EDITORIAL: Greater Tuna settlement shouldnt obscure Waco Hippodrome's challenges
Details have yet to emerge in the legal settlement reached this week between the Waco Performing Arts Company and Greater Tuna Corp., whose three cancellations of a much-anticipated touring show of “Tuna Does Vegas” landed a crippling blow that has possibly closed the 96-year-old Waco Hippodrome Theatre forever.
Reports of what the settlement might yield in damages range widely on the streets. However significant, we can’t imagine a lot being left over to keep the historic theater open after the Waco Performing Arts Company honors its hefty obligations, including an emergency loan of $300,000 from Alliance Bank Central Texas.
News that a settlement was reached does cheer us, even considering the Hippodrome is set to close its doors after a few remaining shows. By the same token, we believe discussions need to continue about other possible venues for performing arts productions downtown. While “Tuna Does Vegas” may have delivered a coup de grace, the theater has been dogged by many other problems that make its long-term viability a troubling prospect.
Trib entertainment editor Carl Hoover tells us that Waco Performing Arts Company board members are talking about mounting public forums to sound out Wacoans for ideas about the company’s future, especially in regard to the Hippodrome. Kudos to the board for its dedication and inclusiveness.
Even so, some of the most well-intentioned ideas likely to be offered — such as the perennial one about turning the Waco Hippodrome into a sort of classic movie haunt — should be scrutinized closely. Waco, for all its many blessings, does not always attract the sort of ticket-buying audiences that larger cities do.
Besides that, the drawbacks of the Hippodrome that we know all too well — ranging from a stage too small for some touring productions to bathroom facilities that hardly meet the pressing needs of some audience members — should make us at least think twice about another bold plan that puts this theater in the spotlight.
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