“We’re getting more selective because our patrons are getting that way,” said McKay, noting they took flak for a mediocre production of Barry Manilow’s Copacabana in the last season. Others are too large for the stage, which lacks fly space or a backstage to handle the massive sets.

Unlike Broadway tours that play extended runs in the downtown Boston theaters, shows here are often bus-and-truck operations, traveling from one venue to the next for primarily one-night stands.Īccording to McKay and Lally, many non-Equity shows available to them are not good quality. Shows booked into the LMA do not have Equity casts or crews. The Auditorium is a non-Equity house, which means that they do not have a contract with Actors Equity Association, the strong union for actors and other stage professionals. Overall, it’s been a wonderful year, and we’re right in the middle of booking next year,” said McKay, the executive director of Mill City Management, which manages the Auditorium and books shows into the space. This included eight nights for the Performing Arts Series, plus other evenings filled with individual contemporary adult musical acts, country music, children’s shows and comedy. The Auditorium was booked for 35 nights of entertainment.

While they contemplate an upcoming season with fewer non-Equity Broadway tours available for the space, they say the past season has been successful overall. That’s what McKay, marketing director Pete Lally and marketing manager Heather Shea are doing these days. LOWELL - When April arrives, leisure thoughts turn to outdoor music, summer theater under the stars and the Lowell Folk Festival.īut at Lowell Memorial Auditorium - which quiets down in June, July and August after a flood of late spring graduations and dance recitals - summer doesn’t officially get under way until general manager Tom McKay and his staff assess the past season and plan the next.

The Off-Beat Cinder Ella by Anne Murray