The Dallas Summer Musicals and the Majestic Theatre

By

Lawson Taitte/Theater Critic

3:53 PM on Thu., May. 14, 2009 | Permalink

We ran a story this morning taken from a WFAA-TV news report last night about the Dallas Summer Musicals' management group deciding not to manage downtown's Majestic Theatre any longer. I talked to DSM president Michael A. Jenkins today about the story -- I was worried that his company no longer intended to present or produce in the Majestic space, long the home of its winter series (and recently the venue for Frost/Nixon and The Pajama Game tours).

Jenkins said that the story didn't include the whole picture. In June, DSM's 10-year lease to manage the Majestic expires. He doesn't want to renew it under the current terms because, he says, $1 million over the last decade. His group isn't averse to submitting a new proposal to manage the building, according to Jenkins -- so long as it is protected against such a loss. Not only will all the DSM events booked into the Majestic take place as previously announced, the company is booking shows into the space next year. It even hopes to produce a prominent world premiere there -- to make that happen, Jenkins will be on a plane to New York tomorrow.

I'm sure part of the Summer Musicals' upsetment over its terms at the Majestic involves the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, set to open in the fall. It will host a series in direct competition with DSM -- and the city is being asked to subsidize the venue, while he's been losing money on a city-owned space. We'll wait and see whether the DSM management group will still be in control of the Majestic after all, on more favorable terms.

(File photo of Michael Jenkins at last year's DSM gala, along with Dolly Parton -- who wrote the songs for the current Broadway musical 9 to 5, partially backed by the Dallas organization.)

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Archived Comments

Posted by GaibreLeave @ 1:30 AM Wed, Sep 23, 2009

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Posted by Indiciara @ 2:03 PM Wed, Sep 23, 2009

more about it

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