Cleveland Public Theatre’s Executive Artistic Director and CEO Ray Bobgan thinks the capital improvements now being done at the theater’s campus will ensure it no longer will be the architectural wallflower of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.
“We are kind of invisible right now,” Bobgan said. “People do not even know we’re here.”
Melissa Waddell, Cleveland Public Theatre’s director of development, agreed with Bobgan’s assessment.
“You could drive right by the theater and not realize it, especially if you were coming from downtown,” she said.
The $12 million project will increase that visibility with improvements to its Gordon Square Theatre lobby, classroom, church and parish hall and the building’s exterior.
Bobgan said the one groundbreaking thing the theater will have is a see-through video screen.
“It will be more subtle but you will be able to see into the room,” he said.
With updates to classroom and rehearsal spaces, Bobgan said people will feel more valued and have increased pride in their work there.
The church space will be expanded and converted into classroom space for the theater’s education program. The former church has been part of the campus for years but has not been as useful as it could be because it does not have a bathroom and is not handicapped accessible.
Bobgan said talks began in 2018 of what the future of the theater should look like and a strategic plan was then developed a couple years later, and now that vision is coming to fruition.
The new façade and the majority of the work on the main campus is expected to be done by September while the church build-out has a Nov. 1, 2026 completion date.
The build-out on the church space will make it ADA compliant and the changes will make it clearer what is happening inside to the people walking past the building.
Waddell said the expanded space will allow for more artistic innovation.
“Sometimes artistic projects require space for a lot of time,” she said. “This will help directors who want to do those types of collaborations.”
The revamped classroom space also should boost the teen program, Waddell said. “This will elevate and celebrate them.”
She added the theater is open to the idea that there may be other things that can be done in the new and renovated space that no one has thought of yet.
“We want to remain open to other possibilities,” Waddell said. “We’re not afraid to look at other things.”
Posssible subhead: Neighborhood support is vital
People in the neighborhood also feel invested in the theater, Bobgan said.
“The majority of our audience don’t consider themselves theatergoes,” he added.
The reason many of them come, Bobgan added, is because of Cleveland Public Theatre’s tradition of tackling social issues and being inclusive and giving voice to many different groups.
This includes the Teatro Publico de Cleveland and the Masrah Cleveland Al-Arab troupes of Latin and Arab artists that each stage at least one show every season.
Bobgan said $10.5 million has been raised for the $12 million project.
Waddell added that there have been ongoing conversations with other potential donors and believes that the funding gap will be closed soon.
“We are really, really grateful for people that always step up to support us,” she said.
Bobgan also is happy to have Marous Brothers Construction on the project. “They always talk about building something that they can be proud of,” he said.
The theater also has helped spur development and business in the neighborhood.
He also appreciates the way development is happening now in the Detroit Shoreway area. New construction is happening on land that had been vacant.
“People are not being displaced by these projects,” Bobgan said. “The Gordon Square Arts District has a lot of momentum right now.”
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Cleveland Public Theatre has been doing tours to show people what is going to be done on the property. Feb. 11 a tour was done for neighboring businesses and organizations and one was done March 9 for theater makers.
Tours are planned April 16 for corporate sponsors and May 14 for donors and audiences. RSVP to Development Associate Jen Shepard at jsphepard@cptonline.org or 216-631-2727 Ext. 226 by April 14 for the corporate sponsors tour and by May 13 for the audience and donors tour.
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