Larena’s husband, Paul, a carpenter and construction company owner, saved the day. Eighty shows were booked.Īnd then…the contractor couldn’t finish the job. As the 2006 season approached, patrons looked forward to a remodeled 1,300-seat venue blending old-fashioned charm with modern amenities. “That was a disaster, and Peter Frampton will never perform there again!” she remembers the agent huffing.įunds were raised for renovations. The next morning, Larena got a call from the star’s agent. And then when the artist was finished, we would fold up the folding table, hang the chandelier back up on the hook, and the artist would perform,” Larena recounts.įrampton gave a great performance. “And we would put a table cloth on the table. MARQUEE CINEMAS MOVIEFeaturing the movie Nothing Sacred, starring Frederic March and Carole Lombard. THEN: Opening night, Community Theatre, Dec. “We had a chandelier that was hooked up on top of a very small sink, and when the artists came to eat…we would unhook the chandelier, and have it hang over the folding table. “I remember the catering space on stage was a folding table,” says Larena, president and CEO of the nonprofit. No air conditioning meant no summer shows giant electric fans could not cool Bill Cosby–still America’s Dad at that point–or his sellout crowd on a sweltering spring day. Bands sometimes huddled outside the back door, a frosty proposition in winter. The stage was tiny the wings were more like chicken wings. The tech crew did its best, Larena says, but production capabilities were meager. When Peter Frampton came in 2003 for his first concert at the Community Theatre, as MPAC then was known, the rock icon found a venue that still resembled a 1937 movie house. The theater got a call from a highway rest stop to say the comedian would be a little late. On another night, showtime came with no sign of the show’s star. MPAC President Allison Larena and Manager of Board Relations Anthony Scareon at drive-through concert by The Weeklings, Aug. Nearly a decade later, Toto took the stage after struggling for 90 minutes to traverse the final two snowy blocks to the theater. Snowstorms? Kenny G arrived just in time for the opening curtain, without benefit of a soundcheck, for a December 2008 show. Taken together, such moments may have steeled Larena for the COVID crucible. Yet it’s the nail-biting moments, the close calls, that loom just as large in memory, lending texture to any career in show biz. Renée Elise Goldsberry of Hamilton fame will join that illustrious list when she kicks off MPAC’s 28th season - and Larena’s 21st - this Friday, Sept. Larena’s career in Morristown has seen many triumphs, including millions of dollars in renovations, a thriving performing arts school, and a marquee that has boasted names such as Ringo Starr, Ray Charles and Liza Minnelli. MPAC President Allison Larena at the start of Season 25. ”We can handle anything,” she says with a laugh.Įven a pandemic, as it turns out. After two decades of leading the Mayo Performing Arts Center, Allison Larena has her own spin on that entertainment maxim.
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