Hennepin Theatre Trust wants to pump new life into the Hennepin Stages, a two-stage theater that in its heyday was the home of long-running "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding."
The Trust — which manages the Orpheum, State and Pantages theaters for the city of Minneapolis — has signed a one-year management contract to run Hennepin Stages. Trust president Tom Hoch said the organization has cleaned up the space, used only sporadically the past couple of years, and has done some mechanical repairs. A few light, interactive shows have ben lined up for the next few months.
"I hope we can put together a strategy that will hopefully keep it as a performing space," Hoch said in an interview.
To that end, the Trust is holding an open house 4-6 p.m. on Jan. 11 for theater groups to come in and see whether they'd be interested in renting. Both upstairs and downstairs accommodate about 100-150 seats.
The city owns the building at 805 Hennepin Av. S. Producer Sandy Hey terminated her lease in 2004 after nearly a decade of "Tony 'n' Tina," "Forever Plaid" and "Smokey Joe's Cafe."
Minneapolis Musical Theatre used the space three times a season for several years as its home base before leaving for Illusion Theater in 2007. "Martini & Olive" did their holiday show for three years and "The Awesome 80's Prom" did good business in 2006.
Recently, the only steady customer has been Phil Olson, the writer/composer who has put on "A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol" the past two seasons (the show closes Jan. 3).
Hoch said the Historic Theatre Group, which works closely with the Hennepin Trust but is a separate organization, most recently had the management contract.
