Cover Story

By Kevin Lee Associate Editor

For the grand dame of Mobile venues, this is a return to a recent situation.

After just eight months in the Port City, Saenger Theatre General Manager Randy Schwoerer is resigning his position effective Feb. 8 and returning to his native state of Wisconsin.

Schwoerer will be assuming similar duties at the Stephanie H. Weill Performing Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisc., an 1,100-seat facility that hosts not only popular music but also symphonic and chorale productions.

The Spanish Colonial Revival-style Weill Center was built in 1928 and the stately theatre has played host to generations of luminaries such as Duke Ellington, the Marx Brothers, Guy Lombardo, Abbot and Costello and Glen Miller. It was renovated within the last few decades and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The 57-year-old Schwoerer was hired at the Saenger June 1, 2007 and said the decision wasn’t easy.

“My wife and I have totally fallen in love with Mobile, with the people here,” Schwoerer said. “We love the Saenger, the staff, the volunteers. And we don’t plan on leaving entirely since we have a house here and are keeping it. This is an opportunity to go to a stimulating, pleasant place that we couldn’t pass up.”

Sheboygan is his hometown and he still has family in the area.

“We went home for Christmas and I was going to buy tickets for Herman’s Hermits who were at the Weill Center,” Schwoerer relayed. “I told the person I talked to they were going to love to the show, that I had seen it at the facility I managed and it was great. They asked, ‘Well, then why don’t you come up here and manage this place?’ They kept calling and calling and calling. Finally I gave in.”

Schwoerer said he has been looking for a new position for about three months, and would have preferred to stay in Mobile. Schwoerer was originally brought in as the interim general manager for a six-month trial period. That interim period was extended after his initial six months were completed. He said the management of the Saenger is extremely important to the city’s continued success in hosting live music events.

“Whoever my successor is needs to understand that the Saenger isn’t just a place,” Schwoerer said. “It’s the most impactful memories of this community under a roof.”

Schwoerer replaced previous manager Allen Sanders who left the position March 9, 2007 after six years of nearly unprecedented success to manage the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa at the Convention Center, a new facility in Montgomery, Ala. Schwoerer mentioned Sanders’ legacy and the previous manager’s candor about his most recent success.

Sanders was an admitted recipient of fortune. “I hate to say this because so many people suffered as a result of it,” Sanders told Lagniappe in a 2007 interview, “but Hurricane Katrina helped us out. When the casinos were taken out of the mix, we got some shows they would’ve landed.”

“Allen and I talk,” Schwoerer recently said. “and he knows what that (Katrina) did for the Saenger. Those casinos were gone and suddenly all these national names were looking for a place to play on the Gulf Coast.”

The result has been an elevation in Mobile’s status among touring artists. Sanders noted in the 2007 interview many artists take an active interest in the facility after becoming acquainted with it.

“Allison Krauss and her people called from the road to make sure we were all okay,” Sanders recalled. “That was really satisfying to think we left enough of an impression on them that they pulled out a cell phone and called us to check up.”

Carlos Parkman, President of the Centre for the Living Arts non-profit agency that manages the 71-year-old Saenger in downtown seemed to take the news of Schwoerer’s departure in stride.

“We wish him all the best,” Parkman said. “His eight months here as interim director have been fun, he has a fun personality. We’ll miss him and his marketing talents.”

Parkman revealed there is no scramble for a replacement in effect yet.

“I’m sure we’ll find someone eventually,” Parkman said, “but right now we have such a great team in place, we’re just going ahead with what we have.” She particularly noted the capabilities of Assistant General Manager Chris Penton and Event Coordinator Patty Thompson and called to mind Penton’s performance filling in for the departed Sanders in mid-2007.

“The facility Randy’s going to sounds really nice,” Parkman said. “It’s a place like this one but different, too. These old theaters are really special places and there’s fewer and fewer of them.”

One change in the Saenger’s booking patterns may be in store. During Sanders’ period at the Saenger helm, the theatre began to exploit connections with various production companies who increased the quality of acts at the venue.

Local production companies such as Huka Productions complemented efforts from regional and national companies such as Exceptional Artists of Omaha, Neb., Outback Concerts of Nashville, Tenn., Live Nation of Beverly Hills, Cal. and Fantasma Productions of South Palm Beach, Fla.

Outback and Live Nation have been recent additions to the roster with Outback responsible for the John Prine concert and Live Nation for comedian Brian Regan’s date.

“With co-promotional events, we get to take advantage of the promotion company’s work,” Chris Penton explained. “Say, Allison Krauss signs to do five shows with Fantasma. Then Fantasma calls us and asks if we’d like to split costs and profits in order to grab one of those five spots. It’s a lot easier for us to get one of those big names like that, coming from a smaller market. On our own, we have to find people in just the right spot in their tour, maybe between dates in bigger cities.”

From Schwoerer’s description, the strategy worked wonders for more than just the theatre.

“People wanted to see these artists and the shows were selling out so quickly they had no choice but to join the Centre for the Living Arts to get priority on tickets,” Schwoerer said.

Those thoughts are echoed by others in the Centre for the Living Arts administrative offices..

“We definitely see increased membership with shows,” Jani Young said. As the executive assistant to President Parkman, Young processes the membership applications and is aware of a pattern. “The best example lately has been with the Jackson Browne show, that generated new members. Bonnie Raitt was huge for us. Willie Nelson was big, too. That entire year was very big.” The Browne, Raitt and Nelson shows were all Fantasma affiliated.

“CLA membership in 2007 was 753 members and we received $137,000 in contributions,” Parkman said. “Membership was close to the same in 2006, but we only received $113,000 in contributions. People are giving more because they like what we’re doing.”

Schwoerer is concerned with talk he’s heard that the facility may be changing it’s booking avenues and switching emphasis from co-promotionals to rentals only. He believes the evidence abundantly points to co-promotionals as the most beneficial tactic. But Parkman is evaluating the partnerships.

“Our deficit was large this year,” Parkman said. “We go back to the drawing board as any business does, and we’re a business like anybody else, and if we find that rentals are going to work best for us, then we’ll move in that direction.”

Parkman can see the success rate in the last decade. When the CLA took over management of the facility, the Saenger was only hosting about eight shows per year according to Parkman.

Allen Sanders became general manager Sept. 10, 2001 and fortunes gradually changed. Schwoerer said the Saenger was averaging about 12-15 big shows per year when he took over in mid-2007. Parkman stated the present rate of annual shows at 20-22 per year.

Penton said roughly 75 percent of the shows are co-promotionals.

“Since Allen came on board,” Parkman said, “the way he did it was to book rentals and co-promos and some were just our shows. Most have been co-promotionals. But every now and then we take a hit. We want to increase our profits and our number of rentals.”

Parkman said 2006 rentals numbered 87 while 2007 boasted 95 rentals.

“Of course,” Penton said, “the flip side is if you do lose money on a show, you lose less with a co-promotional. Somebody’s sharing the cost.”

The balance between the types of shows is still under consideration but recent success bears weight.

“We haven’t really discussed it in any detail yet,” Chair of the CLA Board of Directors Mike Rogers said. “We seem to do well with those shows we do with Fantasma. People are pretty pleased with the direction, with all the concerts that have been coming in and we don’t want to lose that momentum.”

Kevin Lee is Lagniappe associate editor. Contact him at klee@lagniappemobile.com.

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