Harry W. Morrison first conceived of and dreamed about the establishment of a performing arts center in his hometown of Boise some fifty years ago. During the 1960s his wife Velma embraced that dream and vision. Upon Harry's untimely death in 1971, Velma rallied support from friends, associates, and family in the quest to establish a performing arts center.
Following many years of often-frustrating efforts to find the right combination of community support and a suitable location, the Morrison Center opened on the banks of the Boise River on April 7, 1984. The two-thousand-seat Center, with its ten-story stage house, is a significant architectural feature at the west end of the Boise State University campus. The academic wing of the structure is home to the University's Music and Theatre Arts Departments.
In 1980 and 1981 the Idaho legislature appropriated funds totaling 5.25 million dollars. These funds were added to 6.5 million dollars from the Harry W. Morrison Foundation and 3.7 million dollars in pledges and gifts from the community, including a one million dollar gift from Jack and Esther Simplot. Ground was broken on October 12, 1981.
The Endowment
Mrs. Morrison and the founding Board of Governors recognized that in order to assure a stable operating budget for the Morrison Center an endowment would be necessary. Once again the Harry W. Morrison Foundation stepped up with seed money. The Foundation also provided matching funds for public gifts and pledges made through October 1985, and today the Morrison Center Endowment is in excess of ten million dollars. No appropriated public funds are used for either maintenance or operation of the Morrison Center. The goal is to cover all expenses with box office revenues and rental fees, though subsidies are sometimes required from the Endowment. For three successive years in the late 1990s the Morrison Center's operating revenues more than covered expenses, and there was no call on Endowment funds. In other years grants from the Endowment have enabled the Center to operate with a balanced budget. Since the late 1980s the Endowment has also paid out a total of 2.5 million dollars in support of local arts groups that use the Center.
The existence of the Endowment allows the Center to maintain a comparatively low rental-fee structure, which benefits local arts groups. It also allows the Center to produce or co-produce shows such as the annual Broadway in Boise series, a new children's series beginning in the fall of 2004, and the twentieth anniversary Bravo Broadway production. The Endowment provides ten thousand dollars toward Boise's long-established tradition of Music Week’s community musical production.
The 1984 Premier Season
Thousands of volunteer hours throughout the 1970s made the Morrison Center a reality. The University Community Arts Association played a leading role, as did the Premier Season Committee. The long-awaited premier month of April 1984 was marked by numerous performances and gala activities.
The official dedication and inaugural performance on April 7 featured the Morrison Center Musical Theater's production of My Fair Lady, under the direction of the Center's original Executive Director and creative force Fred Norman. Capacity audiences enthusiastically received all five performances. The premier month also featured a beautiful staging of Carmen by Boise Opera, and the Boise Philharmonic's performance of Verdi's Requiem. Later in the month the University of Idaho provided an evening of musical entertainment, and Boise State University's Music and Theatre Arts Departments performed on three evenings.
From the moment the Morrison Center opened, audiences and performers alike have raved about the design of the hall, about the superb acoustics, about the grand lobby, and about the overall ambiance. Architect Ernie Lombard succeeded in reaching his goal of designing a building that "really…is a performance in itself."
The Auxiliary
Another dedicated group of volunteers continues to play a strong supporting role in the operation of the Center. The Morrison Center Auxiliary operates the lobby gift shop and refreshment centers, and provides ushers and ticket takers for all performances. The men and women in the Auxiliary contribute over ten thousand hours of service annually, and for a number of years the organization has made significant monetary gifts to the Endowment.
And the Beat Goes On
The Morrison Center provides a home stage for such local arts groups as the Boise Philharmonic, Ballet Idaho, Opera Idaho, the Master Choral, and Boise State University's Music and Theatre Arts Departments. It has hosted such greats as Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Harry Bellefonte, Bill Cosby, The Gene Harris All-Star Big Band, and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The hit Broadway show Miss Saigon had a two-week run in the Center, and numerous other Broadway productions have been here as part of the Center's Broadway in Boise series. In 2003 the Morrison Center had an economic impact of some 11.2 million dollars on the greater Treasure Valley.
And now, the curtain goes up on the next five years as the Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts approaches its Silver Anniversary in April 2009, .
Jack Rucker, 02-27-04
