Two high-profile employees at the Hawaii Theatre Center will lose their jobs Jan. 31 as part of a plan to reduce costs that have left the Chinatown venue in the red for the past five years.
Theater President Ruth Bolan said Thursday that economic realities forced the nonprofit organization to cut Burton White, artistic director and general manager, and Matt James, house manager, from the payroll.
“The theater has been running a deficit for quite a while,” she said. “The only time within the last five years it didn’t was because someone died and left us money. And waiting for someone to die is not a financial plan.”
White was part of the staff that reopened the historic theater in 1996. For the past 18 years he took an active role in producing shows and promoting Hawaiian music and cultural events.
In addition to his job as house manager, James is well known in the local arts and entertainment communities.
Bolan, who was hired as theater president in June, said it was a difficult decision to terminate the two men.
“This was in no way a reflection of their years of service or performance,” she said. “We just had to downsize and flatten out our management structure.”
Bolan called White “a beloved” member of the Hawaii theater community.
“Our hope is he will continue to produce work for our stage as an independent producer,” Bolan said. “He is very talented, and I think he is trying to decide his next move. He can get a job at plenty of places on the mainland.”
When reached Thursday, White said he was unable to comment.
Tax records for the nonprofit Hawaii Theatre show that White was paid $110,000 a year. James’ salary was not available.
The most recent numbers available for the theater’s expenses — covering the fiscal year that ended in May 2013 — show it operated with a deficit of $623,754. The previous fiscal year it was $268,085 in the red.
Although last year’s numbers are not available, Bolan said they likely would show another deficit year.
Projections for this year are no better.
“Our budget is around $1.5 million to $1.7 million, but we are projecting that with that budget we will be in the hole $350,000 this year when the dust settles,” she said.
Bolan replaced the longtime theater president, Sarah Richards, who retired after 25 years as its top executive. Her salary was $157,500, according to tax records.
Bolan would not reveal her pay, but said it is less than what her predecessor made.
The theater’s financial troubles are linked to a shrinking pool of potential donors, she said, but also to the impression in Hono?lulu that the organization has a lot of money because its supporters were able to raise $32 million in the late 1990s to renovate the 1,400-seat theater, which was built in 1922 and is listed on the state and national registers of historic places.
“That philanthropic landscape is gone,” she said. “The philanthropic community that built the theater is passing away, and the younger generation doesn’t have that history of giving to art organizations.”
Management has to create programming that appeals to the pool of potential donors, said Bolan, adding she is confident she can improve the theater’s financial problems in about a year’s time.
She said that when she was hired by the board of directors, she knew what she had to do.
In addition to cutting the staff to 12 from 14, Bolan said she cut theater costs
by leasing its bar service to an outside concessionaire. Bar operations had previously been handled by James.
A new ticketing system in the works is expected to save the theater “a huge amount of money” and make it easier for ticket buyers to use mobile devices to purchase tickets and check seat locations, she said.
“My job was to come in and turn this ship around, and by golly I’m going to do it,” Bolan said. “The Hawaii Theatre will not go under on my watch.”
Star-Advertiser reporter John Berger contributed to this report.
