After a quick turnaround to submit a report and fly to Madison after being hired no more than two weeks ago, a consultant to evaluate a financial model to save Madison’s Overture Center for the Arts explained his recommendations to members of the City Council Monday.
Dr. James Undercofler, a Philadelphia-based consultant who works as a professor at Drexel University, told various members of the City Council he interviewed about 25 people for his external report on Overture’s proposed focus model.
After city alders hired Undercofler, however, some members of the council proposed two additional financial models that would either make Overture a privately owned and operated venture, or another giving ownership of Overture to the Madison Cultural Arts District board, a public venture.
Although his report focused solely on the focus model, Undercofler said he believed, based on his experience in the performing arts industry, the “private-private” ownership model of Overture would be ideal because it creates one single governing board rather than the current two boards, the 201 State Foundation and MCAD.
Undecofler also said Overture’s current difficulties sorting out major financial issues or booking large blockbuster shows are common for young but large performing arts facilities just jumping off the ground.
He equated the somewhat sudden arrival of Overture into the Madison community to New York’s Lincoln Center being dropped into town.
“There’s the usual bumpiness and awkwardness that happens at the beginning of something like this,” Undercofler said. “The adjustment phase has been difficult.”
As part of his recommendations for the future governance of Overture, Undercofler suggested a new board also become less reliant on officials appointed by state and local governments and instead highlight a more private voice at a ratio of approximately 80 to 20.
Undercofler said officials must rebuild the MCAD board so it would look more like a private, not-for-profit board.
Additionally, Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, asked Undercofler if the prominence of University of Wisconsin facilities, including a soon-to-be-constructed School of Music building and the upcoming opening of the new Union South, is comparable to other cities of a similar size throughout the country.
Because UW attracts major speakers and sometimes world-famous musicians or performers, Maniaci asked if UW has any sort of effect on Overture’s attendance or popularity. Undercofler said public audiences easily distinguish university and private productions.
Tonight, and likely into the early hours of Wednesday morning, the City Council will consider the three currently proposed Overture models and possibly vote to approve one of them.
Since 2008, Overture has fought an ongoing financial crisis that some officials say could lead to the facility going dark if not fixed before Dec. 31. This summer, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz asked alders to consider the focus model allowing the city to control up to $800,000 in operating costs after purchasing the entire building for $1.
Before 2003, Overture was the Madison Civic Center. After a $205 million grant from Madison-area philanthropist Jerome Frautschi, the Civic Center expanded into Overture, adding a variety of new and renovated facilities considered upmarket for a city of Madison’s size.
