So Wichita finally landed ‘Hamilton.’ Does that mean Century II is just fine?
Plenty of folks applauded this week’s news that the Broadway hit “Hamilton” will finally be coming to Wichita.
Some are downright giddy — but not necessarily because they’re fans of the hip-hop masterpiece: They see the announcement as evidence that Wichita doesn’t need a new performing arts center and that Century II is just fine, thank you very much.
“This is vindication — total vindication, with a capital ‘V,’” said Celeste Racette, the daughter of a former mayor and who is leading the Save Century II campaign.
“It’s what several of us have been saying all along, ever since that first public meeting for the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan back in July,” she said. “It’s just a ridiculous argument to say we can’t get top-rated shows because of our facility.”
A proposed redesign of the east bank of the Arkansas River calls for razing Century II and the former downtown library building to make way for a new performing arts center, convention center and large outdoor plaza. The $1.2 billion plan came after months of public meetings, during which “Hamilton” often took center stage.
Wayne Bryan, artistic director of Music Theatre Wichita, said Century II’s limitations — including its shallow stage, limited backstage space and cumbersome load-in and load-out — kept Wichita off the list of cities when “Hamilton” expanded its national tour in 2017.
The city of Wichita said through social media that it was passed over for “Hamilton” specifically because of Century II.
On Thursday, however, officials with the American Theatre Guild said the “Hamilton” show coming to Wichita as part of its 2021-22 season will not be a scaled-down version of the original:
“Broadway in Wichita is happy to confirm that the Hamilton production will be the same size and quality as the one on Broadway and on tour,” said Colin Bennett, spokesman for the organization.
For years, Bryan and others have said someone measured the Century II stage prior to the 2017 tour of “Hamilton” and that it was about 11 feet too short to accommodate the production. In a Facebook post updated Thursday, Bryan wrote:
“We are unclear as to the source of this original assessment of HAMILTON being too big. It did not come from the show’s producers, but possibly from a Century II employee who is no longer here.”
Bryan said this week’s announcement doesn’t change any of his reasoning behind building a new, better, modern home for performing arts.
While “Hamilton” may not be a scaled-down production, Bryan said, other touring companies — including “Les Miserables” in 1992, “Wicked” in 2009 and “The Lion King” in 2012 — had to retrofit or leave set pieces on the truck because they couldn’t fit everything into Century II.
“If there’s another facility you can go to that has a standard loading dock and standard backstage area, you’re going to choose that first,” he said. “All of the reasons why a new performing arts facility is needed in Wichita still remain.
“We have a wonderful energy downtown with the new library, the baseball stadium, Intrust Bank arena, the new airport,” Bryan said. “Why should our performing arts be stuck in 1969 with no way to expand, in a round, asbestos-filled bunker.”
Why was “Hamilton” such a focus of the Century II debate? Because the blockbuster musical has been one of the hottest tickets in the country for years. Because Wichitans have griped about having to travel to New York, Chicago, Kansas City or other venues to see it.
It was an easy target for riverfront development proponents to point to and say, “See what we’re missing?” Now that it’s headed our way, Century II supporters are saying, “See? We told you so.”
Now it’s clear that market demand, ticket sales or other concerns — not the dimensions of Century II’s stage — are what kept “Hamilton” out of Wichita. Riverfront development proponents who argue that we’ll never get big shows until we have a newer venue will have to shift their focus to make their point.
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This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 12:41 PM.
