Boston needs more theater space

Gold Dust Orphans perform “Jesus Christ, it’s Christmas” at Ramrod nightclub            December 4-21, 2014

Last week’s Boston Sunday Globe Ideas section had a large editorial piece entitled Arts everywhere.  It included articles praising and supporting the city’s commitment to further invest in the arts scene.  It also included some novel concepts including a great piece by Peter DuBois, artistic director for Huntington Theatre Co who calls for more theater space for what he refers to as “fringe theaters” and I couldn’t agree with him more.

Boston’s local theater scene is in the midst of a Renaissance.  The quality of performances, the variety of shows and the depth of talent is better now than I can ever recall.  However, that ingenuity and the audacity that these ‘fringe’ theater companies provide needs to be nurtured.  DuBois suggestion that the city needs to streamline permitting to create short-term ‘pop-up’ theaters and to provide tax incentives to landlords to open up under-utilized space for makeshift art venues is spot on.  The closure of The Factory Theater (in the Piano Factory) earlier this year only highlights the plight of these smaller, edgier theater companies.