Times-Advocate, 1999-02-03, Page 3.. 1_ I. t4. 1
Wednesday, February. 3, 1999
Exeter Timee Advocate
Huron Country Playhouse
artistic director resigns
By Scott Nixon
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
GRAND BEND — The Huron Coun-
try Playhouse and its artistic director
Brian McKay "by mutual agreement
have decided to part company," after
McKay expressed a desire to resign.
McKay directed Playhouse hits
such as The Wizard of Oz, Mass Ap-
peal, Brigadoon and Steel Magnolias.
Theatre president Shirley McIntyre
said the decision for McKay's de-
parture was met mutually between
the Playhouse and McKay. She said
she wishes McKay well in the future
and said she thinks he will have a
successful career.
Instead of replacing McKay with
another artistic director, McIntyre
said the Playhouse has hired five di-
rectors on a contract basis to direct
the theatre's productions this year.
The Playhouse has lost money in its
last two seasons and has a total debt
of $400,000, although much of that
debt, McIntyre said, comes from ex-
tensive renovations the Playhouse
began about four years ago. Last -
year, the Playhouse lost about
$50,000.
The Playhouse now has 3,500 sub-
scribers for the upcoming season,
down from previous years. McIntyre
said the Playhouse is trying to im-
prove the situation by getting back to
family-oriented productions, which
are the most popular among Play-
house patrons.
.She said she hopes the Playhouse's
first production this year, Anything
Goes, will appeal to a wide audience.
McIntyre attributed the reduction
in subscribers to the economy and to
the age of Playhouse patrons. She
said most patrons are over 55 antras
they age it makes it more difficult for
them to attend. To respond to this
problem, the Playhouse is trying to
set up a Subscribe and Ride program
in which subscribers can get a bus
ride to plays.
Despite the debt and the at-
tendance problems, McIntyre said
she is "very optimistic about the fu-
ture" because of the strength of the
Playhouse's personnel and the loy-
alty of its customers.
Meanwhile, the Playhouse's board
for this year consists of chairwoman
McIntyre, director of finance Bryan
Beattie, executive director Jack
Southcott, secretary Mary Burdon
and members at large Peter Challen,
Joan Cookson, Elia Douglas, Spencer
Jeffrey, Patricia Venton, Bruce
Woodley and Linda Steel Newcom-
ers include Greg Graham, Evan
Whitehead, Gail Little and Ernie Mi-
atello.
The Huron Country Playhouse
opens on June 15 with Cole Porter's
Anything Goes.
Other productions from the Play-
house this summer include Dial 'M'
For Murder, a female version of The
Odd Couple, Cash on Delivery and
Singin' in the Rain. Playhouse II will
be showing Nunsense II. Tickets go
on sale on March 8. Call 1-800-706-
6665 or (519) 238-6000 for more in-
formation.
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3
McGillivray decides to go own way
McGILLIVRAY TWP. —
Talk about sticker shock.
McGillivray Township
has opted out ofa
Middlesex County -wide
_policing contract with the
London OPP and has cho-
sen their own separate
contract with the OPP.
OPP service in '98 cost
McGillivray $108,788 and
will go up to $112,375 in
'99 in the McGillivray -only
quote. The county -wide
OPP quote for McGillivray
had the '99 cost at
$175,317, a whopping dif-
ference of $62,942.
"With the amount of
money it was going to cost
us per year we couldn't
win," Hodgson said. "For
that $62,000 I thought we
were subsidizing the areas
near London."
Hodgson explained the
reason the county -wide
and McGillivray -only
quotes differed so drasti-
cally was because the
county -wide quote was
based on the assessment
of each municipality.
McGillivray has only 613
households spread
throughout a large area
while urban centres like
Lucan have many more
households contained in a
much smaller area.
The county -wide quote
meant cheaper policing for
some municipalities like
Parkhill, but dramatic
increases for rural ones
like McGillivray.
McGillivray is the only
Middlesex municipality
besides Strathroy and
Carrodoc to stay out of the
county -wide quote. The
Strathroy Police took over
Carrodoc in the fallout of
amalgamation.
Hodgson said there is
still hope McGillivray will
someday accept a county-
wide quote. There will be
policing savings -when
McGillivray arnalgamates
with East Williams, West
Williams, Parkhill' and
Ailsa Craig as the
Township •of North
Middlesex in 2001.
But the county -wide scP-
nario may work for
McGillivray before the
merger. Hodgson said the
county will approach
London OPP to try to get a
cheaper quote for
McGillivray.
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