The show must go on.
After two decades of leading the Mayo Performing Arts Center, Allison Larena has her own spin on that entertainment maxim.
”We can handle anything,” she says with a laugh.
Even a pandemic, as it turns out.
Larena’s career in Morristown has seen many triumphs, including millions of dollars in renovations, a thriving performing arts school, and a marquee that has boasted names such as Ringo Starr, Ray Charles and Liza Minnelli.
Renée Elise Goldsberry of Hamilton fame will join that illustrious list when she kicks off MPAC’s 28th season — and Larena’s 21st — this Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.
Yet it’s the nail-biting moments, the close calls, that loom just as large in memory, lending texture to any career in show biz. Taken together, such moments may have steeled Larena for the COVID crucible.
Snowstorms? Kenny G arrived just in time for the opening curtain, without benefit of a soundcheck, for a December 2008 show. Nearly a decade later, Toto took the stage after struggling for 90 minutes to traverse the final two snowy blocks to the theater.
On another night, showtime came with no sign of the show’s star. Nature had called Don Rickles. The theater got a call from a highway rest stop to say the comedian would be a little late.
When Peter Frampton came in 2003 for his first concert at the Community Theatre, as MPAC then was known, the rock icon found a venue that still resembled a 1937 movie house.
The tech crew did its best, Larena says, but production capabilities were meager. The stage was tiny; the wings were more like chicken wings. There was no backstage. Bands sometimes huddled outside the back door, a frosty proposition in winter.
No air conditioning meant no summer shows; giant electric fans could not cool Bill Cosby–still America’s Dad at that point–or his sellout crowd on a sweltering spring day.
“I remember the catering space on stage was a folding table,” says Larena, president and CEO of the nonprofit.
“We had a chandelier that was hooked up on top of a very small sink, and when the artists came to eat…we would unhook the chandelier, and have it hang over the folding table.
“And we would put a table cloth on the table. The artists would eat their dinner. And then when the artist was finished, we would fold up the folding table, hang the chandelier back up on the hook, and the artist would perform,” Larena recounts.
Frampton gave a great performance. The next morning, Larena got a call from the star’s agent.
“That was a disaster, and Peter Frampton will never perform there again!” she remembers the agent huffing.
Funds were raised for renovations. As the 2006 season approached, patrons looked forward to a remodeled 1,300-seat venue blending old-fashioned charm with modern amenities. Eighty shows were booked.
And then…the contractor couldn’t finish the job. Canceling the season was not an option.
Larena’s husband, Paul, a carpenter and construction company owner, saved the day.
“We built a wall at the proscenium arch, and put a curtain in front of it. We took the front of the stage up to Row D, where the Golden Circle seating is now– we built a stage over it.
“Row D was our front row,” Larena says.
At that time, administrative offices were next door, in what’s now the South + Pine American Eatery. Theater staffers relocated above the Dublin Pub, and their vacated space served as a makeshift dressing room for performers.
Artists left that dressing room through a fire exit, ventured down an alley, and ducked into the theater through another fire door.
“Where did that guy come from?” Larena remembers audience members asking. Dan Zanes and his band, a kids act, started one show by playing in the lobby, and marching down the main aisle onto the stage.
Larena is able to laugh now.
“That’s the nature of theater. You just don’t know what to expect, and you’re used to overcoming all these obstacles,” she says, heaping praise on her board, staff, crew and volunteers.
‘THE TRUTH-TELLER’
Larena hardly could have imagined such challenges back in the ’90s, when she fantasized about working at the Community Theatre.
She was an administrator and manager at the Garden State Arts Center and its successor, the PNC Bank Arts Center. Before that, she was general manager at the John Harms Center, now the Bergen County Performing Arts Center.
An article caught her eye, about grassroots efforts by Don and Linda Smith and an army of volunteers, who rescued the crumbling Morristown theater from ruin.
“I said, oh my goodness that place is something special. A place where I feel, perhaps, I could contribute something,” says Larena, who holds theater arts degrees from Montclair State and Rutgers universities.
Bud Mayo, the benefactor for whom the Morristown venue was renamed, fulfilled Larena’s dream, hiring her as executive director in 2002.
“Allison just was the perfect match for what this theater needed at that time,” says Mayo, former chairman and CEO who still confers with Larena as chairman emeritus. She reveres him as her mentor.
Mayo admired Larena from his days as chairman of the John Harms Center. He describes her as a “wonderful human being” who combines business acumen with a knack for inspiring those around her.
“There’s no hype in Allison. She’s the truth-teller,” says Mayo, former owner of Clearview Cinemas and an innovator in cinema technologies. “She’s the full package, of having the personality and credibility to go with competence.”
On Larena’s watch, the theater became a prime driver of Morristown’s downtown renaissance, eventually drawing upwards of 250,000 visitors to more than 250 yearly events and pumping an estimated $15 million annually into the local economy.
“I think that driven by her vision, we’ve seen an incredible amount of economic growth related to the theater’s expansion and consistency,” says Jennifer Wehring, executive director of the Morristown Partnership. “She’s built a great team, and she believes in the mission of the organization.”
Capital projects added an orchestra pit and fly-rail system for theatrical productions, new dressing rooms and air conditioning. The upstairs balcony got an overhaul, with new bathrooms, concession stands and an art gallery. The main lobby also was transformed, with new restrooms and an elevator to the balcony.
The box office was replaced and improved. Renovations extended to the Starlight Room, a space for special events, and a digital marquee went up outside. It flashed words of hope during the darkest days of the pandemic.
New studios helped MPAC provide educational programs for 40,000 children and families. Students from the theater’s youth troupe have performed at the White House, and MPAC Education Director Cathy Roy’s lavish community musicals have become spring highlights of the cultural calendar.
Since 2017, the Miracle Project has entertained children on the autism spectrum. A year later, MPAC’s Arts in the Community program introduced free arts experiences all over town.
Along the way, MPAC copped the Outstanding Theatre Award (2016) from the League of Historic American Theatres. Morris Arts honored Larena as Arts Advocate of the Year (2012) and NJBiz cited her among the “Best 50 Women in Business” (2016).
Looking to the future, MPAC has acquired properties on Pine and King streets. Although plans for a 300-seat performance space were shelved when the pandemic killed a proposed parking deck, further expansion of the Performing Arts School and arts education programs, and “significant other capital enhancements,” are likely under Larena’s leadership, according to MPAC Chairman Greg Supron.
“So, I expect additional chapters of her legacy will still be written,” Supron says.
DARK DAYS
After MPAC went dark in March 2020, Larena had to furlough half her staff.
The theater survived the pandemic thanks to nearly $9 million in government aid, and generous donations. Last year’s Starlight Ball brought in $365,000.
When COVID-19 restrictions curbed indoor gatherings, MPAC livestreamed concerts. Local artists were showcased via weekday Facebook gigs. As outdoor events became permissible, Larena pioneered drive-in concerts and virtual arts education classes, says Supron, who deems her a “visionary leader.”
Dicey moments followed as some patrons balked at masking when indoor shows resumed, at limited capacity, with social distancing and mandatory proof of vaccination.
Now, the challenge is coaxing back patrons, re-scheduling postponed acts, and rebuilding staff. So far, there are fewer performers, fewer shows and fewer spectators. Larena estimates revenues are 60 or 70 percent of pre-pandemic revenues, which peaked around $13 million.
Longtime employees characterize Larena as innovative and demanding — and gracious and supportive.
Her titles should include “diplomat.”
Legendary entertainers, wealthy donors, demanding patrons, union crews, volunteers, local officials–Larena must accommodate them all. Occasionally, art and politics collide.
In January 2015, shortly after Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea, Ukrainians demonstrated outside MPAC while patrons inside applauded Russian conductor Valeri Gergiev. His concert two decades earlier had reversed the fortunes of a decrepit building that was sprouting mushrooms.
Larena threaded the needle, expressing sympathy for Ukraine’s plight while honoring the people and events that resurrected the old Community Theatre and rejuvenated the town.
“So that was the celebration and the focus that evening,” she says.
Larena’s diplomacy also extends to questions about her favorite and not-so-favorite performers.
While mum’s the word about prima donnas, her office wall hints at faves. Photos of Chris Daughtry, Yanni and Southside Johnny are prominent. Her face brightens as she recounts taking beloved comedienne Carol Burnett to Roots Steakhouse.
A fan of touring Broadway shows, Larena marvels at how MPAC’s crew adroitly fits them onto the stage.
The annual Nutcracker spectacular, featuring the New Jersey Ballet and the New Jersey Symphony, holds a special place for this mother of four.
“To see that Nutcracker every year, and to see those kids come in here with those smiles on their faces, and they’re dressed up, and they’re so excited about seeing those beautiful ballerinas on the stage–to me that is the highlight of my season,” Larena says.
She aims to keep the highlights coming.
“I absolutely love this theater. I love the community it serves. I’m honored, I’m privileged to serve here. I’ll serve for as long as the board of trustees believes I’m doing a wonderful job, and the community as well,” Larena says.
She’s sure the show will go on, regardless of what the theater gods dish out.
“That’s the most beautiful thing, an extraordinary thing about this theater,” Larena says. “It’s served many generations, through ups and downs, right, for 85 years. And it will continue to do that. No challenge has been too great for us yet!”
P.S. Peter Frampton has been back, again and again.
