MANASQUAN — Nestled behind Main Street, the Algonquin Arts Theatre has called the borough home for more than 90 years, presenting the greater community with hundreds of theatrical performances, musical acts and art installations over the years.
Executive Director Pamela Ward took time ahead of the theater’s fall production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” to give The Coast Star a tour around the theater to provide insight into the constructed chaos that is running a performing arts theater.
With a seating capacity of 517, the venue’s sole theater hosts dramatic productions, Christmas shows, jazz ensembles and other musical groups. The theater also has a classic movie concession stand serving popcorn, candy and other goodies.
“For the most part, we operate at an 88% capacity, which is great,” Ward said.
The theater stages eight different shows per year, typically with six musicals and two non-musicals.
BEHIND THE SCENES
The process of selecting what shows to perform is as collaborative as it is tumultuous for Ward and the Algonquin team.
“We don’t have a dedicated artistic director, which is a little bit different than a lot of other theaters,” Ward said. “There are sort of no unilateral artistic decisions that are made here, nobody comes in and says ‘this is what we’re doing’ so the beginning of the process is a bit of a mess because anybody can request something.”
The theater’s selection process begins with the first show of the season in July, which is usually the venue’s family-friendly production. This year, the Algonquin Arts Theatre presented “CATS!” The Algonquin switched gears for its next production, “Spring Awakening,” which drew 200 actors to audition for the cast of 15.
“It’s always in our minds, to say what can we get that’s really going to be engaging for actors and artistic staff that’s going to be something that isn’t necessarily done a lot elsewhere that is going to be the big risk we take,” Ward said of the annual August production.
With the other six performances hosted by the Algonquin Arts Theatre every season, Ward said it boils down to two simple questions, “What’s the story? Do we want to tell this story?”
The collaborative process involves all members of the Algonquin community, whether they are on staff or not. Starting with interests and “wish list items” from the venue’s executive team, the process funnels out to past artistic directors and ultimately circles in recurring patrons.
The pre-season list ultimately arrives at a final 10 viable option, according to Ward.
With each production roughly costing the venue between $90,000 to $120,000 according to Ward, covering cost is “the first hurdle to get over” for the theater.
“We are very conscious of operating efficiently and operating responsibly,” Ward said.
Planning productions two years in advance, she said, is “definitely a gamble” because “anything can happen.”
In March 2020, something did happen and it affected not only independent theater operators, but the entire globe. Although the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t the hardest era in her 10 years at the Algonquin, Ward said, “it was hellish.”
As mandates were lifted the stage was set, starting with a one-man production of “A Christmas Carol.” Even when the house was dark, the staff worked throughout the duration of the pandemic, applying for grants, hosting online and socially distanced in-person classes and doing just about anything they could to make use of the theater’s premier space, Ward said.
“As awful as it was,” she said, “ we always knew what we had to do, we always knew what job we had to do to get through that period.”
STORIED HISTORY
Algonquin Arts Theatre has been a landmark on Main Street dating back to the 1930s. To this day, the theater continues to preserve pieces from throughout the venue’s storied history, most notably the neon green marquee from the original structure that continues to greet visitors upon entry.
“We have a lot of people that will come in here like, ‘Oh, I went on my first date here in 1961 and went to the Algonquin to see a movie,’ so there’s a ton of nostalgia and history here in Manasquan,” Ward said.
The venue first opened in 1938 as a first-run movie house showing films such as “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.”
The theater was a movie venue until the mid-1970s, when according to the theater’s organizational overview, “age, disrepair and competition drove it into second-run film house status” ultimately resulting in the theater’s closure in 1981.
The building that currently sits on the theater property sat neglected for a decade, until 1992 when two local couples purchased the property and embarked on a large-scale renovation project, according to Ward. The couple went on to co-found Algonquin Arts: A New Jersey Non-Profit Corporation and converted the derelict structure into a year-‘round theater and education center.
In 2009, the Board of Trustees of Algonquin Arts purchased the theater from the founders and moved forward with additional capital improvements, according to Ward.
‘JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT’
The Algonquin Arts Theater team will be in full force on Friday, Oct. 11 for the opening performance of its current production, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
With eight performances between Oct. 11 and 20, with shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, the Broadway staple features music by Andrew Lloyd Weber and lyrics by Tim Rice.
It was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score.
For more information on the Algonquin Arts Theatre and tickets to the venue’s upcoming production, visit algonquinarts.org.
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