Image courtesy of U-Studios
This fall, St. Louis will have a new theater venue: The Marcelle. Located three blocks east of Grand Boulevard, at 3310 Samuel Shepard, the building is owned by the Kranzberg Foundation. It features a 150-seat black box theater and a dance studio in addition to nonprofit office space. Though it doesn’t have an orchestra pit, the black box theater was designed as an intimate space for musicals, with New Line Theatre’s technical needs and audience in mind. (New Line’s first production at The Marcelle will be Heathers, opening October 1; the company moves in September 12.)
Marcelle is a Kranzberg family name, explains Chris Hansen, the Kranzberg Foundation’s director of operations and events. The theater and its adjoining facilities will take up 7,500 square feet. The space will include a bar in the lobby, as well as a box office. The venue will also offer free parking across the street.
“New Line Theatre was a big reason we did it, but there are other groups involved,” Hansen says. Several of those groups have already signed five-year leases. Big Muddy Dance Company moved in on August 1. St. Louis Up Late, a local talk show, moved to The Marcelle on August 15, and it’s discussing leasing office space in the building. Dance St. Louis may be moving from its current home: “We’re still in negotiations with Dance St. Louis to become our major office tenant, outcome to be determined,” says Hansen.
The Kranzberg Foundation plans for the office space to be subsidized, making it more affordable for arts organizations. Elsewhere in Grand Center, KDHX moved from its former Magnolia location to its new studio and offices on Washington Avenue last year. Jazz St. Louis settled into a renovated $10 million space with the help of the Kranzbergs, along with assistance from many other philanthropists, in 2014. St. Louis Public Radio relocated to its new space, complete with the Public Media Commons, in 2012. And the Sun Theater recently reopened as the perfect training ground for students at Grand Center Arts Academy.
More construction is on the way. A few blocks from The Marcelle, the former St. Louis Health
Department building is being turned into a hotel with an attached parking garage. There are plans to construct a new apartment building nearby, with a projected completion date of 2017.
Grand Center continues to evolve, and the Kranzbergs remain at the heart of the action.
