THE ARTS DISTRICT

A tale of two venues

By Robert von Stein Redick

Here’s an interesting he said/he said for you. For the past four months, says Michael Tobin in a press release sent out Friday, March 23, he and his team at the newly-formed MainePlay Productions have lived week to week, performance to performance, under the shadow of eviction. He says that the owners of their venue, the Keystone Theatre Café, have been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, and had put the word out to Tobin that he could be out on the street with as little as two weeks’ notice, if and when a new investor for the 504 Congress Street property could be found.

Such an investor did step forward, the press release goes on to say, apparently with the intention of maintaining Keystone as a cinema. The deal was uncertain, however, and Tobin says that owners Jim Flanagan and Bill Allen asked Tobin not to go public. Tobin says he cooperated — up to a point. “Even if they were to take over,” he says, “I had very little indication that they would have me stay.”

Bill Allen offers a different story. “It’s a little premature for him to be talking about that,” Allen says of any potential suitors. “We’re in business, and people talk, but until I see some cash on the table we’re not going anywhere. I think Mike has heard some things and filled in the blanks.”

As for why Tobin would release what he did, Allen is understanding. “I think he’s a little concerned and upset that we’re not playing his plays here anymore,” says Allen, who is under the impression that Keystone was the one severing ties. “It was for financial reasons,” says Allen, but it was that “His plays aren’t equaling the revenue of a movie. Even though he’s done a really good job, we just need a bigger audience to keep it going. Our agreement with MainePlay was a ‘let’s try it and see how it goes.’ Some of his plays did well and lately it hasn’t done so well. He came to the end of that last play, and wanted it to continue, and it didn’t.”

What a way to launch a company. MainePlay productions is two-thirds through its first, and, according to Tobin, very crowded, season, “and we’re actually doing well,” he maintains. For a startup, that’s an understatement: according to the company’s figures, more than 4000 people have attended shows since the opening in November. A Christmas Carol, their unsurprising top earner, sold out 12 of its 16 performances. Tobin didn’t want to jinx that kind of success with an unexplained retreat from the Keystone. “I had to come forward and be honest with people. I don’t want it to seem like we’re leaving because of us.”

Enter the Arts Conservatory Theatre & Studio (ACTS) at 341 Cumberland Avenue. With many dark days on the calendar and an upgraded performance space (featuring chairs from the Oak Street Theater; how’s that for good karma?), ACTS seems like the perfect fit. “The only difference is that we won’t be a dinner theater anymore,” muses Tobin. “But it’s real nice to just go in and do the show as well.” Apparently, their new hosts agree: MainePlay and ACTS have already begun discussions about a longer-term relationship. To the surprise of many in the theater business, this upstart company appears to have more than its foot in the door. Let’s hope the lines of communication stay open.