Surely this wasn't what architect Herbert J. Krapp imagined. As theatres sprung up all over Philadelphia in the mid-to-late 1990s, Krapp's 1928 landmark, the Shubert Organization's majestic Forrest Theatre, remained dark. No more. For the first time since the close of the 1993-94 theatre season, the 1,800 seat Forrest, Philadelphia's largest theatre, is offering a full slate of shows.
Starting Jan. 16 with "Contact," no less than seven productions will make their Philadelphia premiers at the historic theatre.
According to Forrest General Manager Mark Schweppe, the reason for this welcome influx of entertainment is twofold. Previously open only for 18-week runs of "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Miss Saigon," Schweppe observes, "it was difficult to accommodate a season when these behemoths came in and took up all that time." But now "the economics have changed back. The mega hits had grown older and weren't really as viable."
However, money was not the only consideration for the change in scheduling. With shows like "Contact," "Mamma Mia," "Saturday Night Fever" and "Copenhagen" on tour, Schweppe feels that "this year there was just so much product, we went back to the series."
Now in direct competition with the Merriam Theater, the city's only other major touring house, Schweppe admits that there is a bidding war "for some shows. If you look at the shows that have had longer runs at the Merriam, those are the shows that might have come to the Forrest." However, where the Merriam has only six day runs, Schweppe points out that "this season the average [Forrest] show is three-weeks long and then "Mamma Mia" is six weeks, so that's our range."
One difficulty for any Philadelphia touring house is its proximity to New York, previously leading to a number of tours skipping or delaying a visit to the City of Brotherly Love. "The only reason we get shows so late is that there is a mindset that says that we are too close to New York" Schweppe explains. "'Beauty and the Beast' came for the first time in 1999, six years after they won the Tony. I mean that's ridiculous. Our survey's have shown that 75% percent of our audience does not go to New York. Clearly there is a huge market out here. Why people wait so long to bring any show to the Merriam or the Forrest is beyond me."
As for the impact of Sept. 11 on the Forrest's brisk ticket sales, Schweppe agrees that, "certainly right after the event people were afraid to go in to the city [and] I think you'll see that theatres across the country are doing better." But he adds that, "people love coming to this theatre. It is a comfortable place [and] they know this is where the premier shows come."
Regarding the Forrest's future, Schweppe says that while the subscription series will continue, another seven-show season is unlikely. "I think that was an extraordinary opportunity. To be honest there is a huge expense with doing a subscription series, especially the start-up costs. So to do it for one year just doesn't make economic sense. Clearly we are in it for the foreseeable future."