Boston's Performing Arts and Theater Scene: Past, Present, and Future

Again, I'll say, what would this city be without the colleges and universities in Boston, Cambridge, and the inner metro area (Ill throw Tufts and Brandeis into the mix)? And Meddlepal, tell that to the people who attend those schools, who work at those schools and to the businesses that surround those "completely forgettable" others if they were to just up and leave. The positives of all these schools far, far outweigh any negatives.
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I think you're missing the point. The point isn't that they don't have any impact because they do, but rather that Boston doesn't need them. They are not anchors like the other mentioned schools are. There impact is negligible, heck, it might even be better off in some cases since there would be more housing stock available if we dropped the Emerson, Suffolks, Fenway Colleges etc. of the world.
 
meddlepal said:
I think you're missing the point. The point isn't that they don't have any impact because they do, but rather that Boston doesn't need them. They are not anchors like the other mentioned schools are. There impact is negligible, heck, it might even be better off in some cases since there would be more housing stock available if we dropped the Emerson, Suffolks, Fenway Colleges etc. of the world.
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The same could be said of any number of organizations, institutions, and companies. Does Boston need the ICA? How about Boston Medical Center? New Balance? No, it doesn't. The city would run perfectly well without them. Does that mean we'd be better off if those groups "dropped" and made "more housing stock available"? Hell, does the city need you or me or anybody on this board? Of course not. We should all just pack up and leave...

This may be one of the least-urban lines of reasoning I've ever read on ArchBoston. Cities are about throwing a whole bunch of different people and ideas together and seeing what happens, not making decisions about who is allowed to stay and who should go to make more room.

I'm also struck by the elitism/classism of deciding that the rich and fancy schools are necessary while the more accessible schools would be better off gone...
 
Also Emerson is a top school for a few areas such as acting. The colleges of the Fenway are also important for filling a niche that is not filled by the large prestigious schools. There are plenty of students which don't want to go to a large school but want to go to school in a city and without the smaller schools present in Boston might be unable to attend. The idea that only large schools with a lot of influence internationally/ nationally matter is an issue in general because it ignores the fact that a lot of smaller schools especially at the undergraduate level actually have as good or better instruction than some of the huge and very powerful larger universities like Harvard and BU for example.

The city does have the ability to some extent to influence what a school can and cannot do to the public realm and as such needs to be sure it is keeping the schools accountable for not sterilizing the area they are located in.

I'm also quite frankly confused why Emerson would want to create a "campus" because part of the point of the school imo is that it is located in a city and integrated with it which I would think many of the people attending the school appreciate or they wouldn't have applied.
 
^ Yes. I'm not sure why this has become a "worthy uni's versus useless uni's"... that misses the point as much as Atlandaden's initial salvo.

The point is the loss of sense of responsibility and stewardship on the part of the universities. Emerson and BU in particular with relation to the topic of this thread.

We should absolutely make (or do we have?) a general thread about the relationship between universities and urbanism in Boston. Plenty to discuss there. The only reason universities should even be discussed here is to the extent that they impact the performing arts in Boston.

EDIT:

Here's the new thread. I tossed some quotes over there from here.
 
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Since we now have a thread about theater here, I thought you guys may be interested in what is going on inside one of the spaces in Boston. If this is way too off topic feel free to move it or get rid of it.

Here are a few pictures of "Spring Awakening" I designed at the Boston Conservatory a couple months ago.

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http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...ld-and-more/32pjooCvFr0awSeZgkGgjI/story.html





Stage set for a comeback: The Theatre District’s next act is finally coming into focus.

By Jon Chesto Globe staff, January 09, 2017

Ambassador Theatre Group’s new lease for the Colonial Theatre will help finance crucial renovations to the Emerson College-owned building and potentially set it up for future runs of shows destined for Broadway. Fifteen months ago, there was talk about Emerson possibly turning part of it into a dining hall. Not anymore.

This is the latest victory for Boston’s performing arts community. Ernie Boch Jr. stepped up last year with his checkbook to sponsor the Wang and Shubert theaters after Citigroup pulled out. The Huntington Theatre’s managers worried about losing their longtime location, but the developers who bought the property agreed to preserve space for them.

But there are still challenges. Boston Lyric Opera, which had been at the Shubert until a rent dispute, still needs a new home. (BLO had been eyeing the Colonial, and it still may go there.) Questions remain about whether a section of Seaport Square will contain a performance space that could fill the void of civic amenities in that neighborhood. David Mugar transferred oversight of the Fourth of July fireworks celebration to the Boston Pops, but the quest for corporate sponsors continues.

Rising rents and property values will continue to put pressure on venues, large and small. City officials shouldn’t rest with these wins, not if they want more happy endings.

jon.chesto@globe.com - follow him on Twitter @jonchesto.
 
This is great news! However, in the comment section of this article, everyone was positive though several people complained about the uncomfortable seating due to the fact that the Historical Commission, when the theatre was being redone, insisted that the seating remain within historical parameters and would not allow for more comfortable seating? Could this be true?
 
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