FARM to
THEATRE
WITH THE OPENING OF THE PERSHING SQUARE SIGNATURE CENTER IN
2012, SIGNATURE THEATRE ENTERED INTO A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP WITH
GREAT PERFORMANCES, A NEW YORK-BASED CATERING COMPANY THAT
OWNS AND OPERATES ITS OWN 60-ACRE ORGANIC FARM IN COLUMBIA
COUNTY. SIGNATURE STORIES EDITOR DAVID HATKOFF SAT DOWN WITH
GREAT PERFORMANCES FOUNDER AND CEO LIZ NEUMARK TO TALK ABOUT
ATMOSPHERE, SIGNATURE CAFÉ & BAR, AND BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER.
Signature: As a company, Great Performances has a very
specific mission about community and sustainability.
How does that influence the way you approach the work?
Liz Neumark: Hospitality is very important to us and to this
very day the vast majority of our service staff is drawn from
the arts. You’ll remember what you ate, maybe, but you’ll
certainly remember how you’re served. We really try to bring
together that whole experience, to create the right balance
between menu, hospitality, and service, whether it’s a café like
at Signature or in a private home or whether we are doing a
dinner for a thousand people. What I’ve seen over the years
is that it’s important what’s on the table but the true joy and
engagement is in the community around the table.
Signature: What about the Center connects with
Great Performances and those ideals?
LN: It’s a joy to answer that because when we first came
on the tour of the construction site and saw what was
happening at Signature and the new theatre, we heard
[Artistic Director James Houghton] speak about the
mission and the ticket initiative and the whole notion
of access. You could just hear his passion, innovation,
and creativity. I was kind of hooked from the beginning–
the idea that this would be a place that the community
comes to pre-theatre and post-theatre. We said, “how
do we create an experience around this? What kind of
food supports this mission?” It’s more than just these
couple of blocks and the concrete jungle of New York
City. It’s about real food and real values. I think that
speaks to who comes to Signature Theatre.
Signature: How do you think the live music that’s offered
impacts the ambience?
LN: People are coming here with two expectations. They
might come here with a food expectation because they are
hungry and they want to eat, but they are also coming here
because Signature’s name is on the theatre. They’re coming
here expecting some sort of performance and so it’s really
two parties, it’s Great Performances and Signature Theatre
working together to create an experience, whether it’s
post-theatre or music night at the café. That’s what we really
wanted to do. We wanted to see the space get animated.
There is an incredible post-show opportunity here at Signature.
All you have to do is bring in your ticket stub from any show,
any theatre, and come here to Signature and get 20% off
your after-theatre food and drink. We really want Signature
to be everybody’s after-performance destination. n
top: Liz Neumark, Founder & CEO of Great Performances.
above: A dinner at Katchkie Farms, Great Performances’ own 60-acre organic farm in
Columbia County, NY.
“it’s important what’s on the table but the
TRUE joy and engagement is in the community
around the table.”
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