Flood damage at Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s production facility in Wauwatosa is likely to approach $5 million, Executive Director Chad Bauman said Aug. 12 in a phone interview from the site.
Intense rainfall Aug. 9 and 10 left the relatively new facility at 1300 Glenview Place under three feet of water, the Rep reported in a previous Aug. 10 statement.
Bauman described the situation as close to “a total loss.” Because that rainwater was mixed with sewage, many of the items immersed in that water can’t be salvaged, he said.
The Rep remains confident that it can deliver its upcoming season as announced and on schedule, Bauman said. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be complications and additional expenses.
The most pressing concern at the moment is that flooding damaged sets and scenic material for the Rep’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol,” which was being stored at the Wauwatosa facility. (“Christmas Carol” costumes and props are largely stored elsewhere and unaffected.) If the “Christmas Carol” sets can’t be repaired, the Rep will have to build or outsource building of new ones. This season the Rep is celebrating 50 years of performing adaptations of “A Christmas Carol.”
Fortunately, the Rep had not yet begun building sets for this season’s new shows. Unfortunately, due to the major construction underway at the Rep’s theaters at 108 E. Wells St., it was storing significant lighting and sound equipment at the Wauwatosa site. That lighting and sound equipment was damaged by floodwaters.
Bauman said Milwaukee Rep has adequate insurance, including flood insurance. But those policies have deductibles, he pointed out, and such insurance is paid out by reimbursing the Rep after expenditures, so cash flow management is important.
The Wauwatosa site’s landlord, Hansen Storage, has graciously offered the Rep use of a 15,000-square-foot site as an alternate space to work in, Bauman said. The Rep also has received offers of help from other local and regional theaters.
Even as it sorts out the flood damage, Milwaukee Rep is in the middle of an $80.1 million construction and renovation project on its downtown campus, which includes rebuilding and updating the Checota Powerhouse and Herro-Franke Studio theaters as well as creating the new Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center.
The Rep had moved its scenic and paint shops to the Wauwatosa site in part to make room for the education center.
It has been moving steadily forward on a schedule that leads to a grand opening Oct. 11 gala concert starring Bernadette Peters.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Repertory Theater estimates flood damage at Wauwatosa site to be $5 million
Reporting by Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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