The refurbished Ritz Theater in northeast Minneapolis may not have the Dolls, but it looks like it does have a future.
Ballet of the Dolls, the theater's principal tenant since 2006, has been on hiatus since last spring, when longtime artistic director Myron Johnson dropped out, citing intense job pressures.
The Dolls have no performances on the books, Johnson said Monday. For the first time in many years they will not present their popular, Barbie-doll sendup of "The Nutcracker" this winter. The 2015 outlook remains a question mark.
But the Ritz has hatched a new business plan, booked other performing-arts groups for the coming year and negotiated some debt relief, said Michael Rainville, board chair of both the Dolls and the Ritz Theater Foundation, which owns the building in the heart of an art-centric neighborhood.
"For a while there, we were sweating bricks," Rainville said. "I thought we'd have to sell the building to pay off the debts. The building is assessed at $1.1 million, and the mortgage is now down to $400,000 for the building and another $50,000 for the Dolls, which we assumed."
The Ritz also owes $100,000 to the Sheridan Neighborhood Organization, which Rainville described as "inactive; we're not paying on it."
The good news, he said, is that "today the Ritz is 68 percent booked on weekends through next fall, which is the highest level since 2007. And we are current on our bills. Things are looking up."
There are shows booked by dancer-choreographer Kenna Cottman, Frank Theatre and Theatre Latté Da, the highly regarded troupe that Ritz officials hope will be the new anchor tenant.