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Local business leaders, politicians, experts and scientists.All are fair game on KRCU's Going Public.Join us for interviews and features that matter to you on KRCU's Going Public.

Going Public: Local Non-Profit Working to Revitalize Cape's Broadway Theatre

Woods: This is Going Public. I'm Dan woods. We're talking today with Suzanne Hightower. She's president of the Cape Broadway Theatre. It's a nonprofit, here in Cape Girardeau. Suzanne, welcome to the program.

Hightower: Thank you. I'm glad to be here.

Woods: So we wanted to talk with you about your efforts and your nonprofit's efforts to restore the Broadway Theatre here in Cape Girardeau. Before we do that, though, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hightower: Um, well, I am the president of the nonprofit Cape Broadway Theatre. I also just started a company called Speakeasy Coffee Company that is going to be opened here in the next month or two. And I am a pharmacist by trade, which I work to pay for the other projects that I have that are kind of my passion projects. And I am a single mother of with four kids.

Woods: Wow. So you're busy.

Hightower: I am very busy.

Woods: And so your interest in bringing back the Broadway Theater. Speakeasy Coffee is going to be I guess, right next door, kind of give us the lay of the land there on Broadway.

Hightower: Okay, so on that block, you've got the theatre. And then you have what was the old Pitters building, and it's I'm putting in a coffee shop that stays open late. That'll have coffees, teas, smoothies, Italian sodas, food options, and fancy milkshakes. And it'll be open till 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and then 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and open on Sunday, because I've had a lot of requests for downtown to have something open on Sundays that that people can go to. So the Speakeasy Coffee Company is right next to the Broadway Theatre, and we will also have six apartments that will be opening up July or so.

Woods: Okay. And you mentioned that Speakeasy Coffee there. There's maybe was a speakeasy at one point in that particular building?

Hightower: Yeah, there's a couple things that they said was the history of it that I think that one was built in 1923. It is a historical building. Supposedly, there was a speakeasy in the basement. And people would drop their their kids off at the theatre. And then they would walk through the alley, which is in between the two businesses and go down in the basement and then drink while their kids were at the theatre. And then they'd go pick them up.

Woods: And in the theater opened in or was built in 1921?

Hightower: And then the other is supposedly Elvis signed autographs in that building.

Woods: Really? Hightower: Yes.

Woods: Very interesting. Okay, so tell us about the Broadway Theatre, there was a fire recently, how much was the damage that was done by that fire there?

Hightower: So the fire started in the front, and they believe it was from some candles. So it did cause quite a bit of damage in the front part of the building. The theatre part only, you know, had some smoke damage. And so it held pretty strong. Luckily, that building is like almost all concrete and brick. So it did pretty good. And the whole cost of it, that part of the front building was falling apart anyway. And the best thing is that the front facade made it because that's going to be really important for getting the historical tax credits for the theatre, when we get to start building.

Woods: So the building is a historical, it is a historical building. Hightower: Yes.

Woods: And that's helping you with being able to hopefully get some special funding, I guess, to do the restoration that you're wanting to do.

Hightower: Right. So it allows us to get federal and Missouri tax credits, potentially. And we also, because of where we're at, we have the opportunity to get new market tax credits, which is bringing in a business that is kind of new for the community, which would be the theater. And so those those will help out a lot also. And I think the city will provide some tax incentives that are part of restoring and building, restoring some of the historic buildings in the area. So those will really help us get some funding and money after we do our fundraising.

Woods: Right. And so tell us how, what's the goal that you need to hit to do everything you're wanting to do fundraising-wise with with the building,

Hightower: We need to hit $6 million fundraising, and the total cost of the building will be $15 million, but if we can hit that $6 million, then we will have the new market tax credits and the other historic tax credits, that will cover most of the rest of the $9 million and so that $6 million is going to be our big push. And so right now we are in our fundraising efforts, we do have an event that's coming up, July 17, it'll be in the evening, probably five to nine more information will be coming out on it. It'll be sponsored by Withers radio. And it will be a, we're gonna call it the "Broadway Theatre Festival." And we're gonna have some artists there, and some vendors and live music. And it'll be all going to the theater. So that's one of our fundraiser events.

And then we have another one that we're going to do a mural working with the Painted Wren Art Gallery. And they produce these panels that people individually can paint little triangles on them. And it's just beautiful, if anybody has seen the murals that they've been doing, and that's going to go inside probably the extended part of the building of the theater. And so everybody would have a chance to be part of that mural. And we may even try to set a world record with the most people painting on one art, you know, one art project. So that is our another fundraiser coming up. And we are trying to decide what we're going to paint. And so we thought about doing you know, vaudeville acts that might have been popular at the time that the theater opened because it is a vaudeville theatre, which means that it brought in different acts for, for people to to watch. And we know that it had, I think, a circus type thing where they brought elephants and camels and stuff over the bridge from Illinois, and they had to pay a toll for them. So you know, that stage was hefty if it could hold an elephant.

Woods: And it's so this year would be the 100th anniversary. Hightower: From when it started getting when they started building Yeah, yes.

Woods: $6 million is a lot of money is this, it seems like a daunting task. But you're ready for it?

Hightower: Well, yeah, so I started this because I was putting Speakeasy Coffee Company, and I was talking to Liz Haynes of Old Town Cape. And I said, you know, I would really love to save that theater. And she goes, "Really? We just need a strong leader." So she got Professor Hoffman to show us the theater and I walked through it, and I just could see the potential and I love theater, my dad would take me. I grew up in Ames, Iowa. So he would take me to "The Nutcracker" when I was little, and we get all dressed up and go out for dinner. And so it's a great memory. And I'd like to provide opportunities for those type of memories for our community.

Woods: And you started this nonprofit, you started kind of getting this all together, September of last of 2020, I guess, before the fire happened. And you told me that if if it hadn't been that you'd started things the story might have ended differently for the theater, had you not had this effort going? Right?

Hightower: Yes, that's true. So we got our nonprofit started in September 2020. And the reason I think we were able to save the building is the city knew that we were working on this, and they gave us the opportunity to stabilize it, and bring someone in to show that, you know, it was still saveable, and stuff. So the city really worked with us to allow us to get it stabilized. And because the building is being donated by Phil Vinson, and that should happen in June. And so we still hadn't had that transfer and everything but the city has really worked for with us to stabilize it and then be able to fundraise for the money to get it, you know, get the roof on and the other things that are needed right away.

Woods: So what's your vision for what will happen once the theater is up and going, what kind of things will be happening there?

Hightower: So we are trying to do a mixed venue theater. It is going to have the ability to snap in seats for theater productions or movies or you know, like a music venue coming in. There's really a need for smaller music venue between Memphis and St. Louis. And so there's already people that have asked in the past, you know, if we could offer something like that here in Cape Girardeau. And then you can switch it to tables and chairs. If you want to have like a dinner comedian event or you know, a business conference or stuff like that. We also can provide eSports and like I said, comedians, movies, business conferences, weddings, so we want to use this theater every day.

And then in addition, we have to put an addition on the building for ADA compatibility for the elevator and the entrance because the front entrance is too sloped to have an ADA compatible entrance, and that we are going to maybe put some offices or shops, a restaurant on top with a bar that will be outside. And that'll bring in rental income to keep the theater more stable in times like COVID, where, you know, they had to shut down for a while.

Woods: So really multi-use, multi-purpose sort of facility when it's all done. Hightower: Absolutely. Yes.

Woods: Do you have a time limit? As far as the funding on you have to have it done within two years, three years, is there a time limit on you to get everything completed?

Hightower: We really need to get the $6 million raise within a year. And so that we can get the rest of the money so we can start doing construction. When you apply for the historical tax credits for federal which we will be doing in the next month, they have a five year period where you have to finish the project.

Woods: So once you once you apply and get those the clock starts ticking on that part of it. And you've started this nonprofit, what is the response been? You've got some folks on a board, I guess, that are working with you? What's the response been from the community, as you got this started?

Hightower: Well, we've had a lot of people very excited. We have some skeptics, which I understand, because I've heard that there's been some bad experiences with other people that have said that they were going to restore the Broadway Theater, and it didn't happen. And so but mostly excitement, and, and we're getting people who are volunteering. The board is a volunteer board, we're just using our time to, you know, provide this for the community as a as a nonprofit.

Woods: And your idea is, this is something for the community at large to take advantage of and to be to participate in. Right?
 
Hightower: Right, we would like it to be part of the community. And we want the community to feel like they are a part of the theater. And we want to be able to provide things that the community want, you know, wants or needs. So we will there will be some free movies and stuff for people that can't afford them. And there will be other things, maybe some lectures or something that'll be held for free. And we'll try to work with local groups and stuff to provide the theater as a place where people can gather and, and have entertainment and, and all sorts of things. So we want it to be an integral part of the community.

Woods: So when you first saw the theater, you said you saw the potential. Yeah, right away. And a lot of folks may have looked at it and said, oh, wow, it's too far gone. So what made you see the potential in it? How did you see it differently than everybody else? I guess?

Hightower: Well, sometimes I think out of the box, because the Pitters building that I bought was such a maze, that nobody would buy it, because they didn't think they could do anything with it. So I kind of see the potential of a building and what we can put in it, and how we can do it to make it profitable, or to make for the theater to make it sustain itself.

Woods: And you're not really a construction person. You're a pharmacist, which is interesting to me, but are you are involved in really interesting, innovative sort of construction projects.

Hightower: Yeah, well, I was a market director, a district manager over the Walmart vision centers and pharmacies for about 10 years. So I've got a lot of business experience, which helps me but it is definitely a learning experience with the real estate and all that's involved with construction. I've made a lot of mistakes this year and learn from them. So and it'll help me going forward.

Woods: Yeah. And I as people have been generally helpful, I would imagine, there's a lot of great people in this area. I would imagine folks that if you reached out to for help, they probably been willing to help you.

Hightower: Yes, the ones that we have reached out to have been very helpful. We're kind of waiting to really kick in hard on the fundraising until we get the building in hand, which would should be done in the first couple weeks of June.

Woods: And you've talked with I guess, the city and probably the university and everybody seems to be supportive and encouraging at this point, right?

Hightower: Yes, Old Town Cape is supportive. We've got the River Campus supportive and the university, they're going to help  and allow us to do our fundraising event on the parking lot that's in front of the stadium this summer. And we have support from the Arts Council. And so we've got a group of people that really wanted the theater to be restored that I gather with, you know, once every few months to make sure that you know, we've got all the resources we need and to help, you know, look at where we might have weaknesses and strengths and what we can do to fix them and get this project done.

Woods: So if there are people listening who are interested, you're looking for volunteers, right and more help, how could they get involved?

Hightower: Well, so we definitely need volunteers, fundraising volunteers is a must. Of course, our board can't do it all. So we have to have help. And, you know, we'll need help with the event where you will have to pick up everything up. I have a website that needs to be created, that is needed, help run social media, just help organize things. And so there is a lot of need for help, physically.

And then we have a couple areas that you can follow us we do have a Facebook page, it's called "Cape Broadway Theatre." You have to spell theater with a "tre" and not a "ter" or you won't find it. And then we have a GoFundMe page where you can donate that is you'll find it under reinventing the Broadway theater, or Cape Broadway Theatre.

And you can donate online and you know, we will be at vendor events and stuff where you can donate in person you can contact me through Facebook, if you want to through messenger if you want to volunteer. And we just need all the help we can get. We've had several businesses donate their services, which is help if anybody you know really loves making a logo and they wanted to you know, try to make a logo for us. We do need that also. So we just have so many things that we need to work on. And we just every single person that community we would love to be involved with this project.

Woods: Suzanne Hightower is President of the Cape Broadway Theater. Suzanne, thanks for spending time with us today.

Hightower: Well, thank you, and I appreciate it. Thanks.

 
 

Dan is a 1994 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University. He majored in radio and minored in political science. He spent three of his four years at Southeast working as a student announcer at KRCU – the beginning of his radio career.