 20 to 30 concerts in response t o a three­ at L.I.U. Brooklyn Center. The Chorus one of four performing arts institutions in that only a modest amount of the Acad­ tributions during the past ten years. T he Sappington's Under the Sun, inspired by fold increase in the number of subscribers. gave over 50 performances, including the country to receive a Challenge Grant emy's total contributions emanated from proclamation cited BAM's importance to the mobiles of Alexander Calder. Also The Philharmonia opened its season w it h a benefit with Andre Watts at BAM. from the National Endowment for the Brooklyn commerce and industry, while the revital ization of downtown Brooklyn, receiving N.Y. prem ieres were: Four Men pianist Alicia deLarrocha and conductor Members of the chorus also sang in Arts in Washington D.C. over 38% of BAM's audience co mes from its growth as an instit ut ion, and its new Waiting; For Fred, Gene and MGM and Lu kas Foss in an all Mozart program. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor the same borough . Mr. Luntey launched The grant of $350,000 must be matched class ically based resident theatre company. From Gentle Circles (Harkarvy), Sweet Paula Robison, Scott Nickrenz, Gerald Dreamcoat. the Committee of 100 Corporate Cam­ BAM Week coincides with the opening of 3 to 1 over 3 years, and t he matching Agony (Sagan) , and Eakins' View (Griffin). Tarack, and Walter T rampler joined Mae­ Cleavon Little In Joseph paign with the strong leadersh ip of impor­ the BAM Theatre Company and with and lhe Amazing funds should be over and above usual stro Foss in a Bach Brandenburg Concerti Technicolor Dreamcoat tant Brooklyn businessmen; Henry Bing, the sta rt of a corporate fund drive, In their only New York appearance, program; Antonia Brico conducted a annual contribut ions. The grant wi II be utilized for debt red uction, plant develop­ Jr., IBM Corporation; T heodore J. Fed ­ aimed at increasing the number of con­ Twyla Tharp and Dancers gave eight rous­ Dvorak program, Ruggiero Ricci played ment, and to assist in the expansion of the erici, New York Telephone Company; tributions from Brooklyn business and in­ ing performances in the Opera House . the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and the Academy's programs. Joseph T. Hydok, Consolidated Edison; I. dustry. Two of t hese were benefit performances ser ies closed with a stirring Beethoven Stanley Kriegel, I. Stanley Kriegel & Co .; The Brooklyn Academy of Music, an est­ for the company, which featured si nger Ninth Symphony. The Philharmonia's Presently, existing donors are rev iewing Donald E. Moore, Downtown Brooklyn ablished force for change in the commun­ Paul Simon in the prem iere of The Hodge Meet the Moderns series celebrated their gifts in light of the grant. The Acad­ Development Association; Leonard Nadel, ity, is pleased to see the brownstones en­ Podge . The repert ory included Country American composers and David Amram emy is hopeful that many new donors Abraham & St raus; Theodore Notides, Dances, Cacklin' Hen, Sue's Leg, a rev ival conducted the Ph ilharmon ia in school­ will j oin those who have so faithfully as­ circling it refurb ished and urban renewal Manufacturers Hanover T rust Company; gain momentum. With in blocks of the of The Bix Pieces, The Fugue , the pre­ time concert s, a Saturday afternoon sisted in the development of BAM, the F. Pet er O'Hara, Cullen & Dykman; Academy, the $258 mill ion Downtown miere of Mud and Half the One Hundreds, family series, and free park co ncerts oldest performing arts institution in t he Howard Smith, Virginia Dare Extract Development which includes t he A lbee where Miss Tharp was joined by fifty throughout Brooklyn.