Star Plaza Theater, Merrillville, Ind.
The curtain will not go down on Star Plaza Theater, Merrillville, Ind. after all. In August, operators of the 37-year-old Merrillville institution sadly spread the word that the theater was shutting its doors. The last show was scheduled for April 30, 2017.
The change of plans, and change of heart, came after an outpouring from both the local community and a number of the artists that have called Star Plaza home since the theater opened in 1979.
“We are excited to say the least,” said Charlie Blum, president and CEO of Star Plaza Theatre and Star Productions. “After we heard from the amount of people who were truly saddened by our decision to close the property, we decided to take a second look at it. After a lot of consideration we came to the conclusion that we could overcome many of the issues that we thought were standing in the way of keeping Star Plaza Theater up and running.”
“The flood of people who were shocked and torn up by our decision to shut down was overwhelming,” said Blum. “Not only did we hear from many, many people from the local community; we also heard from many of the artists.”
“We got email after email and call after call from so many of the artists that have played here over the years,” said Blum. The Oak Ridge Boys have played here for 37 consecutive years. Lyle Lovett posted on his Facebook that it was ‘bittersweet playing the Star Plaza for the last time’. The Moody Blues were devastated. Alice Cooper was overcome and wanted to know if there was anything he could do to get us to change our minds. We heard from so many artists who said they would do anything we asked if it would help us stay in business.”
With the power of the people and artists leaning heavily toward finding that solution, the Whites, Blum and advisors saw no choice but to make it happen.
“I’m thrilled to say we figured out a way to keep the Star Plaza Theater open,” said Blum. “We’ll operate on our own, and when the hotel gets rebuilt, we’ll work together as one unit.”
“When I got the phone call that the Star Plaza Theater was not closing, it made my day,” said Duane Allen of The Oak Ridge Boys, who have played a show at Star Plaza for 38 consecutive years. “I was walking on air for the rest of the day. I finally got through to Charlie about closing time last night and we talked and laughed and cried for a long time.”
“We have had so many wonderful experiences with the Star Plaza Theater people; it’s not the theater as much as the people in it,” said Allen. “We played the very first show at Star Plaza and opened the theater 38 years ago. The experiences we’ve had over the 38 years we’ve played there are so memorable. The people who run the theater have become our dear friends.”
Star Plaza Theater GM Mark Bishop and Charlie Blum, president and CEO of Star Plaza Theatre and Star Productions welcome The Oak Ridge Boys.
Allen recalled a year in which The Oak Ridge Boys did not have a date scheduled. “Bruce White was looking at the schedule and realized that there was not an Oak Ridge Boys date, so he rescheduled every other act until he found a date that we could play.”
“There have been times when the Star Plaza staff and The Oak Ridge Boys band and crew took over a local high school gym and played basketball all day, laughing and hitting each other hard, then we’d go out to dinner and do it all again,” said Allen. Charlie Blum introduced The Oak Ridge Boys to the iPhone. “We were all Blackberry users and he encouraged us all to get the iPhone and we did.”
“It’s a family,” said Allen. “There is only one place in the entire United States that The Oak Ridge Boys exchange Christmas presents with and it’s Star Plaza. It never fails and it’s been happening that way since we first started going there.”
Allen’s most special experience with Star Plaza happened when his mother was sick and in a hospital in Texas.
“We were in a little place in Illinois,” recalled Allen. “We were doing two shows that night. I got the message that afternoon that my mother had passed away. I thought, ‘my mother taught me to sing and she would want The Oak Ridge Boys to perform that night’ so we did. The funeral was scheduled for the next day. I needed to get from Illinois to Texas and then back to St. Clairsville, Ohio for the next show. There’s one man that made that possible — Bruce White. He sent his airplane to pick me up. The plane stayed with me for two days, no questions asked. I didn’t miss a show and attended my mother’s funeral and I will forever be grateful. These are the kind of people that operate the Star Theater.”
Allen said that The Oak Ridge Boys will continue to play Star Plaza for as long as they are still performing and the theater stays open. “Another promoter had booked us into a theater close by Star Plaza after they were going to close. As soon as he heard that they were not closing down, he sent a note which said, ‘I am graciously withdrawing the offer’ because he knew we had to bow out.”
With a heavy heart, Blum told Venues Today on Aug. 15, “Star Plaza will be closing down in early 2017. I’ve been so blessed.”
Blum said that original decision to close down the theater was not because of financial issues or attendance issues; it was because the theater is connected to a Radisson Hotel, which is going to be demolished and rebuilt.
“We are adjoined to the hotel,” said Blum. “The concern all along was the structural implications we were facing when the hotel came down and how that would impact us next door. We conducted many surveys and they indicated that we shared a lot of underground pipes and wiring, and it seemed quite complicated. Looking at the age of the buildings, we thought we might as well take them both down together.”
Blum said they considered rebuilding the theater, but that plan was considered to be cost prohibitive, and nearly impossible, due to the space needed for the Radisson rebuild and a new parking lot to go with it.
Blum said his biggest challenge now is booking shows past April 30. “I thought we were shutting down and didn’t book anything beyond what was to be our last day,” said Blum. “So now I’m scrambling to fill the dates. I need to let agents and artists know we are not going out of business.”
Blum said he’s hoping for no interruption to the normal event schedule, and that he’s looking to open up Star Plaza to other promoters for rentals to make sure that happens. “We’re also willing to co-promote shows; we’ve never done anything like that,” said Blum. “ But I will do that now to focus on filling the theater.”
Blum said that they have a new stage, new sound and lighting equipment and new seating. “We’re ready for shows,” he said. “We’re also committed to making any new capital improvements that need to be made.”
The operation will add 40 new people, mostly because Star Plaza will be taking over the food and beverage operation from the hotel. “We have all the equipment we need right here to run food and beverage,” said Blum. There are also another 160 staff members, both full and part-time, who will be keeping their jobs.
Interviewed for this story: Charlie Blum, (219) 757-3543; Duane Allen, (615) 963-3306