When Hurricane Harvey hit and much of the Alley Theater’s lower levels were underwater and out of power, including the elevators, Dean Gladden climbed 16 stories in the dark carrying the waiter, the IT and finances so that payroll can be sent on time. .
The flooding, which was not expected to happen after expensive renovations completed in October 2015 ($46.5 million), was just one more unexpected obstacle to negotiate for Gladden, who is more or less a walking history book of challenges, adversities and triumphs for the Alley. over the past almost two decades.
On Tuesday, Gladden announced he would retire by the end of June 2025 after 19 years with Alley as chief executive officer. Why he wants to be remembered, he said in an interview with the Houston Pressis that he has always worked to support the arts.
“The most important thing is to support the artistic product. And every major fundraising campaign that we’ve done has made it a priority to invest in the artistic product. The second would be the renovation of the theater and all the technical capabilities that we can now do. something we couldn’t do before.
“Having a real fly loft, having real side stages, having a trap room, all that made the difference and the theater is more intimate than before. The actor’s relationship with the audience is much more intimate.” The theater’s acoustics have also been greatly improved, he said, adding that the old acoustics “were terrible.”
It was the Alley Theater’s need for modernization that brought Gladden to Houston to oversee a major capital campaign to renovate the theater. .
“We (Gladden and his wife Jane) had just become empty nesters in Cleveland. And I had been at the Cleveland Playhouse for 20 years. So I said to Jane, ‘I think it’s time for a new adventure. ‘ So we went down.
“We launched the campaign in the fall of 2008. Just when the market was crashing,” he deadpans. “We weren’t going to raise any money in 2008 and 2009. So we pulled the campaign and spent more time planning the construction project. We had a good three and a half years of planning.”
Once they finally got the necessary funds and the green light for the complete renovation of the theater, they had 14 months to complete the work.
“Think about it. You’re going to spend $46 and a half million. You’re going to leave the roof open during hurricane season. And you have to finish this building,” Gladden recalled. “And we did it on time and on budget and we paid it off debt-free.
“So no, you can’t panic when something happens. You just can’t.”
Gladden, wearing a hard hat, guides a group through the extensive renovations underway in 2015 at the Alley Theater.
Photo by Margaret Downing
All staff – front and back of the venue – had been consulted on what their dream theater would look like. The result was 24 pages of a single-spaced wish list, Gladden said. Careful consideration was given to how to avoid the devastating flooding caused by Tropical Storm Allison during its two passes through the city in 2001.
However, two years after the renovations, the protections put in place were no match for the massive downpours created during Hurricane Harvey that caused $26 million in damage, concentrated in the lower level of the Neuhaus Theater as well as in thousands of props, locker rooms and lobby. section. The world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Describe the night had to be moved off site and its destroyed ensemble had to be rebuilt.
Gladden called University of Houston officials and was able to secure use of UH’s small theater so the show could go on. “We built the set in a few days. We created this play and it went to New York and in November it won the Obie for best new play in America. If we hadn’t had this show, they would have created it and we wouldn’t have gotten the credit.
“We got here two days after (Harvey struck) and found out if it was flooded and were completely surprised because Allison had come in through the tunnels and we had an underwater door so I wasn’t expecting until we had a problem, but it came in a different way and flooded 15 feet high in the basement and ten feet high in the theater and all our new electricity went through the building.
“So the first thing we did was immediately hire that Monday, Bellows (Construction), the general contractor and all the subcontractors so we could beat everyone else in town. We had them all under contract on the first day. That was the most important thing.
Other details followed. The staff would have to move. “I have about 80 people in offices that I need to move,” Gladden said. He was head of the Convention and Visitors Bureau at the time and knew their offices had moved to the Houston First building. So they had all these empty desks. “We made a deal. We moved in Tuesday after Labor Day weekend.”
“And then we were able to get Blackmon Mooring to come in and start pumping us out on Tuesday. And on Thursday, you could at least sneak through the building and see what the damage was. At the first meeting with the board of directors of ‘Alley, a week later, Gladden asked for help contacting General Electric to redo its electrical system and was able to accomplish things in six weeks instead of the normal three months, he said, and had everything done before Thanksgiving weekend so we can open. Christmas Carol.”
In 2018, Gladden was the face of The Alley when he released a statement apologizing for the theater’s lack of transparency over the abrupt departure of former artistic director Gregory Boyd. The Alley had refused to answer questions about why Boyd suddenly left, even though he had several years left on his contract. What emerged was that several actresses and staff members had accused Boyd of engaging in abusive behavior and making unwanted sexual advances toward some. Gladden promised to change how the theater would handle workplace complaints in the future.
And then there was COVID-19, which in March 2020 suspended artistic activities across the city. Over the next two years, Gladden is credited by The Alley with retaining as many employees as possible even though there was no revenue. Members of its resident acting company maintained year-round employment and, according to The Alley, they were the only Actors Equity members to do so at any regional or Broadway theater in this country.
On Tuesday, The Alley issued a press release that included a long list of financial accomplishments during Gladden’s years as CEO. When he arrived at the Alley, the Houston theater was facing an $800,000 deficit. “The Alley now has financial reserves exceeding $5 million.” The operating budget has doubled. Its crime drama series Summer Chills grew its annual revenue by 370% between 2007 and 2024.
Alley artistic director Rob Melrose wrote: “I feel so lucky to have worked in partnership with Dean Gladden for the past six years. Dean retires as a true legend of American theater, having expertly guided Alley through some of the most difficult times imaginable. including a hurricane and a global pandemic, as his partner I have benefited greatly from his unwavering support of art, his commitment to financial responsibility, his passion for pushing himself and his teammates towards new heights, his tireless fundraising, as well as his commitment. strategic mind. He cares deeply about Alley, and I know that even after he retires, he will continue to be Alley’s lifelong friend and greatest supporter.
Acknowledging that few people decide to enter the business world as children, Gladden recounted his somewhat winding path that brought him to where he is today. He was a music major – percussionist – and holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Miami University in Ohio. He led a few bands: a Dixieland band and a black-tie band that played the society circuit. While at university, he heard a lecturer talking about arts management, which had never occurred to him before. He decided he could become an orchestra director.
He ended up interning in Erie, Pennsylvania. From there he became executive director of the Arts Council of Lima, Ohio. He later became director of the Toledo Arts Commission. Then he got a call from someone at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival who asked if he had ever thought about getting into the theater business.
“I said no, but I knew I had to go into one discipline. I knew I had to leave the arts consulting business because I was almost at my peak.” A few moves later and at the age of 32, he was general manager of the Cleveland Playhouse where he stayed for 20 years before coming to Houston.
With about eight months to go, he’s still making deals and strategizing. He is still working on the $80 million Vision for the Future campaign, through which Alley hopes to increase its endowment from $12 million in 2009 to $62 million.
The Alley has already launched a search for its successor. When asked how someone would come through with all his history and all the relationships he’s built, Gladden didn’t seem too concerned. He said he learned along the way, bringing his past experiences (the Cleveland Theater flooded once, so he already knew how to pump water out of a building) and observed and listened to the Houston community. He expects the person following him to do something similar.
