Purpose of the Hult Center still in question
By Doug Nash
Eugene s Hult Center for the Perform
ing Arts opened its doors Sept 24, cul
minating two decades of effort to
promote local arts But as champagne
flowed and dignitaries dealt out congra
tulations, the center's purpose remained
in question
At issue is the amount of time allotted
to imported talent, such as Red Skelton,
the New York Philharmonic and Pat
Boone, at the expense, some say, of
local performers. During the two-month
grand opening season, the Eugene Bal
let and the Eugene Opera appear only
twice each The Eugene Symphony Or
chestra. though making six appear
ances, is frequently supporting big
names like Marilyn Horne and Marvin
Hamlisch
Some groups, like the Oregon Reper
tory Theatre, have been forced to stay
out altogether due to financial problems
Budget-minded students and families
may be unable to afford the high prices
for the best seats ($21 25 for Skelton:
$50 for opening night).
In contrast to the center's drab con
crete exterior, the interior boasts a lofty
lobby with Douglas fir timbers, a sky
bridge, and lots of glass The concert hall
mixes the elegance and intimacy of older
European halls with state -of the-art ac
coustical technology After viewing the
opening, New York Times columnist Ha
rold Schoenberg hailed it "quite possibly
the model hall of the future "
The center contains the 2,531-seat
Silva Concert Hall and the 515-seat So
reng Theatre
Art critics are not the only ones excit
ed The Eugene business community
figures on reaping the benefits of the
multi-million dollar facility, which con
sists of the center, a $4.4 million parking
facility, a $5 2 million conference center
and a $16 million Hilton Hotel
Businessmen hope all this will draw in
millions of dollars more each year from
conventioneers and tourists Dick Reyn
olds, executive director of the Hult
Center, estimates tourists alone will
generate $24 million in the community
Luke Bandle, the center's public
relations and marketing director, says,
"It's probably one of the biggest con
tributions to economic development the
Willamette Valley has seen in years."
Popular support for the center has
been long in coming In 1963, the Me
tropolitan Civic Club realized the neces
sity for a permanent home for Eugene's
performing groups, which had been ap
pearing in civic halls, make-shift audi
Does center emphasize local talent enough?
Photo by MarK Pynes
The Silva Concert Hall opening night Insert: Luke Bandle. Hult Center marketing
director
toriums and gymnasiums since the city s
founding In 1964 the group, renamed
the Lane County Auditorium
Association, began the now-famous
Bach summer musical productions
Conservative Eugene merchants,
reluctant to open their pocketbooks for
what they saw as a luxury, proved a
decade-long roadblock The LCAA fin
anced feasability studies and acquired
about $2 million in federal aid Still,
support wasn't there Two bond elec
tions in 1972 and 1973 failed In 1977, the
city took over the battle, and in 1978
taxpayers authorized $18 5 million for
the project
Catherine Lauris, president of LCAA
from 1974-76. blames the early setbacks
on an economic recession, controversy
over the center's location and an alter
native culture movement opposed to
anything it considered “bourgoisie ”
Sadly, the project would have cost only
$8 million then, she added The group
was finally forced to return the federal
aid
But ”20 years is not a long time to get
something passed,” she contends, not
ing that it took Minneapolis 72 years of
effort
Lauris maintains the original objec
tives for the center, saying, “I think the
emphasis should be on the unique en
tertainment we have to offer locally, and
this becomes the big drawing card for
i
the traveler " She cites Ashland's
Shakespeare Festival and Eugene's
Bach series as examples
"Of course, the taxpayers have the
right to say "we want this famous TV
star,' but you can go anywhere to see
these people
Bandle. formerly president of a Wa
shington, D C theatrical agency and
public relations company, flatly rejects
the notion that the center has become
purely rich man s entertainment Ticket
prices are "very comparable," she says,
with tickets under $10 available for every
performance Local entertainers will al
ways have "first choice" and receive
sizable breaks in hall rental, she says.
"When they (local performers) are
side-by-side with world-class performers
in a world-class facility it gives them
something to strive for. Because of the
facility, there are no limits to how much
they can grow and develop," she says.
ORT Producing Director David Lunney
blames his organization's financial
shortcomings on the very nature of the
theater Theaters have a "much longer
performance level" than their musical
counterparts, and are unable to invite
famous artists for single performances.
Through audience expansion and in
creased fundraising, Lunney hopes ORT
will soon be able to move from the
Eugene Hotel into the Soreng Theatre.
"Presently, there are no spoken
theaters going on there.' he says
"We didn't cause their financial prob
lems," Bandle says of ORT For an or
ganization to perform in the Hult Center,
she says, it must "spend a lot of time
doing what the ballet and opera did —
building up their program, improving
sets and costumes ORT has tentatively
agreed to do Dickens' "A Christmas
Carol" in the Soreng during December
At the Community Center for the Per
forming Arts, better known as the WOW
Hall. Stage Manager Mikal foresees no
competition between his facility and the
Hult Center "We complement one an
other," he says "This is the springboard
We give you some exposure
Performers at the new center will
sometimes give the WOW Hall a
nostalgic visit. "They all came ffom the
street, and they realize it's people like us
who put them on the top Not so much
the Hults (donors Nils and Jewel Hult. for
whom the new center is named) they're
not the ones who buy the records"
Indeed, Eugene's new home for the
arts has already aroused public support
for local groups The Eugene Arts Foun
dation, set up in 1978 to aid both the new
center and the arts community, has
received some $7 45 million in pledges
All but $150,000, though, has gone to the
Hult Center The donations, says Jim
Kuoni, assistant to the director of the
EAF, "will reduce the direct operating
costs for local groups "
As for the future, Bandle expects no
major format changes "We have to have
a balance between what's local, regional
and national to satisfy everybody who
paid.”
Laur s, however, expresses hope that
this policy will change. "They just need a
shakedown cruise for awhile. We've got
something that needs to be filled with
local artists."
Lauris, who is currently editor of the
University Publishing Office, a member
of the ORT board and president of the
Lane Regional Arts Council has kept
things in clear perspective. While dona
tions flow in, local artists jockey for
position, entrepreneurs calculate the
dollar signs and Hult Center officials
attempt to make the Emerald Empire a
showbiz capital, Lauris sits back and
sighs.
"You want to really know what the
most important thing to happen to this
community is?" she asks. "Deady Hall in
1886. Not the performing arts center. It
will enrich our lives, and I’m glad it’s
there, but it’s only one facet. The
University made this community."
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