Q AND A
IMPRESSIONS of an
62
I MPRESARIO
JOHN WILKES
In the theater business, John Wilkes is known as something
of a turn-around artist, taking underperforming
halls and turning them into high performers. Before
coming to the Sunrise last summer under a temporary
contract, Wilkes managed the Van Wezel Performing Arts
Hall in Sarasota and the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.
Wilkes, who did consulting work for the city before the
Sunrise’s reopening in January 2006, was brought in last
summer to replace David Jenkins, who abruptly resigned
after a rocky first season running the 1,200-seat Sunrise.
Built in 1923 in the waning days of Vaudeville, the Sunrise is
one of the oldest theaters on Florida’s east coast. It closed in
1983 and reopened 23 years later after a renovation that
included about $11 million in public money.
Arriving on the job, Wilkes faced the task of addressing
a $1.3 million deficit and improving goodwill for the theater.
In a few short months, he booked a season of shows,
bringing in headliners such as Willie Nelson, Kenny
Rogers and the Smothers Brothers, expanded the theater’s
volunteer staff to more than 140 people and, at no cost to
the theater or city, produced in conjunction with Indian
River Magazine Inc. the theater’s first playbill. He also
hired a new staff, luring away from Sarasota several key
managers for the Sunrise.
Working to allay criticisms of the theater by some members
of the city’s African-American community because of the theater’s
early history of segregation, he brought in national
shows such as “Whatever SheWants” starring Vivica Fox,
African Footprint, Peru Negro, D. L. Hughley, Four Tops,
“Comedy Explosion,” featuring comedians from the BET network,
and recently hosted a concert for the nationally
acclaimed Avenue D Boys Choir. As of mid-March, more than
50,000 people had attended shows at the Sunrise this season.
Q.What’s been the greatest change at the Sunrise since
your arrival?
A. I really believe the greatest change has been a wider community
acceptance and support of what we’re doing here. In
terms of the business operation, some of the needed changes
were obvious, everything from programming to creating a
public relations strategy to marketing, to customer service.
>>
Q&A