Hancher staff begins moving in

IOWA CITY - The 'slow birthing” of Hancher is in the final phase of labor.

It's not time for tuxes and sequins just yet. Hard hats, safety glasses and vests are still de rigueur, and some interior sections are still restricted, to accommodate the push to the Sept. 9 ribbon-cutting and public unveiling.

But Wednesday marked an emotional milestone, as Executive Director Chuck Swanson and his staff started moving into the University of Iowa's new $113 million state-of-the-art performing arts center. Six years in the making, it replaces and expands upon the 1972 Hancher Auditorium, destroyed by the floods of 2008.

'The journey has been a terrific, wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Swanson said.

The views already are spectacular inside and out, with workers continuing the meticulous task of installing cypress wood strips into the building's overhang, mirroring the cypress strips from the interior's dramatic ceilings.

'It's a beehive of activity. There are a lot of people very busy, trying to put the finishing touches on this magnificent building,” said Daniel Thies, a principal with OPN Architects in Cedar Rapids. OPN has been collaborating on the project with design developers from Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in New Haven, Connecticut

The dust has settled enough that representatives of both firms were on hand Wednesday - along with Jeremy Kaplan from the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York - to oversee the instillation of a signature artwork, 'Anonymous Creature,” by award-winning West African artist El Anatsui. A series of intricate weavings using recycled materials, the piece measures roughly 20 feet wide by 10 feet tall, and is to hang in folds above the atrium's grand staircase.

Another large-scale work, 'We All Perform,” by UI art professor Anita Jung and seventh-graders from across Iowa, was slated to go up later in the day.

The 1,800-seat auditorium and stage areas are buzzing, too, as workers ready the spaces for a series of soft openings this summer. Those events allow staff and technicians to prepare for the Sept. 24 gala opening featuring legendary comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short.

For now, chairs line a first-floor hallway, and office furniture is in various stages of being delivered - all signs of an end in sight.

'It's almost unbelievable that we've come to this day,” Swanson said. 'I keep reflecting back on what Cesar Pelli said a long time ago. He said that building a performing arts center is like crafting a fine instrument like a Steinway or a Stradivarius. But he said the important part is who plays it afterward.”

Swanson and his staff have been packing up their belongings the past two or three weeks, preparing to vacate their seven-year, temporary offices in Seashore Hall downtown. Even though they're leaving for the best possible reasons, it's still a time of mixed emotions.

'We had a lot of wonderful meetings up there, a lot of inspirational times, a lot of times just dreaming about this,” Swanson said.

Pelli Clarke Pelli Principal Mitch Hirsch likens the entire process to 'a very slow birth.”

'It begins with the vision, the concept at the beginning of this six-year period,” he said, 'and it slowly transitions through the design phases, becoming more specific and more real. And so for us, it's a gentle transition from vision-idea to the reality. In the end, when you see the edifice, it's quite amazing. It's quite invigorating. It's electric.”

For both Hirsch and Thies, the excitement extends beyond the building, and into the people who have shaped their vision, as well as the people who are to attend the world-class events - and the staff who are to now walk the halls on a daily basis.

'The architecture is exciting, but the human story behind it, knowing what everybody has done to keep the spirit and energy of Hancher alive and well is equally thrilling,” Thies said, 'and to look in Chuck's eyes on a day like today, when he's handed a set of keys and you get your building back, you get your home back, is as meaningful as anything.”

Tickets on Sale

When: 10 a.m. June 10 for most Hancher opening season shows; Broadway's 'The Book of Mormon” goes on sale Aug. 5

Where: Hancher Box Office in Old Capitol Town Center, (319) 335-1160, 1-800-426-2437 or hancher.uiowa.edu

Hours: Extended hours, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 10-12; then 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Other key dates

Ribbon-cutting and open house: 3-7 p.m. Sept. 9; free

Open house: 2-5 p.m. Sept. 11; free

Outdoor concert: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Preservation Hall Jazz Band, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16, Hancher Green; free

Gala: Steve Martin and Martin Short: 'An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life,” 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24; $150 adults, $90 college students and youths

Information: Hancher.uiowa.edu/upcoming-events