Philadelphia as "Premiere City'

A modest theater proposal:
Repackage Philadelphia as 'Premiere City'

ARMEN PANDOLA

Has anyone noticed how many new theater works are being performed in Philadelphia this year?

My rough count is “a lot.” Some companies (the Wilma, Philadelphia Theatre Co. and InterAct come to mind) are devoted to staging new works; others make them a regular part of their schedule.

So, why don’t we repackage Philadelphia as “Premiere City?” Every city needs a readily identifiable phrase to promote itself. We all know what New York is, and we have a pretty good idea when we think of other cities. But Philadelphia’s star seems to get lost in the glare of the Big Apple’s shine while other nearby places have captured the “edgy” moniker. It’s time we re-made ourselves.

Re-making one’s self follows the best theatrical tradition. Many of our greatest theatrical works (My Fair Lady, say, or M. Butterfly), deal with characters who remake themselves. Why not a whole city? Yes, Philadelphia already has a New Play festival. But I’m talking a major makeover, not just a nip and tuck.

A nationwide contest

First, we create a Premiere City New Play contest for the whole country. That’s right: We announce that the entire Philadelphia theater community will stage a competition for new plays. The 30 (or 50— whatever number of theaters participate) “finalists” win full-scale productions at the theater that selects them. The theater companies stage their choices throughout the year to suit their schedules. That way, at any one time, some new play finalist is sure to be playing some place in the city.

Next, we do not create a panel of judges. We want people who actually see the plays– not the Barrymore approach of sending canaries down the aisle to see who survives, but real judges– people who actually buy a ticket to see a play. In my vision, every person who buys a ticket gets a chance to vote. And we weigh each vote based on the size of the venue, so that it’s one ticket, one vote. This is what is known in the PR business as the “American Idol” model. Do you think a big chunk of America watches those vocally challenged screamers because they love Celine Dion imitators so much? No, they watch because they vote, which makes them feel involved. Jefferson and Madison, you may recall, came up with a similar idea right here in Philadelphia, and without the benefit of TV.

As for the funding….

Then, we finance this scheme by charging an extra dollar for every hotel room rented in the city. At last count, about 3 million hotel rooms are occupied in Center City each year. You do the math. We apportion this annual $3 million by theater company, based on each company’s prior year production budget, so each company gets its fair share.

The end result is that each year Philadelphia will attract a huge number of topnotch playwrights eager to see their plays performed in “Premiere City,” America’s leading showcase for new theater.

Here is an exciting answer to those urbanologists who worry that Philadelphia— once known as “the workshop of the world”— no longer makes anything. We can make new plays, every year, just the way we used to make railroad engines and Stetson hats.

A few obstacles

Obviously my “Premiere City” proposal wouldn’t be implemented easily. A critical mass of theater companies and hotels would have to be sold on the idea. Theater companies by their nature are highly individualistic and often prefer to go their separate ways. Some of our leading theater companies— the Walnut, say, or the Arden or the Lantern— tend to shy away from new works and prefer to mine the existing proven repertoire or to dust off old and overlooked classics.

True enough. But the benefits of my scheme outweigh the disadvantages. Most theater companies— including the three I mentioned above— produce new works from time to time (especially the Walnut at its upstairs black-boxes). No doubt they’d do so more often if they were convinced that a large audience exists for new plays.

Maybe you haven’t noticed, but Philadelphia is a real theater town now, with tens of thousands of people each week going to see theater. The next logical step is to shine our collective lights on the best show around: Premiere City.



To read responses, click here.
To read a response by Jim Rutter, click here.
To read a response by Dan Rottenberg, click here.