GREEN BAY (WFRV) The Weidner Center for the Performing Arts continues to reverberate with the sounds of performing artists, like Michael Stefanek's recital Thursday on the Wood Family organ. But university officials say the Weidner is under utilized.
"We have also fallen short of the mark with regard to what people want and expect for the Weidner Center," said U-W Green Bay Chancellor Thomas Harden.
Community focus groups found that people want to see the Broadway shows and big name entertainers back on stage. So the Weidner will stage between 14 and 18 headline acts for the coming season. But this season won't be as tied to Broadway-style shows.
"As that product declined, as there were fewer and fewer shows out there and fewer and fewer venues to support them, it changed the market," said Steve Carignan, an associate professor at Northern Iowa University, whose serving as a consultant for the Weidner Center.
The university and others looking to help the Weidner successfully launch it's next act as a venue say they're now focusing on the key to making any event there successful.
"So we're really trying to come up with a way to lower the fees and increase the participation of other arts organizations in the region," Harden said."We're going to have some serious music. We're going to have dance. We're going to have some community performers, as well. We want to make sure that this is the community's place," said Kate Green, Director of Prorgramming for the Weidner Center.
The names of the headliner acts for the 2012-2013 season will be announced early next year, to coincide with the Weidner's 20th anniversary.
Channel 5's Terry Kovarik has the story.
