IRT—The 1980s

Armin Shimerman (later a star of TV’s Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as jazz legend Bix Beiderbecke in Hoagy, Bix, and Wolfgang Beethoven Bunkhaus.

On October 24, 1980, IRT opened its first season in the Indiana Theatre with the world premiere of Adrian Mitchell’s Hoagy, Bix, and Wolfgang Beethoven Bunkhaus, staged by new artistic director Tom Haas. A Grand Opening Performance and Dedication began at 8:00 pm. In the audience was Hoagy Carmichael’s son, who retreated to the Hyatt Hotel across the street afterward to regale post-theatre partiers with his own piano performance. The bright lights of grand opening festivities could not overcome the shadow of debt that was darkening the mood in IRT’s administrative offices. The capital campaign, launched in 1979 to fund the renovation and move, had started off well: by the end of that year, IRT had raised $3.5 million of its more than $5 million goal. The problem was that the goal was flawed. According to Managing Director Ben Mordecai, “We opened construction bids and found that all the sophisticated estimating that our architect and construction manager had been doing were $1,750,000 wrong. We were over budget that much. The first thing I did was to go to the bar.”

The OneAmerica Mainstage under construction in April 1980 (six months before opening). Cabaret favorites Mark Goetzinger & Bernadette Galanti in Together Again (1986).

When Tom Haas arrived in Indianapolis, he brought a concept for using a 100-seat space in the newly renovated Indiana Theatre: the Cabaret. He tantalized theatregoers with the promise of “an intimate night-club setting, where our patrons will enjoy an evening of entertainment complete with bar service.” Audiences liked the idea. The cast typically comprised two men and two women, dressed in formal attire, who sang, bantered, and interacted with the audience. Clever themes, catchy music, and creative deliveries were the bill of fare. From 1981 to 1989, the Cabaret packed ’em in.

Scott Wentworth in Coming Attractions (1982).

For his second season, Tom Haas instituted what the Marquee newsletter labeled IRT’s first official residence company. In Haas’s opinion, the benefits of securing a group of actors for an entire season favored both the Theatre and the players. “Resident actors learn to work as an ensemble and thereby shorten the period of adjustment in the first rehearsals of each new production,” the Marquee noted. “Another plus is that guest actors come into an existing company structure that will support them and, in turn, be refreshed and illuminated by them. The resident company also enables the IRT to do shows with larger casts and have the freedom to present a more varied fare. But above all, says Haas, ‘it is only through a resident company that a theatre can achieve a particular style that earmarks it or sets it apart from other theatres’ work.’” During the Thursday, January 14, 1982, performance of Ted Tally’s Coming Attractions on the Mainstage, a fire started in a production area of the Upperstage. In the bitter cold, nearly 600 ticketholders hurried across the street to the Hyatt Hotel as fire trucks roared to the scene. The fire on the Upperstage, which sustained significant damage, was quickly extinguished; but smoke and water damage to the rest of the building was devastating and costly. The police would ultimately assess the cause to be arson, arresting a troubled, young IRT employee who admitted to setting the blaze. Ben Mordecai told the Indianapolis Star, “Shortly after the fire had been put out, we began planning for a reopening. By noon Friday the Mainstage set was in trucks, and we had found a new location at Shortridge High School.” Within a week, the play reopened at 34th and Meridian at the old school, which had been closed for several months. Signs read, “Wanted: One More Miracle for 34th Street” and “Temporarily in Residence–Indiana Repertory Theatre.”

In June 1986, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported, “Since it relocated just six years ago, the Indiana Repertory Theatre has accumulated a debt of more than $1 million.” Renovation cost overruns plus accumulated operating deficits from nearly every year of the Theatre’s operation had created a desperate financial situation. Programming was trimmed and staff was restructured. In August, Richard O. Morris, IRT board vice chair, was asked to chair a volunteer Executive Committee that would supervise the Theatre’s financial matters. For the next four years, the committee met once a week. Morris reviewed all the bills and signed all the checks. Jack Shaw led an initiative to create a new accounting system and controls. Board members focused on increasing individual giving, while the Lilly Endowment, the Krannert Charitable Trust, and the Indianapolis Foundation gave significant grants. After four years of hard work, IRT proudly announced its first season with a balanced budget.

Henry J. Jordan, Bella Jarrett, Priscilla Lindsay, Lowry Miller, Avery Sommers, Barry McGuire, Craig Fuller, Chuck Cooper, & Frank Raiter in You Can’t Take It with You (1983). Richard O. Morris & Tom Haas.

The IRT Celebrity Radio Show is the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s annual fundraising event, an evening that celebrates and raises money to support what the IRT does best—putting together a night of high quality theatrical entertainment. Featuring a show cast with local business leaders and celebrities that will keep you in stitches, those Fabulous Torts will continue to sing the night away, and a silent auction that you will want to bid early and bid often on – it is a night you won’t want to miss!

EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS FOR UNPARALLELED SUPPORT

Celebrating our 50th season of engaging, inspiring, and entertaining ALL of Indiana!

PLEASE CONSIDER BECOMING A REPERTORY SOCIETY MEMBER! When you are part of the Repertory Society you are amongst our most generous supporters. Donors giving $1,500 or more each season will join this exclusive group and gain access to a wide variety of benefits that provide special access to our art and artists.

REPERTORY SOCIETY BENEFITS INCLUDE: Invitation to Exclusive Special Events, Unlimited Access to Our Exclusive Donor Lounges, Discounts on Single Tickets Purchased, and MUCH MORE!