Inept playhouse board has new plans and maybe a conscience
The Coconut Grove Playhouse's board of directors is finally getting off their collective asses and are going to do something to save the historic theater. Guess they realize that their low handed plan to sell out the property to developers is not going to happen.They are not going to fight the historic designation either. Can you imagine that these hypocrites who supposedly "love" theater so much, wanted to scrap the whole place for big bucks? Any theater lover would fight to the finish, these goof balls saw dollar signs, not marquee signs.
They should be ashamed of themselves, the phoney bastards.
Board head, the incompetent Shelly Spivack said that the board is going to actually let the public in on its secret meetings. They are going ot repay the misused $125,000 state grant. And they are going to settle some law suits.
They are hoping for some sort of mini season. God speed.
posted by Tom Falco at 4:52 PM
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7 Comments:
This building must be saved at all costs. It represents Coconut Grove like no other.
This is another G/I zoned site that could be up-zoned if the community is not careful. One development attempt has been made and assuredly more will follow. Be sure to find out where your District 2 City Commission candidates stand on this issue. We need to protect our village and neighborhoods from over-development. The development of this site will have a profound and lasting impact on the Grove. Hopefully, for the best.
The Grove needs to have more public forums and ongoing dialogue on the direction strategic sites such as the Grove Playhouse and Grove Convention Center sites rather than all of these high-priced consultant studies that never see the light of day anyway. There needs to be more public involvement resulting in detailed recommendations and suggestions. The Waterfront Advisory Committee is trying to put together a public forum on the Convention Center and Sailing Club sites to solicit input. There needs to be a loud and clear demand for more “green space”, parks, recreational fields, community centers for the Center Grove. Imagine the expansive paved parking lots as a large open grass lawn comparable to the Marina District lawn in San Francisco. The City of Miami’s modus operandi is that our parks and public spaces must generate an income stream to cover the operational maintenance and repair costs and provide for leasehold opportunities that can be divvied out to their supporters as political favors. Sad that with all of the money we pay in taxes as well as the bonds for parks, etc… that there is not enough money to design and operate our parks like Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest and Miami Beach (to name just a few local municipalities). Sorry for the rant on this point. The community needs to get involved and take the direction and vision out of the hands of the politicians and the kowtowing City staff. You get what you get if you don’t speak up. Get involved!
This is lovely.
Spivack and the other people who killed the Playhouse now want to be entrusted to bring it back to life. I bet Ted Bundy wished he thought of that gambit!
Their press release stated they were going to resolve the law suit with the Miami Herald. The Herald writer understandably interpreted that to mean they were going to finally release the mysterious Arnold Middleman employment contract and that was in the Herald story. The next day however, the Herald ran a tiny "set rec" (newspaper lingo for something intended to "set the record straight") stating that the Playhouse HAD NOT promised to release the contract.
At first, it makes it look like the board is seeking to protect Middleman from the embarrassment of having his lavish salary revealed. But since they have long since thrown him WAY under the proverbial bus and blamed all the problems on him, why would they do anything to protect HIM? Could it be because the terms of the contract were so foolishly skewed towards their (once thought to be) hot-shot, big time “producing artistic director” that to release the contract would show the world how invincibly ignorant and unmindful of their fiduciary responsibilities the toadies on the board had been? For years the unsubstantiated rumor has been that the elusive contract allowed Middleman to take plays launched at the Playhouse with government and philanthropic dollars to be “taken on the road” by Middleman’s private production organization and produced for his private entrepreneurial gain. Could THAT be the secret that’s being so zealously guarded by the Playhouse Killers (I mean Board)?
If the city of Miami wanted to do the right thing, this theatre would be renovated and reopend in six weeks. The city has the money from the increased property taxes. Unfortunately, their only concern is a little island 90 miles away that nobody else in the USA cares about. What a sad state of affairs this banana republic is in. Missing every opportunity to become a world class city.
The City of Miami has nothing to do with the Coconut Grove Playhouse. It is privately owned by the pack of jackels on its board. Nothing can happen there without their approval.
The City Of Miami and the residents of the City certainly have a say in matters if and when the Playhouse Board proposes an up-zoning of the site or any other variance from the current underlying G/I zoning or MUSP. We as a community need to be practive communicating what would be in the best interests of our community rather than reactive and on our heels when the development community comes in with dense R-4 development (not disimilar to the Mercy/Related & Grovenor House)believing that the community is so self-absorbed and indifferent that they can pretty much get whatever they want. Write editorials and blags outlining what you want. Participate in the public meetings. Take some time out of your busy schedules and give something back to our beautiful community.
As regards the slams on Cubans, bad behaviour and manners is just that. Certainly, the Cubans or any other ethnic group do not have a lock on that. Rather than come across as having an issue wuth Cubans in particular why not recount the story without the cuban reference and encourage us all to try and be a little kinder and more caring with each other. Clearly, the guy has a problem(s) that he needs to work on - as we all do.
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