One of the most surprising things you’ll see at the Ridgefield Playhouse this year won’t be on stage but rather in the lobby. In fact, it will be the lobby. Just in time for its summer gala, the nonprofit performing arts center unveiled a new entrance lobby so vast you could park a yacht in it. It features a full bar and concession stand, coat check, huge new restrooms—and even a small stage for pre-show performances. The $4 million makeover also brings updated backstage facilities with a full kitchen and a VIP suite for artist meet-and greets, which doubles as the perfect space for private parties. They’re also slated to make substantial production upgrades to enhance the audio and lighting experience. Patrons can already enjoy higher quality sound due to the new audio treatments along the walls, which were designed by world-renowned acoustician, John Storyk (who happened to have designed Jazz at Lincoln Center and private studios for Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z). And that’s not to overlook the walk-up box office with two separate windows, and soon to be completed outdoor patio. I would be remiss not to mention that you can currently purchase an engraved brick for the aforementioned patio, and cement your support of the Playhouse.
“It’s been a long time coming,” says executive director Allison Stockel, who has led the Playhouse since 2004. “The old space was fine if you’re doing 20 shows a year, but this new space is more in line with what we’ve become.”
What it has become is a highly regarded venue that punches far above its 500-seat weight class, presenting more than 250 live shows a year, featuring countless national acts that would normally headline far larger venues.
The old Ridgefield High auditorium had sat vacant for two decades when, in the early 1990’s, selectwoman Jeremy Wilmot rang up fellow selectman Rudy Marconi. “She said ‘I have an idea,’” recalls now-first selectman Marconi. She led him into the cold, dark space and invited him to imagine it as a sparkling new arts center, alive with movies and performing arts.
Marconi knew the room well. As a high-school student, he’d attended assemblies there, appeared in a class play—and spent countless hours in study hall. “It was frozen in time. I was mortified to see my initials still carved into my study-hall desk,” he remembers with a laugh.
The selectmen rejected the proposal as too costly. But Wilmot eventually persuaded the board to take the idea to referendum in 1998, and the town agreed to contribute $750,000—provided Wilmot and her group could raise $200,000 on its own. (They sure did.) Under a working board led by Barbara Manners (who went on to launch the CHIRP concert series), the Playhouse opened with a concert featuring José Feliciano on December 10th, 2000.
On a Saturday night some 22 years later, I’m in seat K-105. Iconic ‘60s rockers The Zombies launch into their 1965 hit, “Tell Her No,” and the sold-out crowd
sings along.
Music (especially classic rock) is among the Playhouse’s most popular offerings, but that’s proverbial tip of the iceberg: There’s comedy, dance, theater, Broadway legends, Met Opera and National Theater on the big screen as well as movies, workshops, lectures, town meetings—and of course the annual Christmastime Nutcracker. “We are much more than a music venue,” insists Stockel.
And she’s right. Take the Arts in Education program: In the year before the pandemic, school buses region wide hauled 13,000 students in to see 33 daytime performances of 11 different shows. The Playhouse further supports the Arts in Education program with free tickets and transportation for Title 1 schools, as well as books and classroom materials through their Arts for Everyone outreach program – which also donates free tickets to other nonprofits, Ridgefield Social Services as well as additional outreach partnerships.
Their programming includes initiatives such as the Diversity Film Series, the Entertaining Conversations Series, the World Music Series and more. And though first-run movies decreased when the demand for live programming outweighed the films, TCM classics and other special movie events still light up the screen year-round.
Ridgefield Playhouse Artistic Director Jared Shahid, who has taken over booking duties, says the Ridgefield Playhouse is most often the smallest venue for any major tour that comes through. He attributes the Playhouse’s success in attracting big names to the foundation that Stockel built over these past two decades. “If you know Allison, you know she has chutzpah. Her unwavering approach to growing this venue beyond a typical Performing Arts Center is why we’re in the position we’re in.” But Shahid says artists are also drawn by the intimacy: “The Playhouse comes alive during our performances because you’re all sharing this small place together and the artists feel that electricity. Usually, you’re in a venue twice the size to see the same artist.”
Big acts expect a big paycheck, of course, which Stockel say accounts for Playhouse’s sometimes high-ticket prices, which are offset by adding value to the customer experience: free food and drink tastings, for example, or displays and exhibitions—even tiers of customer experience, including wine tastings and meet-and-greets. Research shows that theater patrons spend an average of $32 locally, beyond the ticket price. Barbara Nevins, who owns the Southwest Café, sees a big bump on show night. “A lot of out-of-towners come to Ridgefield for shows, and they all want to eat dinner.”
Stockel, now 55, grew up on Long Island. After college, she pursued a career in TV, starting at CNN in 1985 and eventually becoming one of VH-1’s producers during the early years in 1989. She moved to Ridgefield with her husband Jon in December of 2000 (the same month The Playhouse opened) and joined the Playhouse Board in 2001, where she soon took on the all-important role of booking acts and fundraising. She became the Executive Director in 2004.
Stockel is seemingly always in motion, usually trailed by her yellow lab (and Playhouse mascot), Charlie. She’s known for her 60-to-70-hour work weeks, and for stepping up to any task (including bouncer). While many venues shuttered for long months during the pandemic, the Playhouse closed only briefly, as Stockel and team quickly hatched a plan to keep it alive and its staff at work. “We were one of the most active venues on the East Coast, and safely managed to entertain about 10,000 patrons through the summer of 2020 alone. We kept the same model for 2021. By erecting a giant tent in the parking lot, we basically turned it into a socially distanced comedy club and booked everyone from John Mulaney and Pete Davidson to Bill Burr and Nate Bargatze – comedians who would otherwise be selling thousands of tickets per night, but had nowhere else to perform. They absolutely loved it, and of course made jokes about performing in a parking lot.” “We didn’t shut down—that’s not what we do. We were just doing things differently,” says managing director, Ashley Paltauf.
After 21 years in her role, Stockel has been planning her exit strategy with the Board of Directors to ensure a smooth succession. “It’s important to me to promote within this organization,” Stockel says. “We have had so many loyal and hard-working employees that it only makes sense to hand the torch over to the next generation. Jared and Ashley will be co-leading this venue with the artistic vision and managerial skills that will continue the success of the mission and vision of the Playhouse.”
All told, it seems like the physical structure and growing team at the Playhouse has caught up with the volume and quality of their programming. Both Paltauf and Shahid share in the sentiment that Ridgefield is a town that respects its history, and while the evolution of the Playhouse engenders all kinds of new and exciting opportunities, it’s with the knowledge that it’s taken more than 20 years to get to this point. “The Playhouse has been a gem since it opened its doors in 2000” says Stockel, “and with these new upgrades and changes, it will shine even brighter.”•