There won’t be a ‘White Christmas’ in Wichita this year; here’s why

The Crown Arts Collaborative won’t be hosting a production of “White Christmas” at the Crown Uptown Theatre this holiday season as planned, but it’s not because the group doesn’t want to.

“It’s been heartbreaking,” said Max Wilson, the collaborative’s executive director.

The cancellation is related to new ownership — and so far unnamed and very quiet new ownership — at the 1927 theater.

Wilson said the new owner seems to be taking the theater in a new direction and has changed procedures and prices, which he said have skyrocketed.

The sale of the Crown was pending for much of this year.

“We took a pause assuming that the transfer of ownership would happen much earlier in the year than it did,” Wilson said.

Wilson founded the collaborative in 2021.

“We are a nonprofit performing arts organization that has returned dinner theater to the Crown Uptown.”

Last year, the collaborative put on seven productions, and 16,000 people saw 81 performances.

This year, the collaborative scaled back to three performances while waiting for the theater sale to close.

The collaborative put on “Dreamgirls,” which closed Sept. 10, the day before the theater sold.

Then came the “The Rocky Horror Show,” which has proved popular with theatergoers in the past, Wilson said.

However, fees to rent the theater went up by 125%, he said, and there were changes in ticketing fees and structures as well.

“With the new owner, it’s been a little more sticker shock,” Wilson said.

He said contracts were not honored with the sale and that everything “changed right in the middle of production.”

“Rocky Horror” had been profitable in the past but was not this year due to the changes, Wilson said.

For “White Christmas,” there were to be 11 performances from Dec. 1 to Dec. 23.

In addition to having to pay much more to rent the space, Wilson said the new owner wanted to shorten the show’s run, which he said would have negatively impacted his ability to sell tickets.

Also, he said the theater would not have been selling tickets through its box office.

“We just couldn’t afford to take another serious loss.”

The collaborative is named for the Crown Uptown, but Wilson said it is not restricted to performances there, though he considers the theater to be the collaborative’s home.

He said he “had some wonderful venues reach out” and offer their spaces, but it was all too-last minute to work out.

“It’s terrible for the Wichita community,” Wilson said.

He said what’s particularly upsetting, though, is about three dozen people “who cleared their schedule to make something beautiful that was not able to go forward” are now out of jobs.

When he had to inform then, Wilson said, “It devastated me.”

Now, the collaborative is taking what he describes as a pause as he navigates what’s happening at the Crown Uptown and where it is headed with the new owner.

“He is a gentleman from out of state who has invested in a few other historic theaters from around the region,” Wilson said.

“From what I understand, his intention is to use it as sort of a concert performing arts venue.”

He said that will include one-time performances with acts that the owner books at all his venues.

As Wilson sees how the situation unfolds, he may need to figure out a new plan for taking the collaborative forward somewhere else.

He said that would be a disappointment because the idea was to bring back “a historic and beloved art form to a historic and beloved theater.”

“Ultimately, that was the place we were going to make it all happen.”