Burlington Free Press: 'Hilarious' headline prompts anonymous $1 million donation to Flynn Center

Posted on December 13, 2011

written by Brent Hallenbeck, this article first appeared on burlingtonfreepress.com. Photo of Flynn staff by Emily McManamy, Burlington Free Press

The Flynn Center has received an anonymous donation of $1 million toward its project to replace the 1,453 seats in Burlington’s most prominent performing-arts venue.

The contribution comes a little more than a month after the Flynn revealed details of the project to install new seats in place of the 60-year-old seats currently in the theater. The gift was spurred by a Nov. 2 article in the Burlington Free Press headlined “Let the de-squeaking begin,” a reference to a quote in the article from board member Fred “Chico” Lager that the seats in the Flynn are “worn and they squeak.”

The Flynn Center said in a news release that the anonymous gift came with a note from the donors reading, “The lights went on for us when we read the article in the Free Press (about the seat campaign) with the hilarious title, ‘Let the de-squeaking begin.’ We looked at one another and said, ‘This is a project we can really help move forward.’ It can happen now. It is with genuine joy that we are sending this anonymous donation to your organization that has provided so much to the Vermont community.”

The Flynn also appears to be accepting the donation with genuine joy. “There is a Santa Claus,” the Flynn’s executive director, John Killacky, said in the news release. “There is much to celebrate and cherish.”

Killacky said in the Nov. 2 article that the Flynn is in the midst of a $1.5 million fundraising effort to pay for a variety of improvements to the 81-year-old art deco building, with the seat campaign being the most prominent part of the plan. The Main Street venue already spent $359,000 this summer to rebuild its loading dock around the corner on lower Church Street. The Flynn also plans to improve acoustics in the theater and add lighting to help showcase some of the building’s decorative features.

Killacky said in late October that the Flynn had already reached the halfway point in its $1.5 million campaign, which means the $1 million donation pushes the campaign past its goal. The Flynn’s marketing director, Leigh Chandler, said Tuesday morning that estimates to replace the seats have been higher than expected, which will likely send the final cost of the project higher. Any money left over from the fundraising effort will be put aside for future capital projects, according to Chandler.

The seat campaign also allows donors contributing $1,000 to name a seat or dedicate it to a loved one or special occasion. According to the Flynn, those donors include Sparky and Peggy Potter of Waitsfield and their three children, Lee, Charlotte and Grace. Grace Potter and her band, the Nocturnals, played Oct. 9 at the Flynn to raise money for flood relief in Vermont, and Potter spoke of her memories of coming to the Flynn for student matinees as a child.

Bill and Terrie Kneen also contributed to honor the memory of their friend Al Myers, who died in 2009 after a fall while working on the set for the Williston Central School production of “The Wizard of Oz.”

“Al directed shows for Lyric Theatre, Williston Central School and others,” the Flynn quoted the Kneens as saying. “He was beloved by the theater community. It feels right to have a seat in Al’s honor at the Flynn.”

The next production at the Flynn is Wednesday night, when Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darlene Love presents her concert “Love for the Holidays.”