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University Daily Kansan. January 13. 1983
Opera House to be entertainment school
SUSAN STANLEY
aff Reporter
caff Reporter
At the north end of Massachusetts Street, between a computer store and the former Union Bus Depot, sits the empty Lawrence Opera House.
Its four heavy, wooden doors are leather and the torn blue awning flaps in the broom.
The hall has been closed since late last year, but if plans go according to schedule, by the autumn of 1983 a national school for entertainers will open which will benefit Lawrence, Lee and others. Alternatives Inc., said yesterday
MANAGEMENT Alternatives, a firm based in Topeka that specializes in booking entertainment acts into motel and hotel lounges, is in the process of buying the Opera House. A Toplek bankruptcy judge had to approve the sale because the former owner, Skip Moon, filed for bankruptcy.
The firm now is making arrangements to begin a school for entertainers which will have a stage and audio and video recording equipment.
The firm will move its operations to
Lawrence when a renovation of the Orsena屋 is finished. Barnett said.
He said $1 million in added revenue from the new operation for the city was a modest estimate. Revenue will be generated by outside acts who will work with the school and be those who come to the school and also perform there, Barnett said.
THE SCHOOL will also bring jobs to Lawrence. Barnett said.
"We will need stage hands and have discussed the idea of providing theatre internships for University students," he said.
In December of last year, the Lawrence City Commission gave permission for the firm to sell $2.17 million in revenue bonds to pay for the renovation.
Terry Sutcliffe, president of the Lawrence National Bank, which handled financing for the Opera House's former owner, said yesterday that the bank was concerned about the financial condition of Management Alternatives.
"The financial condition of the company isn't all that favorable," he said.
The bank still supports the move to
restore the building, he said, but it is acting cautiously.
"We want a part in the development of the 600 block," he said.
"If they can sell the bonds we might consider buying some of them. All we are trying to do is make a prudent business judgment. We want to see it happen. We would hope that other banks would join with us."
The bonds have yet to be sold, Barnett said, but the salesman handling the transaction is positive about the chances for a successful sale.
THE OPERA House renovation will require the cooperation both of businesses and individuals to succeed, he said.
The school will advertise nationally to attract individuals and groups who want to improve their performing skills. Barnett said.
Performers will audition for admission to the school, and classes will be in two-week sessions. The school will offer workshops and produce audio and video tapes of the performers' work, he said.
New Mexico University and a recording studio in Muscle Shoes, Ala.
were also considered as sites for the school, he said. There is a possibility that the recording studio in Muscle Shoals had other contributions to Lawrence too, Barnett said.
"We decided upon Lawrence because, we knew that the Opera House was in dire straits and we needed to move it," she said. "THE CHIEF EMERALD to restore the CHEE EMPERAL."
THE FIRM wants to restore the building to its 1912 condition, he said.
in the 1912 condition, he said,
Barnett, a former KU student,
remembers when the Opera House was
known as the Red Dot Inn in the 1900s.
"We used to go to hear the Spiders and the Crabs. Of course, it can never be like that again. We have to appeal to a broader audience. But there is no reason we can't put the Opera House back into the Lawrence community."
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