The “new” Landmark Theatre

SYRACUSE — The new management team at the Landmark Theatre is working hard to make the historic establishment more open and accessible to the community.

Sure, we all know the Landmark is open, when you see a show. Any other time you walk by, it may appear dark and closed.

This is the perception executive director Thomas T. Kazmierczak and his team are trying to change. The goal is to show that the Landmark is more visible than people think it is, and that it is much more than a “high-end, high-ticket” establishment.

“The dust is settled, the doors are open, it’s time for change,” Kazmierczak says.

If you’ve been to any event at the Landmark recently, Kazmierczak has mostly likely greeted you and shook your hand.

This past winter, you could have been one of many that watched a Syracuse University basketball game on the big screen at the facility or danced the night away at the free Mardi Gras party. Or, maybe you attended the St. Patrick’s Day party and watched the parade from the South Salina Street-facing dressing rooms.

And, have you received a personal tour yet of the Landmark? There’s much more to it than the grand mezzanine or admiring the stage from one of the theater’s 2,900 seats.

Have you seen the newly renovated dressing rooms on two floors above the theater? Or the original air-conditioning unit in the basement? Have you met “Clarissa,” the ghost that is said to haunt the Landmark?

The men behind the plan
Kazmierczak joined the Landmark in March 2013, after the former executive director, Denise DiRienzo, stepped down to teach and spend more time with her family. A national search was launched and Kazmierczak was selected.

Before coming to the Landmark, Kazmierczak ran the Sandusky State Theater in Sandusky, Ohio for five years. The Sandusky Theater is half the size of the Landmark, with 1,500 seats.

Kazmierczak was also the executive director for the Lancaster Opera House outside of Buffalo for more than 10 years. A native of Buffalo, he holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and theater from SUNY Buffalo and a master’s in theater arts administration from Emerson College in Boston. He also took courses  from Queen Margaret University in Scotland.

On Jan. 3, Kazmierczak brought Jeremy Ryan Brown on board as the director of programming and outreach. Brown, a professional actor with a bachelor’s degree in communications and theater performance from Cedarville University in Ohio, had been doing contract work for the Landmark since July before coming on full time.

Combined, Kazmierczak and Brown have more than 50 years of theater experience.

Brown shares Kazmierczak’s vision of opening up the Landmark, honoring the theater’s history, and merging programming that Syracuse wants with original Broadway shows.

 Until recently, the Landmark has operated solely as a “rental house,” which means the facility was rented for a fee by promoters who book acts there. A nightly rental fee for the Landmark is $2,400.

Now, the Kazmierczak  and Brown are working on rebranding and repositioning the theater so that it’s not only a diverse performing arts space, but also a facility that holds special events, conferences, business meetings, weddings, and more.

Brown is working on creating marketing materials to promote the new identity and opportunities available at the Landmark. Even without those materials, the Landmark is already booking new business.

“Last year in April, nothing was booked on the calendar. This April, we have nothing open,” says Kazmierczak.

The Landmark will also return to its roots as a movie house by showing movies year-round. People can expect to see family, horror, and holiday movie series, as well as a special summer classic movie series that will show timeless features like “Gone with the Wind,” “Casablanca,” and “Singin’ in the Rain.”

“It’s an exciting time for people to come back and see movies they would have seen here 50 years ago,” says Brown.

Did you know that in the 1920s, Salina Street was known as “theater row”? In 1928, the Landmark opened as the Loew’s State Theatre and joined the already happening establishments of R.K.O Keith’s, the Strand, the Temple, and Eckel’s on Salina Street. The Landmark is the only remaining theater from “theater row.”

“There’s no other place in town where you can walk in 2014, and step into 1928,” says Kazmierczak.

Capturing new audiences is also a focus of Kazmierczak and Brown. They are working on drawing in the 20s and 30s crowd, including sorority and fraternity members from Syracuse University, and participants in 40 Below, the local young professionals organization.

“The Landmark has a glitzy Hollywood feel,” says Kazmierczak. He suspects the glamour of the Landmark is part of the appeal for younger people to want to be more involved with the theater.

Social media has also been key in growing the Landmark’s reach in the community. Brown says that the theater’s Facebook and Twitter feeds are outpacing the social-media reach of other cultural and performing-arts organizations in town. But don’t mistake that as competition.

Brown says the Landmark takes the “friend, not foe” approach with the other arts organizations, as the theater hopes to collaborate with them to create a vibrant local arts space. “The more we work together, the more it’s going to thrive,” says Brown.

As a 501(3)(c) nonprofit, the Landmark operates with five full-time staffers, including Kazmierczak and Brown. Kazmierczak anticipates the staff levels will gradually grow in the next two to three years. Brown says it’s important for the theater to be stable financially, and have a healthy delegation and flow of responsibilities in place first.

Working with an operating budget of $1.27 million, Brown says the theater is currently “in the black.” The Landmark generated revenue of $5.2 million in 2011, according to the latest IRS 990 report available. Kazmierczak says that the organization is currently working on having audits completed for 2012 and 2013.

Tax credits lead to more opportunities
On March 31, the New York State legislature passed the Musical and Theatrical Production tax credit for the 2014-2015 state budget. This bill provides a 25 percent tax incentive for major touring and theatrical productions that opt to launch tours from one of the eight qualifying theaters in upstate New York. The credit takes effect Jan. 1, 2015.

The Landmark and three other CNY theaters — The Forum Theater in Binghamton, The Stanley in Utica, and Elmira’s Clemens Center — are eligible for this tax credit. Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, and Schenectady also have qualifying theaters.

“We will be an origination house for Broadway shows, meaning that Broadway shows will start right here in Syracuse,” says Brown. “It will be a great economic driver for our downtown hotels and restaurants. It will also be great to have Broadway-style actors right here in the Landmark.”

Broadway shows starting in Syracuse would also mean hiring locals, from stage hands to tech crews to contractors, to help with production.

Before the $16 million renovations were completed at the Landmark back in 2011, the theater didn’t have the capacity to host huge touring shows. Now, with an expanded stage, two floors of upgraded dressing rooms, and enhanced power capacity, major touring acts have the necessary equipment and space to rehearse and perform shows at the Landmark.

“This dramatically changes what we are able to offer,” says Kazmierczak. “This is the new Landmark Theatre. The sky is the limit.”

Contact Collins at ncollins@cnybj.com

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The Landmark Theatre
362 S. Salina St.
Syracuse, NY 13202
(315) 475-7980
landmarktheatre.org

Founded: 1928

Employees: 5 full time
Service Area: Syracuse area

Key Staff:
Executive Director: Thomas T. Kazmierczak
Executive-director’s compensation: not available
Director of Programming & Outreach: Jeremy Ryan Brown
Board of Trustees (Officers)
President: James Albanese
Vice Presidents: Paula Deckman, David Muolo, James Williams  

Board Members
James Albanese
Jessica Arb
Dr. Glenn Axelrod
Peter Baum (charter trustee)
Brian Bisaccio
Peter Cappuccilli
Stephanie Crockett
Paula Deckman
Ivan Drazek
Bill Fisher
Seth Goldberg
Samuel Gramet
Linda Henley
Joe Janowski
David Katleski
William Knowlton (charter trustee)
Jim Kraus
Dave Muolo
Joey Nigro-Nilsen (charter trustee)
Brody Smith
Angelo Testani
James Williams          

Financial Data:  Fiscal year ending 12/31/11