Michigan State University - Red Cedar Log Yearbook (East Lansing, MI)

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20 A Stage, Where Every Man Must Play a Part... A new stage, a new hall and all the trimmings: The Wharton Performing Arts Center (PAC) served its first courses of entertainment Sept. 25, 1982 as it presented the Chicago Symphony and Swedish Sopranist Birgit Nilsson. The opening ceremonies, occasioned by the presence of namesakes Clifton and Dolores Wharton, culminated from over a decade of planning and prepara- tion. According to ex-MSU President Dr. Clifton Wharton (1970-78) a “ground swell” of support for the Center erupted in 1970. Responding to the call, Whar- ton said he organized a fund raising committee (Presidents’ Club) as the in- strument of a $17-million enrichment program for MSU. The committee first gathered donations from the MSU com- munity: administrators, faculty and stu- dents, before soliciting funds from na- tional corporations. Next on the agenda, a group that in- cluded members of MSU's Theatre and Music Departments was formed to sur- vey arts centers throughout the country. Wharton said, “In selecting the design | wanted users of the facility to be in- volved.” The touring MSU task force relayed their findings to the Presidents’ Club who then engaged the architectural firm: Caudill, Rowlett and S cott of Houston, Texas to begin designing the Center. It was at this time, 1974, that the Whartons selected the PAC’s east campus location on Bogue Street between Shaw Lane and Wilson Road. Meanwhile the Whartons and other Presidents’ Club members continued their relentless capital drive, a campaign that would eventually net more than $7 million. In 1975, old favorites Lena Horne and Tony Bennett gave a “shot in the arm” to the effort, performing a ben- efit concert sponsored by Dr. and Do- lores Wharton. Though in 1978, Dr. Wharton re- signed his post as MSU president to ac- cept a chancellorship at S.C.N.Y., the succeeding president, Edgar Harden, carried on with the national fund drive. Construction began one year later in Oc- tober, 1979, and the final bricks were laid early in 1982. Current director of the PAC, Kenneth Beachler, summed up the endeavor stating, “MSU has made a brave commitment to the performing arts with the construction of this magni- ficent new facility.” The new McGoff Festival Stage, a dia- mond within the facility, is most benefi- cial to MSU actors and actresses, said Farley Richmond, chairman of the Theatre Department. Designed after the Shakespearean arena at Stratford, Ontario, the 600-seat Festival stage utilizes a steep rig. Set above and horseshoed around the stage, audiences are brought closer to the drama. Richmond said, “The thrust stage juxtaposes audience and perform- ers,” and added, ‘those in attendance gain a sense of peering in on a little world.” Among the stage’s attributes are its proximity to dressing rooms, which al- lows for quick costume changes; many possible stage entrances including por- tals beneath the spectators; and a tech- nologically advanced sound board. The Catherine Hobb Great Hall re- sides west of the Festival Stage. Accord- ing to PAC assistant Randy Daniels, the 2,500-seat hall was designed to maximize audience enjoyment. A conti- nental arrangement allows only side- aisle entrances and — eliminates obstructed vision, while providing handi- capper accessibility. Six gigantic colum- nar arches support the structure and act as an ascending proscenia curtailing any sound delay those in the balcony might experience. As a whole the Center proffers several methodical characteristics. Micro- phones in the dressing rooms ease communication between performers and stage personnel and allow players an ear to the action on stage. Spacious loading docks behind the Great Hall pro- vide stagehands direct access to their setups. And most important, says Emma Daugherty, PAC Assistant Direc- tor, the Center can accommodate two major acts simultaneously. However, at least some members of the MSU community have not em- braced the entire Center. Many students and faculty members take issue with the university for naming the Festival Stage after the wife of John McGoff, aman who has both political and financial ties with South Africa’s apartheid government. Kevin Bakerm, MSU student and member of the South African Liberation Committee (SALC), stated, “Having the Festival Stage bear the McGoff name is. inconsistent with everything the univer- sity has ever said about equality.” After years of organizing and con- struction, the Wharton Center is a reality. Continued showcasing of professional and local talent, however, faces a severe challenge — Michigan's precarious economy. Though the PAC provides a fine setting for some of the world’s great- est performers, its ultimate purpose, to provide for the public, will depend on the public’s ability to pay admission. This re- mains to be seen. Bill Brooks