NOVEMBER 12, 2008 Rollin McGrail - Limited Edition DrawingsRollin McGrail's images are recognizable both for style and content. Often, they kindheartedly lampoon the rich while harkeningb ack to the era of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick and Nora and the early New Yorker years of Peter Arno. Rollin's style is agile, playful, formal, and wry. The work is largely conceptual and at the same time lends an air of whimsy and grace to some of the most prosaic of subjects.
CONSULTANTS ON ROYAL POINCIANA PLAYHOUSE SEPTEMBER 17, 2008—PALM BEACH, FLORIDA—In response to a feasibility study presented by Webb Management Services, a New York consulting firm, to Sterling Palm Beach the new lessees of the Royal Poinciana Plaza and Playhouse, Palm Beach Theater Guild president Patrick Henry Flynn dismissed the report as containing essentially the same material and outlook that was presented to the previous developer Dawsco PB and developers Peter Cohen and Sidney Speigel in 2004. “Besides factual errors, there are three serious flaws in this study,” Flynn said, “and numerous intentional misrepresentations that are misleading.” In his leading conclusion Webb Management reported, “There is lack of demand from existing arts organizations” to rent the Poinciana Playhouse. This ignores the Performance Partners of the Palm Beach Theater Guild:
There also has been no availability of the theater to attract renters. The former and present owners have simply refused to rent the house to the Palm Beach Theater Guild and others. By far the most misleading and unprofessional conclusion of the study is that Webb Management does not even consider a regional theater being located in the Playhouse with the present capacity and configuration. This is the primary income stream projected by the Palm Beach Theater Guild in its business model. Myopically, Webb Management can only apply the regional subscription theater concept to a smaller house. The firm recommends that Florida Stage occupy the space with experimental theater that will not appeal to a general audience and was not accepted by the Town in the previous go-a-round with the developers Peter Cohen and Sidney Spiegel. Webb Management justly deserves to be chastised for discriminating against and not considering the present house as viable. “This is begging the question at best,” Flynn says. “It relies on an out-moded 1970s concept, and the town serving ordinance applies only to retail and restaurant establishments.” The study itself says that there is no agreement among the council that the theater – as a non-profit community serving entity -- falls into the Town Serving category, and further the theater maybe grandfathered. The third glaring misrepresentation of the study is that there are “a number of midsize halls” in the area with better facilities. The only “halls” in the area with 600 and 700 seats respectively are the Himmel Theater at City Place and the Gublemann Auditorium in Palm Beach which does not take rentals. In another market, the Maltz theater in Jupiter (550 seats) is thriving with the subscription season. Its business model most closely resembles that of the Palm Beach Theater Guild. “It is a reckless misrepresentation to equate the Royal Poinciana Playhouse with ‘halls’ in the area.” Flynn continues. “Webb management did not consider a change of use of the house from a theater that books-in rentals to a resident regional subscription theater. This is inexcusable and hardly objective.” “Rehashing old ideas is not going to move us forward,” Flynn adds. “We’ve already debunked many of them especially the notion that thePalm Beach Theater Guild cannot raise the money and hire excellent professional management to restore and operate the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. We count among our board members top New York theater producers and owners. What’s missing in the charts and analysis of the Webb Study is a measure of the quality that is the legacy of the RPP, and its what the greater Palm Beach community has come to expect and the Palm Beach Theater Guild is capable of delivering.” Flynn went on to say that the demographics of the greater Palm Beach community suggest that traditional Broadway musicals and plays will draw audiences that warrant a mid-sized theater of 850 seats. The Palm Beach Theater Guild executed a non-disclosure agreement with Webb Management and made that company privy to its business plans. Both our consultants had more local knowledge of producing theater, and producing in the Royal Poinciana Playhouse than any one in the Webb Management group. “Smaller space requirements can be accommodated by our designers, but let’s not be short sighted and miss the unforgettable, general audience shows and theater that the RPP can draw and accommodate. We don’t want to give up extra seating capacity. It is not economical to do so” said Flynn. Feasibility Study Questions Palm Beach Theater Guild's Plan for Restoring Royal Poinciana Playhouse The Palm Beach Theater Guild probably shouldn't manage the Royal Poinciana Playhouse, even if the building is restored, according to theater consultant Duncan Webb's report on the feasibility of reopening the playhouse. "The guild's efforts are well-intended," said Webb's report, which was released Tuesday. "But the plan is too risky and their business planning work is far from complete." Webb's report was commissioned by Sterling Palm Beach, the investor group that assumed control of the Royal Poinciana Plaza in April. "In effect, Duncan Webb simply repeated his previous study for another developer," he said. "He is less direct, but he is on the same track — that is, build a smaller house for Florida Stage." Flynn said he sent e-mails to 1,000 recipients Tuesday to solicit input for the guild's response to the report. Webb produced a study in 2004 for J.F. Brennan Design/Build LLC and The Dawsco Group, which then had a contract with the plaza's owners to develop the site. In that study, he questioned the viability of an 878-seat playhouse. The report proposed reducing the number of seats to between 250 and 350 and presented two options: a multi-use facility that would be managed by an experienced operator or a new home for Florida Stage. Sterling Palm Beach would retain ownership of the property under either scenario. The guild released a feasibility study in April estimating that it would cost about $3.8 million to upgrade and repair the 1957 playhouse, which has been shuttered since 2004. The group proposed starting a nonprofit theater company that would produce shows and rent the space to other users. Webb's report is skeptical about the guild's low construction estimates and wary of starting a new producing organization in "a well-developed and competitive theater market," especially when the guild has "no internal skills and resources in the production of theater." Furthermore, an 878-seat theater is not financially viable, Webb says. Flynn said he stands behind the guild's construction estimates and criticized the recommendation to reduce the number of seats. "We need the 800 seats," he said. Flynn said the guild has a strong board and could hire experienced management. He contested Webb's assertion that there wasn't enough demand from existing arts groups to rent the theater. Errors in the Webb Report Page 2 - The report states “a particular challenge has emerged as a group of local citizens are promoting the idea of land-marking the Plaza and Playhouse.” WRONG - The landmarks status was voted on unanimously after careful study by the Landmarks Preservation of Palm Beach. Page 11 – “The organization (Palm Beach Theater Guild) does not have paid staff…” WRONG. Page 18 – CONCLUSIONS: “There is a lack of demand from existing arts organizations interested in renting the Playhouse in its current shape and capacity.” WRONG.
RIGHT ANSWER: Since 2006, the Palm Beach Theater Guild has offered to Mr. Spiegel, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Kosoy to lease the Playhouse. We have found demand from our Performance Partners (Ballet Florida, Palm Beach Symphony, Palm Beach Opera, Palm Beach Principal Players, Palm Beach Atlantic University, the PlayGround Theatre). There is also numerous others for single events, co-productions, in addition to a regional theater season and summer musical for a general theater. There is a bountiful rental demand for a historic and already branded theatrical house – The Royal Poinciana Playhouse. The Webb Study does not address the Poinciana Playhouse transitioning from a booking house to a regional theater. We believe this is conscious and egregious omission. “There is unproven demand for presenting activity at that capacity, and the departure of Clear Channel is testament to that challenge.” HALF RIGHT, HALF WRONG. RIGHT ANSWER: All demand is unproven. The closest example we have to the business model of the Palm Beach Theater is the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, which is very healthy and operating with 550 seats. WRONG ANSWER: The departure of Clear Channel was occasioned by two factors. One the house was too small – not too large for Clear Channel. Secondly, Clear Channel had very little product or content (mostly straight plays) to program in the house. Finally as a chain Clear Channel could not develop local demand for rentals or local demand for programming, it was not part of their scope. We particularly fault Duncan Webb as a professional for this kind of nonsense.
“The capacity is too large to be supported by local audiences.” WRONG. RIGHT ANSWER: There is nothing that can support this assertion that is without merit. Our marketing studies for subscription audiences and single tickets prove the contrary.
“There are a number of mid-size halls in the regional market with better facilities and the resources to compete for audiences and programs.” WRONG and FALSE. RIGHT ANSWER: The are only one mid-size “HALL” in the area and that is Himmel Theater (600) at City Place (Please note spelling.) The other mid-size theaters are the Maltz in Jupiter (550) and the Four Arts Gublemman Auditorium (700). The use of the word “HALL” for a comparison is very unprofessional. The Himmel “Theater” (a converted Methodist Church) is not remotely comparative to the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. The Maltz in Jupiter has its own regional subscription season and is doing very well. The Gublemman Auditorium is not for rent.
The report recommends that an existing non-profit take over the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. We have an existing non-profit named Palm Beach Theater Guild. Ideally the report recommends that a non-profit be formed for this purpose. This is why (to Save and Operate Royal Poinciana Playhouse) the Palm Beach Theater Guild was formed. In effect Duncan Webb simply repeated his previous study for another developer. He is less direct, but he is on the same track – that is build a smaller house for Florida Stage. CONTACT Patrick Henry Flynn Lenna Warner The developers already have a viable option on the table, Flynn said. "Why don't they just take our offer?" he said. "It's risky no matter who does it, but we are willing to pay for the risk."
Click below to see Our Plan for the Theater The Celebrity Room Ceiling Mural by Robert Bushnell The mural is 45 feet long by 30 feet wide and is titled " Venetian Festival," although some liked to call it the scene of a Venetian carnival. It was depicted in early Royal Poinciana Playhouse programs, including those of 1963 and 1967. It took artist Robert Bushnell two years to complete. Images were painted with oils onto four panels and then installed by artisans from New York. It was unveiled in 1957. It contained portraits of 125 international stars of stage and screen, a few internationally famous people, and local Palm Beach luminaries such as John and Jane Volk, Frank Hale, Paul Crabtree and Lilly Pulitzer. Some claim that President Kennedy was a later addition. Mural portraits included Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Helen Hayes, Mary Martin, Fred Astaire, Tallulah Bankhead, Katharine Cornell, and Yul Brynner. Preservation Online CLICK HERE for a list of plays that have been performed since 1958. |
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Council to discuss taking Royal Poinciana Playhouse from Thursday, February 14, 2008 After a long standoff over the future of the Royal Poinciana Playhouse, the town soon might attempt to force owner Sidney Spiegel to the negotiating table. The Town Council decided Tuesday to discuss at its March 11 meeting using condemnation to take the Royal Poinciana Playhouse site from Spiegel. Councilman Denis Coleman suggested the idea, saying Spiegel hasn't negotiated with the town in good faith. "It seems we cannot get Mr. Spiegel's attention," he said. "I have a feeling we're going to get it now." Spiegel could not be reached for comment Wednesday. His attorney, James Brindell, did not return a call seeking comment. Spiegel has sought since 2001 to raze the theater and redevelop the site with a hotel or luxury condominiums. But he has failed to obtain a zoning change to would allow that. Once a cornerstone of the town's entertainment scene, the theater has been dark since 2004, when the last operator pulled out. Spiegel says it is no longer economically viable. The town says the 50-year-old theater is protected from demolition by a 1979 property-use agreement between the town and the previous owner of the Royal Poinciana Plaza and Playhouse. The agreement requires the theater to be used as a performing arts venue and is binding on the current owner, a judge has ruled. Spiegel has appealed the ruling to a federal court, and the theater remains shuttered. Meanwhile, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously recommended last year that landmark protection be assigned to the 12-acre plaza site, including the Playhouse. The plaza and Playhouse were designed in the Regency style by noted architect John Volk. Spiegel opposes landmarking the property. The council has twice granted his request for six-month delays of the landmarking hearing. The hearing is now set for April. Coleman has said Spiegel's hands are tied and that the theater has become a "faux asset" for Spiegel, who must maintain and pay taxes on it even though it no longer produces revenue. "As a landlord, he is deficient in maintaining the property," Coleman said Tuesday. "As a man who has an agreement with the town, he is in default. ... Even were the owner to come forward now, there is little basis for believing that, in the future, he would abide by a new agreement." He also suggested the town consider suing Spiegel for damages. The plaza and theater are at a highly visible location, next to one of the three bridge entrances to the town, Coleman pointed out. If the town takes the property, a referendum should be held to decide its use. "I have no agenda of what I want to do with this property," Coleman said in an interview Wednesday. "It could be used as a theater or something else. All I want is for the town to get control of it. I would prefer to get control in a negotiated fashion. But the further we go down this road without him, the more difficult it is to retrace our steps." Patrick Flynn, president of the Palm Beach Theater Guild, said the organization welcomes a dialogue on condemnation. The guild favors landmarking the Playhouse and wants to operate it, but Spiegel won't negotiate with the group. Town Attorney John Randolph said Wednesday that he could recall no eminent domain proceedings by the town since he became town attorney in 1979. The process requires several steps, beginning with meetings to solicit public comment, he said. The council would have to adopt a resolution declaring a public purpose and necessity for the Playhouse site. That would be followed by a court hearing. If a judge found that there was a public purpose and need for condemnation, there would be trial to determine the compensation due the owner. Throughout the process, there would be an opportunity for Spiegel to negotiate an agreement with the town, Randolph said.
HISTORIC PLAYHOUSE CAN'T BE RAZED, JUDGE RULES BYLINE: TIM O'MEILIA, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer The 49-year-old Royal Poinciana Playhouse cannot be demolished as its owner wishes, a judge ruled Tuesday. The playhouse, host to such old-time luminaries as Helen Hayes, Dame Judith Anderson and Christopher Plummer, must be maintained as a performing arts venue under a 1979 agreement between the town and the owner of the theater and surrounding Royal Poinciana Plaza, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge David Crow said in a 12-page ruling. "We're overjoyed. It's just amazing. It's a complete victory," said Patrick Flynn, president of the Palm Beach Theater Guild, a grass-roots group formed to save the playhouse from the wrecking ball.
The 1957 Royal Poinciana Playhouse must remain an arts venue and cannot be demolished, according to a decision by Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge David Crow today. Embroiled in a long-running dispute, Sidney Spiegel, who is the owner of the theater property; the Town of Palm Beach and a community organization supporting the theater asked the court to decide if a 1979 agreement requiring the property to remain an arts venue is valid. Saying the theater, which went dark in May 2004, is no longer profitable, Spiegel wanted to tear it down to build a luxury hotel. He argued that the agreement was no longer valid because numerous zoning changes made over the years that allowed further development of the property cancelled the early agreement. But Crow disagreed. "From 1984, [Spiegel] executed approximately 17 amendments to the Agreement and on each occassion reaffirmed that all remaining terms and conditions of the 1979 Agreement shall remain in full force and effect," Crow wrote in his decision. "At no time until August 2001, did Mr. Spiegel ever advise the Town or suggest that the 1979 Agreement was ineffective or had been voided by 'further development possibilities.' " Since 2005, a nonprofit community group, the Palm Beach Theater Guild, opposed Spiegel's plan and fought to preserve the theater. The Guild wants to run the theater and allow community performing arts organizations to hold events there. The owners of the Royal Poinciana Playhouse cannot demolish the theater and must operate it as a performing arts venue, a judge has ruled. In a 12-page decision released Tuesday, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge David Crow found that the Playhouse owners are bound by a 1979 property use agreement that protects the 878-seat theater for use as an arts and lecture venue. The plaza's owners, Poinciana Management, sued the town in 2005, asking a judge to find that the agreement had been nullified by zoning changes since 1979 that allowed for "further development possibilities." The town reached the agreement as part of a zoning variance granted to the plaza's previous owner in March 1979, eight months before a group led by Sidney Spiegel bought the 12-acre property. The agreement was binding on future owners, and the town maintained that it remains in effect. In his ruling, Crow noted that, from 1984 until 2001, Spiegel affirmed in each of 18 amendments to the agreement that its restrictions, including the Playhouse protection, remained in full force. Spiegel has said the Playhouse, dark since 2004, is no longer economically viable. His proposal to raze it and redevelop the waterfront site ignited an outcry from preservationists and theater supporters who want to preserve the 49-year-old theater designed by noted architect John Volk. Crow, who presided over a trial on May 7-8, wrote that the court "is not unsympathetic to the plaintiff's position that the Poinciana Playhouse is economically unviable. ... The plaintiff's remedy, however, is not in the courts but with the Town Council." Town Attorney John Randolph announced the decision during Tuesday's Town Council meeting shortly after it was released. "It was a well-written and well-researched opinion which was fully supported by the facts and testimony to the court," Randolph said later. Patrick Flynn, president of the Palm Beach Theater Guild, enthusiastically welcomed Crow's ruling. The guild has sued the plaza owners in an effort to force them to allow the guild to operate the Playhouse. "This is great news," Flynn said. "The question is whether they will appeal or not." Spiegel said only that he was "disappointed" by the ruling. Plaza attorney Linda Conahan could not be reached for comment. --Patrick Henry Flynn, President Palm Beach Theater Guild, Inc. POB 667, Palm Beach, FL 33480 T. 561 366-8980; F. 561 833-6865 www.pbtheaterguild.org
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