The future of the Playhouse hangs in the balance
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I am writing to clarify the confusion surrounding the Coconut Grove Playhouse. For four years, our community has had ongoing divisive arguments about the physical characteristics of the playhouse regarding the design, the extent of historic preservation of the building and the size of the hall. What has been overlooked is that the core issue is not architectural . The truth is, for a decade, we have lost the lively inspiration of and access to regional theater , our feeder to Broadway. In addition, an entire generation of dramatic arts students has lost what was formerly a place to learn the craft of theater. Our community is very much the poorer for this. It is a huge mistake to keep the theater in the dark any longer. The new building must be built forthwith and must function as a theater again. The urgent issue is not architectural neither related to historic preservation nor the capacity of the hall . The future of the theater arts in Miami hangs in the balance. If the Coconut Grove Playhouse project as designed now is not approved by the City of Miami Commission at the hearing scheduled for Thursday, April 25, the land will return to the State of Florida and they can auction off the property to anyone!
Sincerely,
Laurinda Spear
Miami
I am writing to clarify the confusion surrounding the Coconut Grove Playhouse. For four years, our community has had ongoing divisive arguments about the physical characteristics of the playhouse regarding the design, the extent of historic preservation of the building and the size of the hall. What has been overlooked is that the core issue is not architectural . The truth is, for a decade, we have lost the lively inspiration of and access to regional theater , our feeder to Broadway. In addition, an entire generation of dramatic arts students has lost what was formerly a place to learn the craft of theater. Our community is very much the poorer for this. It is a huge mistake to keep the theater in the dark any longer. The new building must be built forthwith and must function as a theater again. The urgent issue is not architectural neither related to historic preservation nor the capacity of the hall . The future of the theater arts in Miami hangs in the balance. If the Coconut Grove Playhouse project as designed now is not approved by the City of Miami Commission at the hearing scheduled for Thursday, April 25, the land will return to the State of Florida and they can auction off the property to anyone!
Sincerely,
Laurinda Spear
Miami
posted by Tom Falco at 4:00 AM
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7 Comments:
It's been noted by believers people do not have to go to church to communicate with their GOD. Could the same be said about the Coconut Grove Playhouse? I.E., the Coconut Grove Playhouse isn't the only location where theatre can be achieved. Perhaps the drama surrounding the entire Grove; out with the old & in with the new, the MacMansions are ugly, traffic, developers create gentrification. greed, a banana republic mentality, etc., etc., & etc. Drama engulfs the Grove presently. Mrs. Spear, perhaps with your solid influential connections you might consider finding a potential new location to address & realize your concerns. The drama surrounding Coconut Grove might be the problem making the Grove Playhouse a controversial hot potato. The theater crowd might just follow your lead? Jobie Steppe
Yep, there is Laurinda Spear of Arquitectonica telling us "the urgent issue is not architectural neither related to historic preservation nor the capacity of the hall"
Agreed, this message from Ms. Spear is a trojan horse. The one who stands to gain the most if the current plan goes through. Another attempt at disguising the perpetrators as a concerned citizen. We have been seeing a lot of that lately, as it affects the Grove, way fo much of it.
I suggest we write our representatives in the US Congress and State Capitol to intervene and stop the downsizing of our history and heritage by these egotistic characters and restore the 97 year old treasure. Where are you Donna Shalala? Coconut Grove residents want their history preserved.
Actors Playhouse in the Gabies is a regional theater
Usually when someone tells me that "It is the only choice, and it needs to be done as soon as possible," the person most likely has a "dog in the fight." So it's not strange that Spear co-founded Arquitectonica with her husband Bernardo and friend Hervin Romney. Why didn't she disclose this in her urgent letter to the Grapevine so other readers would know?
At a glance of the Miami-Dade Clerk's civil docket, Arquitectonica has no less than 10 lawsuits in which they have been named as a defendant. One of the allegations in the lastest lawsuit states in part that:
ARQUITECTONICA was under a statutory duty to the ASSOCIATION and
its individual Members, pursuant to the FBC, to construct and deliver the Condominium
Property in compliance with all applicable local, state, and national building codes and
regulations.
ARQUITECTONICA, in designing the Condominium Property, failed to
comply with all applicable local, state and national building codes and regulations, in
contravention of the FBC.
I'm not saying the allegation is true, but more than 10 lawsuits?
Usually, when I review a company, I prefer that they don't have any open lawsuits where they are being sued for not doing their job correctly. Ten open lawsuits would put them out of contention for me, but not for Miami-Dade County. Arquitectonica most likely needs the County contract so they can continue to pay their attorneys to litigate the 10 open lawsuits.
Additionally, Arquitectonica is unable to compete with other historical restoration architects in South Florida because it is not what they do. So it should be of no surprise they have promoted a new micro-theatre because they would have never been considered for a full restoration fo the Playhouse. This something else that Spear decided to not disclose to the Grapevine readers.
Perhaps she forgot, or perhaps she really only cares about Arquitectonica and the $$$. I'm guessing it the $$$.
laurinda spear ? ... do you really think there is confusion? come on... lies and manipulations are so obvious.
valerie bauwens
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