The Nebraska Repertory Theatre drew about 2,700 patrons to its three productions last summer. It was a cause for celebration. Attendance, after all, was up 88 percent from the year before.

But when you consider the L.A. Theatre Works recently attracted nearly 800 to just one showing of “The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial” at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, you realize 2,700 isn’t very much.

Granted, the Rep didn’t have name actors such as Ed Asner, John De Lancie and Alley Mills, but it is Nebraska’s only established professional theater, meaning its talent is comparable.

I may be a tad optimistic, but I believe there is no reason why the Rep can’t someday draw 5,000 or even 10,000 people to its shows.

I’m not alone in my thinking.

New executive director Paul Steger, who came onboard midway through the Rep’s summer season also is upbeat, especially as he continues to help plan the $4.3 million renovation and expansion of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Temple Building, the Rep’s home.

“I’m about the Rep surviving and maintaining its Equity (professional) status,” Steger said. “Not just maintaining, but growing in stature.”

The $4.3 million is part of the $5.3 million gift the university received in November 2004 from the late Johnny Carson.

The other million created an endowment to keep Temple’s performance spaces current with the latest advances in lighting and sound technologies as well as general support of students and spaces. 

Tentative plans called for Temple’s renovation to begin this month. But that didn’t happen. The university hopes to break ground next spring.

 Steger, whose office is filled with unpacked boxes and blueprints, said he hopes the project can be completed by the summer of 2007 — the Rep’s 40th anniversary season and the100th anniversary of the building.

“We would like to make a splash,” he said. “That would be a major cause for celebration.”

Yes, it would, especially since the Rep has struggled in recent years. This summer’s attendance increase was good news. It was a step — a baby one — but a step nonetheless in the right direction.

I’m not saying the Rep was in dire straits.

If anything, former director Jeff Elwell, who moved on to bigger things at East Carolina University, was great at controlling purse strings. The company never lost money during his six-plus years.

His budget, however, shrank. In 2002, when noted TV actors Jack Klugman and Louis Zorich hit town to do a Rep show, Elwell had $175,000 to spend. The next year, the Rep saw $52,000 cut from its state funding.

This year’s budget was $100,000 — down $27,000 from the year before. Steger said the Rep will operate with $100,000 again for the 2006 season.

Attendance also had fallen off. The 2004 production of Anne Nelson’s “The Guys” averaged an embarrassing 70-some for each of the seven showings.

The Rep has undergone several changes that, hopefully, have helped point it in the right direction.

The best move was appointing UNL theater professor Virginia Smith artistic director. A veteran of the Chicago theater scene, Smith pumped some life into last year’s programming.

Three of her best moves were:

n Using local actors Jeremy Kendall, the Lincoln Community Playhouse’s artistic director, and Haymarket Theatre executive director Fred Stuart in all three shows

n  Returning productions to July and August

n  Marketing the Rep — a booth during the popular Farmers Market in the Haymarket was a great way to let people know about the company.

Don’t be surprised if the Rep goes after some more local actors to go along with the professional talent. The Rep plans to hold auditions in New York, Chicago and possibly Kansas City, Mo.

In fact, there are several great Equity actors in the area who would love to work the Rep stage — Steve Gaines, George Hansen, Judy Hart, Tammy Meneghini, Pippa White and Joel Story to name just a few.

Steger said the Rep is still about two or three weeks away from announcing its 2006 schedule. He and Smith are planning three, possibly four shows: a farce, two dramas and a children’s program.

The Rep will face a challenge next summer because it will be without a home while it’s under construction. The company hopes to use the Lied’s Carson Theater and the Temple’s Studio Theatre. Not having a scene shop to build sets is another concern, Steger said.

The goal is to get through the next year and then start planning for the future — one that would include more than 2,700 yearly patrons.

Much more.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.