Creative industries in Washtenaw County add hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. In the weeks and months to come, host Deb Polich, the President and CEO of Creative Washtenaw, explores the myriad of contributors that make up the creative sector in Washtenaw County.
ABOUT STEVE OUELETTE:
Steve is a Michigan native, who left the state upon graduating from MSU to work on two Broadway National Tours before settling in New York City, where he worked as the Associate Manager of the Gershwin Theater, and Manager of the Neil Simon Theater. During his tenure at the Gershwin, the musical "Wicked" opened on Broadway.
Steve returned to his home state to work at his alma mater’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts as Assistant Director of Operations, before moving to Ann Arbor to work at the Michigan Theater/Marquee Arts where he is Director of Facilities and Operations.
As an Ann Arborite with an MSU past, Steve likes to remind his audience that blue and yellow make green, so we are all cut from the same cloth.
RESOURCES:
TRANSCRIPTION:
Deb Polich: This is 89 one WEMU, and you are listening to creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. Thanks for joining me to meet and to get to know the artists and creatives who live, work, care about and make a difference in Washtenaw County. Steve Ouelette, like many of our local creatives, has followed a curious road before reaching the land of Ann Arbor. In Steve's case, his career has taken a wickedly popular route to his job as the director of facilities and operations at Marquee Arts, also known as the Michigan and State Theaters. Let's find out more about his career and his position in the front of the house. Steve, it's great to have you on the show!
Steve Ouelette: It's great to be here, Deb! Thanks for having me!
Deb Polich: Thank you! Really! Seriously! You know, Steve, conversations about theater careers often focus on what happens beyond the curtain on the other side of the stage: the actors, the show, the tech and the full production. You know more than most about what a theatrical production requires in the front of the house. You are a Michigan native who graduated from MSU. After graduation, you worked on a couple of Broadway national tours before settling in New York, where you were then the associate manager of the Gershwin Theatre and then the manager of the Neil Simon Theatre. We're going to focus on some of those in a minute. But before we get to it, what would you say, in a nutshell if you can, the role of a theater manager in that front of the house?
Steve Ouelette: So, our role was fairly complex in that we oversaw everything that the customers were going to come in and see, as well as a lot of things that were happening backstage as well. So, as the manager of the theater, it was my responsibility to oversee the house crew, and the musicians are actually part of the house staff, so they're not part of the show.
Deb Polich: Oh, interesting!
Steve Ouelette: Yeah. In fact, really the only people that we weren't kind of supervising were the road crew. It's a quote-unquote "road," because we were in New York, and we weren't moving. But the show had their own crew. And then, the show would have, obviously, the actors, and that was basically them. But we still had times where we were overseeing them. Even in the absence of the company managers, the theater managers were kind of the supervisors. So, it was fun. I got to learn 15 union contracts to be able to be a board-certified member of the front house union.
Deb Polich: And you said that was fun?
Steve Ouelette: It was fun. I have air quotes in it. I guess our listeners can't see.
Deb Polich: And you left that job, or those jobs, and now you're back here at the Michigan Theater. And a couple of weeks ago, a film opened that one could say has brought you full circle. That film, of course, is "Wicked." And you were at the Gershwin Theater in 2003, I believe it was, when it opened. And I loved the fact that both of these things have been part of your life. Describe back then, in 2003, what it was like for the whole company and what you were doing, anticipating the opening of this new show.
Steve Ouelette: Well, it was a very exciting time. We'd been dark for a decent period between when "Oklahoma," the previous occupant of our theater, had closed and "Wicked" was opening. We didn't really know what to expect. It had Kristin Chenoweth, of course, and Idina Menzel, but they weren't exactly household names across the country at that point in time. In fact, it wasn't a guaranteed hit coming in. And Kristin had been injured during previews. And when she would miss a performance, we'd get like 200 or so people doing refunds to try to get tickets for a later date. Things would change over time as the show's popularity increased. But there was a little bit of a concern of whether this would be something that was going to run for a long time or not. Obviously, those concerns were overblown.
Deb Polich: For sure! So, as the show was starting to open and you're doing previews, are you in the house? Are you there, as staff, watching, observing, seeing it before it actually gets past previews to the opening night?
Steve Ouelette: So, the first time I saw the show, I purposely missed all of the different rehearsals because there's so tedious, and it's really hard to get a feel. But we've been assured by the company that they're going to do a full run-through. And my boss, the manager of the theater, we decided we'd wait. And so, they're going to do the full run-through. And the full run-through became a three-hour first act. And if you've ever been in any kind of rehearsal where only the people in there are people associated with the theater, there's no laughter, there's no applause, there's no anything. It was stopped constantly. We both walked out of the theater that night nearly in tears, thinking this thing's going to be closed by Christmas. And it was October.
Deb Polich: Oh, wow!
Steve Ouelette: It was around October 1st at that point. And, however, the next day, things went a lot smoother, and I felt a little bit more confident.
Deb Polich: And then there was opening night. But let me first say this. This is 89 one WEMU's creative:impact. Our guest is Marquee Arts facility and operations manager Steve Ouelette. Steve was managing the Gershwin Theatre when "Wicked" opened in 2003. So, let's get to the opening night of "Wicked." What do you recall the most about that?
Steve Ouelette: So, that was my first Broadway opening night, and it was incredibly exciting to see everyone come in. It's also a very stressful night because every industry insider is there in attendance. So, it's a stressful night. But then, getting to the party--we were at the Tavern on the Green--and it was just glorious! And we were all having fun. And then, somewhere around midnight, this was long enough ago that I believe it was still the physical paper, The New York Times, showed up with the reviews. And the temperature of the room--it dropped a little bit because the reviews were decent, but they weren't great. And the Times, in particular, was more or less a love letter to Kristin Chenoweth, which kind of just raised a little bit of tension perhaps across the company.
Deb Polich: Well, it didn't take too long for this show to catch fire. And you were there running the house for many sold-out performances that, frankly, continue to this day. Well, I have had conversations about actors who have to keep it fresh on the stage during eight shows a week. What's it like in the front of the house?
Steve Ouelette: It's similar, you know? It's one of those things where every night is a special night. And maybe it doesn't feel like a special night to you on a snowy, February Tuesday evening. But back then, I think it was 1700 or 1809 people that were coming into the show. It was special for them. And that was the attitude that we tried to make sure that we were embracing is everybody who's coming in these doors is really excited to be here. So, even if it's not maybe my favorite day, it's kind of just a cold, nasty day, you got to make it special for those coming in. And that's something I've carried over here to the Michigan Theater.
Deb Polich: Well, we appreciate that! So, do you watch every show? Do you know every lyric or, frankly, are you doing other things during the show?
Steve Ouelette: A little bit of both. There are some special effects that caused us to....I was physically in the theater for every performance at various times trying to get readings to our air handlers and things of that nature to make sure that the fog was operating correctly for the special effects. And it was really great watching the people as it grew, seeing the audience reactions. And it was just amazing to see that now. And that's obviously, as we said, it grew. And it didn't take long to blow up, but that was really fun. You could see it coming!
Deb Polich: And how about all those memories? Any great tale to tell us?
Steve Ouelette: A few of my favorites, and I'll try to be real brief. One of them was opening night. The novelist Gregory Maguire---he sent a note--or he had an interview. And somebody had asked that the show had changed a lot from his book. The previews in San Francisco--out-of-town--were much more closely tied to his novel. And then, they made more changes. And he was asked about his thoughts about those changes. And his response was, "I'm the last person alive who's going to complain about somebody making changes to source material." So, I hope everybody who is seeing the film and has seen the film appreciates that part, too.
Deb Polich: Well, you bring up a really good point. Because, just literally, our son the other day said, "You know, I don't know why they're making a remake of a film." And I said, "But you'll go see theater over and over again. You know, having something reinterpreted is always kind of a cool thing." They're not always great sometimes, but sometimes they are. And speaking of that, have you seen the film yet?
Steve Ouelette: I haven't seen it yet. I intend to see it over the upcoming holiday break. We slow down a little bit. We stay pretty busy year-round here, but I have a little bit more time to see films coming up around the upcoming holidays, so I can't wait! Everyone that I know who was affiliated with the show back 21 years ago just raved and said it really brings them back in time to a wonderful place.
Deb Polich: That's great! I took a peek at Rotten Tomatoes. It scored really well--90% by the critics and 97% by those who have seen it so far. And so, I think that bodes well for it. You mentioned how long that first run-through that you saw was like two hours-plus for the first act. Apparently, that's how the film is going, that the film is essentially the first act, and it runs about two hours and 40 minutes, I think.
Steve Ouelette: Yeah. My understanding is they bring back some of the novel things that they had to cut just for the time for the musical. And everything I've heard, like I said, has been reflecting that those were really good additions to put back into it. So, I'm really excited!
Deb Polich: Me too! I haven't seen it yet either. Hey, so we'll encourage everyone to join us to head to the theaters to see "Wicked!" And, Steve, thanks so much for this really fun show!
Steve Ouelette: Well, it's been my pleasure! It's fun to relive it! It makes me want to go see the film, probably at the State Theatre here in downtown Ann Arbor even more!
Deb Polich: A perfect location! That's Steve Ouelette, whose career has taken him full circle from the opening of "Wicked" on Broadway to the opening of "Wicked," the film, at the Michigan Theater and the State Theatre. Find out more about Steve and see some really great pictures of him in the Broadway cast at wemu.org. You've been listening to creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. Mat Hopson is our producer. Please join me every Tuesday to meet the people who make Washtenaw creative. This is 89 one WEMU FM, Ypsilanti. Public radio from Eastern Michigan University.
If you'd like to a guest on creative:impact, email Deb Polich at deb.polich@creativewashtenaw.org.
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