The Shadow Theatre Company will go forward with a newly announced plan to re-stage “An Evening with Nina” next week – but it won’t happen at the Shadow Theatre, the building’s landlord said Thursday.
In a rapidly changing story filled with contradictory announcements, Cornerstone Equity’s Michael Rasser made his position absolutely clear: The company must vacate its Aurora headquarters.
“The only thing we are trying to negotiate at this point is the date and the terms that the Shadow Theatre leaves the premises,” Rasser said. “The one item that is absolutely not on the table, and not open to discussion, is the Shadow staying.
“If we can reach the agreement we are working on, they would be out by Jan. 5.”
That statement was in response to
late Wednesday night. Even though Cornerstone had posted a “notice to vacate” on Monday, board president Herman Malone announced that Shadow would re-open its most recent production, “An Evening with Nina,” at Shadow, starting next Thursday and running through the month of January — presumably as a means of raising some immediate cash.
Rasser said of that announcement: “Absolutely not.”
Malone later said there must have been some misunderstanding but that “Nina” would go on next week, at the nearby Aurora Fox studio theater.
Rasser said he wants to avoid having to undertake a legal eviction. “I also want to avoid having to exercise our landlord lien, which basically gives us the right to everything inside that facility.”
Rasser is proposing that Shadow leave everything inside the building that allows it to operate as a theater — including technical equipment such as light and sound systems. Shadow, in return, would keep all items that qualify as personal property.
“That’s yours. We don’t want that,” Rasser said. “Just leave us what we need to run the facility.”
Rasser added he has no expectation that Shadow will ever be able to fully repay unpaid back rent that he says is more than $100,000 and less than $150,000. “It would take some forensic accounting” to determine the exact figure,” he said.
He just wants a mutually acceptable agreement that allows all parties to move forward. “It is our intention to leave Shadow Theatre functional so they can move on without this thing hanging over them,” he said.
Malone said the Achilles heel for Shadow from its start in Aurora in 2008 was an unworkable rent he put at $8,800. But, he promised, “We are going to turn this sthing around.
“We are just as committed to making sure Shadow continues to be a vital theater in this community. Shadow is not about the building; it is about the show. We could be anyplace and do quality shows.”
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
