Industry Noize: Kalamazoo Theatre Gets Familiar ED

The Hinman family hopes that’s about to change, with the appointment of Stephanie Hinman – developer/owner Roger Hinman’s daughter – as executive director to manage the 87-year-old auditorium as well as give it some long overdue TLC.

The Hinmans estimate the theatre has lost $70,000-$100,000 annually for the last three or four years, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette, and hasn’t been self-sustaining in 30 years.

So, with Stephanie Hinman at the helm, the family reportedly plans to do a combination of rentals and inhouse productions, the paper reports.

“Somebody had to grab it by the horns and first get the right people on the bus and in the right seat,” Roger Hinman told the paper. “That’s Stephanie’s job.”

She has a daunting task, and a reported $5 million wish list.

Consultants are vetting some items on that list, including adding air conditioning, upgrading onstage production equipment, installing a sprinkler system and other aesthetic touchups.

The green rooms have already gotten a fresh coat of paint and new carpeting, and a roof leak – as well as some water damage – has been repaired.

Air conditioning alone carries a roughly $250,000 price tag. Without it, the theatre virtually shuts down during the summer.

But priorities are safety and structural issues, according to the paper. The Kalamazoo Theatre opened in 1927 as a movie palace, showing movies intermittently until 1982. Hinman purchased it in 1985 and rented it out for concerts, plays and other events.

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