When it comes to the ethos of the Flathead, long-standing traditions are often at the root of beloved activities and characteristics.
We judge the summer season by how bountiful the cherry and huckleberry crops are, the winter by the snowfall on the ski hills, and the fall by how well the leaves turn and how our local sports teams play.
For many, the last 56 summers haven’t been complete without taking in a show at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts, when the cast and crew with the Bigfork Summer Playhouse pull out all stops during their repertory schedule.
And with the ink drying on a recent lease agreement with the BCPA Foundation, the BSP will continue to take the stage in the Village by the Bay for at least the next decade.
The foundation and the theater group came to an agreement on the lease after a negotiation that, at times, was fraught with emotion and tension. Brach Thomson, the associate producer, company manager, and music director at BSP, said the original lease renewal proposed increasing the rent price along with a new $1-per-ticket theater enhancement and preservation fee, which, according to the Foundation, is a typical part of ticket pricing for the other BCPA tenants.
Thomson said he takes issue with the fee, because in his eyes it’s a donation, and a donation shouldn’t be mandatory.
“I have to tell my patrons that it costs more money that I then have to give someone else,” Thomson said.
The fee made it into the signed lease, as well as a baseline cost of $35,000 or 8 percent of the gross ticket sales, whichever is more, Thomson said.
“It still looks out for us if it’s not a good year, and they stand to make out well if they can help us have a better year,” he said.
Thomson acknowledged that the negotiation process was “heated” from his perspective, and wanted the public to know that despite the process, the show will go on in the summer of 2016.
“Folks can rest assured that it’s happening,” Thomson said. “We opened up our gift certificate sales for the holidays.”
Walter Kuhn, a member of the BCPA Foundation, said the summer theater is an integral piece of Bigfork’s identity. Neither the theater nor the theater company would be where they are today without the other, Kuhn said, making the relationship between the two entities more layered than a traditional rental agreement.
“It’s more of a partnership than a landlord-tenant relationship,” Kuhn said.
Adding a $1 fee to ticket prices isn’t unique to the Bigfork theater, Kuhn said, and all of the money raised in both rent and the new fee go back into the preservation and maintenance of the theater. Plus, Kuhn said, any improvements made in the theater directly benefit the Playhouse.
The Foundation estimated that the fee would bring in up to $27,000 annually, Kuhn said, with Playhouse ticket sales contributing up to $20,000 as the primary user at the facility.
“We didn’t invent this fee,” Kuhn said. “This is a fairly common vehicle now to raise money for performing arts theaters.”
According to the Foundation, roughly 30,000 theatergoers provide an economic base in Bigfork by visiting restaurants and retail businesses on their trips to the theater.
In a statement about the lease, the Foundation acknowledged the nature of the lease negotiations, but said the symbiotic relationship between the theater company and the center was never in doubt.
“News that the BSP lease was up for renewal resulted in a lot of misinformation circulating in the community, which grew into rumors that the BCPAF was trying to force the BSP out of business by doubling the rent, limiting performances to just a few a week and that the BCPA was not supportive of the BSP, which was false information,” the Foundation wrote.
Thomson’s parents, Jude and Don Thomson, took over the Summer Playhouse in 1968, after it was created in 1960. In 1984, the BCPA Foundation formed to build and operate a new theater in Bigfork, leading a $750,000 campaign to build the 435-seat facility.
The theater was expanded in 2004, and a new $1.1 million lobby was added in 2009.
The 2016 summer season is sure to capture the hearts and minds of its audience, Thomson said, with the lineup featuring “Church Basement Ladies” as an early opening season teaser, and a repertory schedule featuring “42nd Street,” “Shrek,” “Young Frankenstein,” and one more yet-to-be-named production.
Summer traditions will continue, Thomson said, and any feelings bruised in the negotiation process will heal. In the end, an agreement was made, and now the Playhouse is preparing for another busy season on stage.
“We’re excited about it,” Thomson said.
For more information on the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, visit www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com. For more information on the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts, visit www.bigforkcenter.org.