The acting troupe behind the Strand Theater project in Brookfield is planning out its fall programming now, although the company still lacks a permanent home.
John Dumas, the leader of the Brookfield Theater Corporation that is trying to build a space for community theater in Brookfield, said the group is working to get the rights to multiple shows to perform before the end of the year.
But plans to move to a location on Fairview Avenue have become dicey as the building’s current tenant, Rodriguez Auto Repair, is now trying to purchase the building it has long rented.
“[The Strand has] scheduled an original show that one of the members of our troop is putting together that we’ll have up in September at some point, and then we plan on squeezing another show in there, probably in mid-October,” Dumas told the Landmark. “We plan on doing a Halloween program, sort of a haunted house … That’s something that used to happen in Brookfield years and years ago when I was a kid.”
He said the group also hopes to perform a licensed show in November before inviting a traveling troupe to perform their Christmas-themed show in Brookfield in December. A summer theater program for children could even materialize in the coming months, Dumas said, though he said the group “can’t commit to that” quite yet without a location.
“We figure we’re going to be somewhere starting Sept. 1, whether that’s on Fairview Avenue or another location,” Dumas said. “The Fairview property is still where we would like to be, but they have a tenant in there. Rodriguez Auto Repair is still in there, and he’s got a lease through October.”
But Adelfo Rodriguez, the owner and operator of Rodriguez Auto Repair at 8916 Fairview Ave. since 2010, told the Landmark he’s in talks to purchase the building outright from its current owner.
“October is when the lease expires, but my landlord, the one who collects the rent, mentioned to us that the theater wasn’t doing the offer anymore. I called the owner of the building, and I spoke to the owner, not to the real estate guys, and we agreed on a price that we’re trying to buy the place ourselves,” Rodriguez said.
He said he’s in talks with his bank to take out a loan to finance the purchase of the building, which would allow Rodriguez Auto Repair to stay open indefinitely.
Rodriguez said he wasn’t initially interested in buying the building when he opened shop 16 years ago.
“There’s too limited parking for the business, so that’s why I wasn’t interested in buying this building. But my son started working with me; it’s been six years already, and he likes the place. That’s why I’m trying to buy the place, for him. Me, I’m 58, I’ll be out of here in seven years more, so I’m thinking about leaving the business to my son,” he said.
After news broke in February that the Strand was hoping to move into the Fairview Avenue property by the start of this month, Rodriguez said many of his regular customers asked him to stay in the area.
“I used to have my business in Oak Park. I’ve been here since 2010, and now Brookfield notices that I was here. I’ve been having a lot of customers, a lot of seniors that were coming into the shop, and they’re very comfortable bringing their cars here. When they heard, they were like, ‘How far are you going to move?’” he said. “Hopefully, everything works out, and we can get the building.”
Back to the Strand
“We’re definitely going to start full-time production in September, regardless of where we end up,” Dumas. “At this point, we’re booked till the end of the year, as far as the theater part goes.”
He said the unstable situation with finding a location “hasn’t been ideal” to facilitate the work of theatrical production.
“You don’t just start a production, and you start doing shows. It’s eight weeks of rehearsals, and before that the director had to get ready, you have to get the rights, you have to have auditions … It’s a six-, nine-month process by the time you’re going,” he said. “We started working on stuff already, but unfortunately, the building progress has not moved as quickly as we had hoped. We’re trying to balance it.”
Dumas said the theater company’s member still feels like their work is “something that Brookfield wants.”
Earlier this month, the group performed a pared down version of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the ‘70s rock opera that recounts the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, Dumas said.
“We had three shows. About 200 people came out and saw it over the three shows. It was at the Compassion Factory, which was wonderful,” he said.
The show was initially scheduled to take place outside at Eight Corners, but they moved inside due to a forecast of rain, he said.
“It was not the end. It was not really a big deal, and it worked out just fine. We were calling it a staged concert. ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ has 25 people in the cast; we had, like, 12, so we were going about half-speed,” he said. “It’s hard to do when you don’t have a place. We were rehearsing wherever we could.”
Despite all of the challenges, Dumas said Brookfield’s community theater movement will persevere.
“We’re not going away. We’re going to figure this out. It hasn’t been on the timeline we originally thought it was going to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen,” he said.
