Province chips in $15M to bring Pantages Playhouse back to life

A string quartet performed at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre Tuesday in celebration of a $15-million contribution from the province to raise the curtain at the historic landmark again.

The musicians provided the backdrop to Premier Wab Kinew’s announcement of the cash injection to “help bring the Pantages Playhouse back to life.”

The theatre — which opened in 1914 and was once a hub for vaudeville performers, including Charlie Chaplin — has been closed for eight years.

“This is a tremendous project to advance arts and culture in Winnipeg and across Manitoba, but it’s also a big investment in our downtown,” Kinew said.

“For years, I think this facility has served our community, and now we’re so, so happy that future generations of Manitobans will be able to learn about what makes life worth living in this part of the world, by attending events here and of course connecting with arts and culture.”

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra wants to make the venue at Main Street and Market Avenue its home, but major renovations are needed, including improvements to the building’s acoustics. The estimated cost is $62 million.

Curt Vossen, chair of the orchestra’s board, said the funding brings the project closer to reality.

“This is a project that’s been a lot of years in the making,” Vossen said. “Today, in a very material way, we have traction — and we’re going to go forward with great resolve.”

The Performing Arts Consortium of Winnipeg and the WSO have joined forces to revitalize the theatre.

They hope to fill the storied space 250 to 300 nights per year, Vossen said, including WSO performances.

The orchestra performs 60 to 70 events annually; it would continue to hold larger shows at the Centennial Concert Hall, where it rents performance space.

Community groups — both amateur and professional — could also perform at the theatre, said Angela Birdsell, who is chief executive officer of the symphony and the Pantages.

Seventy-five community groups used the site 150 days annually before it closed, she said.

The WSO and consortium are waiting for the federal government to make a contribution. They have asked for $22 million, which would mean 80 per cent of the cost would be covered, Birdsell said.

“We urge you all to pick up the phone and call your MPs,” she said at the event Tuesday. “The federal funding is going to come through — especially if you all email, write and call.”

Organizers would appeal to the private sector to raise the rest.

“We feel very, very confident that there are a great many people interested in this project, and that the general public will deliver in spades,” Birdsell said.

A public fundraising campaign is anticipated for the end of the year or early 2027.

The earliest the Pantages would reopen is 2029, Birdsell said. Detailed designs are being made; Number Ten Architectural Group created initial designs.

Environmental remediation and selective demolition must be considered, Birdsell said.

The facility — a heritage site — will undergo upgrades to its stage, acoustic systems, seating and backstage facilities, the plans suggest.

The modernized site would likely hold 1,100 seats. It seated more than 1,700 in its heyday, according to the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.

“It seems to be an exciting space,” said Kristina Bauch, a WSO violinist.

Reopening the theatre will boost downtown Winnipeg, Birdsell said: she envisions the site open during events such as Nuit Blanche and First Fridays in the Exchange District.

“Having a vacant and dark building, I think that’s the worst thing that we can have in our city,” said Johanna Chabluk, a city planner who works for CentreVenture Development Corp.

Opening the Pantages would be a “very positive thing,” Chabluk said before the announcement.

Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, echoed that sentiment by saying the Pantages will boost jobs in the arts sector and increase traffic in the area.

The consortium and WSO released design plans for the theatre last June. At the time, they had raised nearly $15 million in pledges from foundations and individuals.

The consortium, which has charitable status, acquired the theatre in 2022. By 2023, the symphony had joined the project and was working with theatre design and acoustic experts.

The WSO managed Pantages from 2011 until 2018.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com