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E.J. Thomas Hall to reopen box office with assist from Civic

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E.J. Thomas Hall and its three major local presenters had good news for performing arts lovers Thursday afternoon: The E.J. ticket office at the University of Akron will reopen Sept. 9 after more than a yearlong hiatus.

Tuesday Musical, the Akron Symphony and Broadway in Akron joined forces to host an onstage season preview party at the hall Thursday afternoon that included the box office announcement. The Akron Civic Theatre, which has served in a consulting and advisory role for the last year at E.J. Thomas Hall, will manage its box office.

The E.J. ticket office closed July 27, 2015, after the University of Akron made dramatic cuts that included the elimination of the hall’s staff as part of a $40 million budgetary move overseen by former President Scott Scarborough. Three employees were subsequently rehired.

Starting Sept. 9, the ticket office will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. That means patrons will no longer have to buy or pick up tickets to E.J. shows from the Civic box office.

“It’ll reduce buyer confusion, and I like that,” said Jarrod Hartzler, executive director of Tuesday Musical, whose season begins Sept. 27 with the Emerson String Quartet.

Tickets for all performances at E.J. Thomas Hall may again be purchased directly from its box office in person or at 330-972-7570. They may also still be purchased at the box office inside the Akron Civic Theatre (182 S. Main St., 330-253-2488), whose hours are the same as E.J’s.

The Akron Symphony, which has always handled its own direct sales, will resume offering some tickets at the E.J. box office. Its opening night will be Sept. 24, with the music of Elgar, Sibelius and Rachmaninoff.

Tuesday Musical, whose tickets have been processed by the Akron Symphony since last year, will continue to sell through the Tuesday Musical office at 330-761-3460 or www.tuesdaymusical.org. It, too, will offer some presale tickets to the E.J. box office.

Howard Parr, executive director of the Akron Civic Theatre, stepped in to help after the cuts in July 2015.The first order of business was to ensure that the hall’s main three arts tenants’ seasons — the Akron Symphony, Tuesday Musical and Broadway in Akron — ran as planned.

“We were really committed to making sure that we did everything we could to help make sure E.J. was able to stabilize,” Parr said.

About 70 attended Thursday’s event, including interim UA President Matthew Wilson.

Another key E.J. partner, Playhouse Square, took over the 2015-16 Broadway in Akron season when E.J. lost its previous presenter. Playhouse Square is now in its second year of a two-year partnership with UA. Broadway in Akron will begin its four-show 2016-17 season with Cinderella Nov. 8-9.

“We’re very proud to be a part of the action here at E.J. Thomas Hall,’’ said Gina Vernaci, executive producer at Playhouse Square. “You all must be proud because this is a magnificent facility.”

Broadway in Akron subscription sales are looking up, UA CFO Nathan Mortimer said in a Wednesday interview, with 1,600 subscriptions sold, compared to just over 1,200 last year. Despite last summer’s upheaval, Mortimer said Broadway in Akron lost just nine of its 2015-16 subscribers last season.

This year, just over 300 subscribers chose not to renew, but 700 new ones were added.

“Our numbers are substantially higher than they were in the last couple years,” said Mortimer, who reported that subscriptions were at 900 for 2014-15. “Last year we worked really, really hard not to lose subscribers.”

E.J. Thomas Hall has reached out to all who didn’t renew this year and found that their main reason for dropping subscriptions was that they’ve already seen some of the shows elsewhere. Many of them plan to buy single tickets, Mortimer said.

The growth in subscriptions can be attributed to an energetic staff of six at E.J. as well as Playhouse Square’s national reputation: “The presence of Playhouse Square is huge,’’ Mortimer said. “When they talk, people listen. They have credibility.”

The continued partnership with the Civic is a natural one, Mortimer said. UA is paying the Civic $110,000 this season for its consulting and advisory role, which includes booking and marketing events unrelated to university programming or the three main arts tenants, as well as running the E.J. box office.

“This is just the first step of the Civic and E.J. coming together, and we think that between us we’re combined stronger than we are individually,” Mortimer said. “There’s an opportunity in Akron for us not to compete, but to collaborate.”

Parr had more good news to share: The Stage Door and E.J. Up Close series will return this season. Stage Door, where the artists and audience members share the E.J. stage, will begin Oct. 7 with Time Traveller, a Moody Blues tribute. Others slated so far are Old Jews Telling Jokes Oct. 18 and Stephen Bishop Nov. 5.

E.J. Up Close, which creates a more intimate experience with just 800 seats on the lower level sold, will begin with Jazz 330 Oct. 22, followed by Late Night Catechism Oct. 20 and Five Irish Tenors March 6.

Expanding programs

E.J. had only a few external programs last year, including Dancing with the Stars, Mannheim Steamroller and a talk by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

This season, Parr expects to expand that to at least the level it was before last summer’s cuts.

For external programs, performance costs are covered either by ticket sale revenue, or a combination of ticket sales and subsidies from local foundations or other sources, Parr said.

One highly anticipated concert is the Prague Philharmonia with violinist Sarah Chang Jan. 17, which Hartzler of Tuesday Musical helped procure. Currently, about half of E.J.’s bookings this season — excluding Broadway in Akron, Tuesday Musical and symphony performances — are university programs and half are external. Parr said more will be added.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com. Like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kclawsonabj or follow her on Twitter @KerryClawsonABJ.


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