Aug 29, 2024
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As Midland Center for the Arts embarks upon its 2024-25 Performance Season the perfect word that best describes both the high caliber not only of the season but also the Center itself is ‘transformative.’
For more than 50 years Midland Center has been a regional destination for arts, entertainment, cultural exploration, and learning. With a budget greater than $9 million, the Center attracts more than 106,000 visitors each year, and its programs range from art classes to interactive art, science, and history exhibits, to top-notch community theater, internationally known performers, and touring Broadway musicals.
Now the Center is nearing completion of a $47 million capital campaign to fund an innovative, interactive museum that merges the multiple disciplines supported at the Center and fosters learning, creativity and connection. Construction began this summer and is expected to be complete in 2026, with their new season being staged and presented throughout the renovation.
As if this weren’t enough to make one’s eyes sparkle in anticipation, the Center has also added an impressively inspired new talent to its executive team with the selection of Steve Schonberg as Vice President, Marketing & Sales - an equally innovative creative force, well-established in the Broadway community, who relocated to Midland from New York City where he built an amazing resume in the arts weaving his background in consumer marketing and theatrical production together to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities, proving how powerful the arts can be for enacting social change in the process.
Overall, Steve and his marketing teams generated millions of dollars in sales and funds raised for organizations including The Puerto Rico Tourism Company, The American Heart Association, Johnson & Johnson, 3M, and Kraft Foods. Collectively, their work has been honored with many respected industry and social impact awards.
In the Beginning (there was light)
Steve Schonberg first caught the theater bug many moons ago back in the 8th grade when he decided to audition for a James Thurber play at school. “I hadn’t done theater and honestly growing up for me was challenging because I got bullied quite a bit,” he explains. “I saw an opportunity to do a show and was apprehensive because I thought the other kids would be mean, but I decided that I’m in control of my actions, not the perspectives of others. So I challenged myself and ended up getting the lead in the play.”
“What came out of that early experience was the powerful way theater came into my soul in terms of the influence you can have on other people,” he continues. “I was holding the other kids’ attention with the show and they were treating me with respect, which caused me to realize that while theatre is an art form for sure, it’s also a vehicle for change and influence. The concept of getting people to think differently in a room when they are all together behind a single theme, and that moment when everyone joins in applause represented a meeting of minds between individuals, who outside the theater, may have very different points of view. So that is what sparked it for me and from there I became involved with lots of regional theatre.”
Upon enrolling in college at Boston University, Steve initially wanted to become a psychologist to prove to himself he was able to change minds and contribute positively to the community.
“I was a psyche major for two years and found my way into communications, which is kind of funny because I didn’t know what public relations was until a friend showed me the admittedly ridiculous but hysterical British TV show Absolutely Fabulous. While, thankfully, I’ve never been the Edwina of PR - as much as I love the character - the show did prompt me to change my major. It helped me realize how while psychology can help individuals, through communications I could help change the world in many more ways with major campaigns designed for thousands of people.
“Psychology and marketing are the same because they’re both about how you get somebody to consider a point of view about something, instill perspective, and mobilize them through a call to action,” he reflects. “Because of my creative spirit, I realized communications was a better route for me because now I could execute the lessons of psychology in a fun, positive, and much bigger way.”
Utilizing his newly discerned appreciation for the synergy between psychology and communications to impact lives, Steve was able to weave his talents into securing a position as the guest theater expert on WNBC-TV’s “Today in New York” for eight years, while also starting his own theatrical blog and creating work published extensively across media outlets such as Playbill, Today.com, and The Huffington Post. He was presented with the “Outstanding Documentary” award by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for conceptualizing and starring in an MTV News special about marriage equality as part of its acclaimed “True Life” series.
After graduating from Boston University in 2003, Steve obviously needed a job but was not having luck finding one during a recessionary period. But thanks to former Presidential candidate and Governor of Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis, who was a friend of the Dean at his former school, Steve was able to land his first post-graduate job working in the District Attorney’s office.
“While I was able to exercise influence and directly service the needs of people while working in the D.A.’s office, I wanted to get back into my creative side, so went into marketing communications by working with agencies to design campaigns for organizations including the American Heart Association Johnson & Johnson, and 3M, among others,” he explains. “Because the arts are in my soul and a major part of my identity, I also joined the Gold Dust Orphans in Boston, who are a wild and outrageous underground theatre group, and also the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, which was the first LGBTQIA+ organization to ever have an official public event held in the country of Poland.”
“We had to be protected by the military, who were heavily armed and would accompany us from location to location, prior to the concert. There were even protesters laying on the ground outside the venue, attempting to block people from entering. Thankfully nothing occurred, except for proving how music can rise above all and connect very different people in incredible ways.”
However, Steve’s big moment hit when an opportunity opened for him to pitch a documentary to MTV for its “True Life” documentary. “Right around the time before gay marriages became legal there were a lot of protests, and my ex-husband would come home from work, often crying, distraught because of the vitriol,” he explains.
“Given my skills with marketing and the arts, I wanted to do something proactive so I went to my network of contacts and had a cousin who is a playwright tell me MTV was thinking of doing a social documentary, so I connected with them and wrote a pitch about telling my own story for social change. I’m very proud of winning the GLAAD for outstanding documentary that year. I was sitting next to Billy Crystal and Tim Curry and thinking to myself, this mix of marketing and the arts seems to be working!”
After his father passed away Steve decided to live with his Mom for 18-months, which brought him to New York City and realigned his focus back to the marketing side of life by creating innovative promotional campaigns with his artistic skills.
“I worked with the Puerto Rico Tourism Department where we recreated the city of Old San Juan all across the country in places like Grand Central Station. Commuters didn’t know where they were with all the palm trees, lighting, and set decorations, but that’s a good example of using marketing to sell tourism by using the undertone and influence of the theatrical arts.”
Around this same period, because Steve was also spending time at the theatre five to six night a week, he decided to start a Broadway Theatrical blog with his first story being a review of The Bridges of Madison County, which had just started on Broadway. “I decided to use my background and skills to market myself with the goal of getting to a level of credibility that would enable me to have influence and create change.”
"I wanted to be a light in the darkening world and use my artistic talents with marketing to create credibility quickly. I decided to recruit other writers to see new theatrical productions for free and also express themselves, so I started a theater blog in 2013 called “Center On The Aisle” (which, in Steve’s opinion, is the best seat in a theater).
“Shortly after that I got picked up by The Huffington Post and achieved my goal. The theatrical reviews helped people made decisions about what shows to see, but I also believe we all have different views and theater touches people differently, so they should make their own decisions. For me this blog was about supporting the industry, not tearing down a show, and to draw people into the industry that might not usually venture out to Broadway.”
“I became one of the Huffington Post’s top bloggers and would get into human detail and true insights so audiences could understand how these magical people they see on stage giving everything are also dealing with kids and insurance bills when they’re offstage,” he continues.
“We all dream big whether we admit it or not, but often forget how stars are real people. I remember the first time I interviewed Barry Manilow and asked what he was up to and he said he was watching Judge Judy. He went on to explain how he wanted to take a step back and enjoy some time off from music and touring, and that story did so well because it showed just how relatable he is, and similar to anyone who has worked hard.”
“You’re seeing that trend today of promoting relevance and connection with these big bands doing VIP packages,” notes Steve. “The world got so disconnected during covid that now they’re trying to create reconnection. When I got the job with NBC Today in New York at that time they didn’t do much theater coverage because generally speaking, it didn’t match their audience demographic because Broadway can be very expensive. So I pitched it by saying, ‘Why not talk about free events or great ways to find a discount on Broadway?’ That approach took off and I was able to do the show approximately once a month for eight years.”
Between his television and arts-related projects, coupled with his ‘day job’ doing broad-based consumer marketing Steve says he spent ten years doing two full time jobs. “That’s why I have two ex-husbands,” he jokingly comments.
One of his biggest and most successful artistic fundraising projects consisted of a benefit concert in memory of actress Rebecca Luker titled ‘Becca’, which Steve created to give the Broadway community and fans an outlet to honor this beloved Broadway actress who passed from ALS and also drive awareness of the challenge of ALS. It successfully raised $200,000 in donations (during covid no less) that immediately was applied to two research projects seeking grants.
Another successful benefit was a concert for The Voice Health Institute called Raise Your Voice, that was held at Lincoln Center starring Keith Urban, Sam Smith, and Roger Daltrey, honoring Julie Andrews that raised $500,000; and to top it all off, together with members of the Hammerstein family, Steve helped spearhead a fundraising campaign to acquire and preserve Oscar Hammerstein II’s home, which is being transformed into a museum and education center.
“After producing these fundraising shows with major Broadway talent to benefit charities, by the time I turned forty I realized I had achieved my dreams so much younger than many do, and decided that rather than being known as a director or a producer, I consider myself more of an overall ‘’artist, storyteller, and creator’.”
“These achievements also underscore why I feel the arts are such a powerful vehicle for change.”
A Journey to Midland and a Season of Discovery
At this juncture, many may be wondering why Steve would give up such a storied and stellar career in the Big Apple to move to Midland and take us up his new position at the Midland Center.
It’s like that line in the song New York New York,” smiles Steve. “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere’, although I don’t think anyone could call Midland ‘anywhere’, as its honesty too special and I consider myself very lucky to be here now.”
“What motivated me to come here is because I want to challenge myself to make it here using all of my skills, and in doing so - most importantly - support our community and generate excitement and inspiration through theater, education and our reimagined museum reopening in 2026, along with helping to encourage local economic and cultural development.”
“I wanted to find a new opportunity, so when this position came up I thought if I can do these types of things on Broadway, what can I bring to the Midland Center? Because the New York community is so big, I thought if I can transition to a smaller scale of community like Midland I can really make an impact using my talents from working with Broadway and TV and broad-based marketing clients like Walmart and PNC Bank. That and wanting to contribute and be a part of a thriving community, especially working under the leadership of our Center’s visionary President & CEO, Jon Loos, is what brought me here.”
So in terms of their 2024-25 season, which is titled A Season of Journey & Discovery, Steve feels what excites him the most about this new season is that “there really is something for everybody.”
“In addition to bringing in such bigger name musical artists like A.J. Croce on Sept. 7th and Ben Folds (The Paper Airplane Request Tour) on Oct. 15th, we have the Straight No Chaser a cappella group coming on Nov. 30th who take everything from Rap and Pop and Broadway and make it uniquely their own, and it’s incredible to hear all these amazing songs performed without instruments and rendered with such unique vocal harmonies.”
“We also have mega TV star Jane Lynch coming in with Kate Flannery from The Office for our Holiday show on Dec. 11th, and Cuban-Canadian singer-songwriter Alex Cuba on Oct. 23rd for National Diversity Month, who plays a heady mix of Afro-Cuban jazz, funk, and pop, which offers something to audiences that haven’t been exposed to his music. The whole idea with this season is let people explore, which is a reflection of Midland’s identity as the city of “Modern Explorers,” notes Steve.
“With our Broadway Series we’re bringing in the Tony-Award winning musical Hadestown and Dear Evan Hansen in February and March, and then be showcasing STOMP, Ain’t Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations, which is about the life and time of The Temptations, and TINA - The Tina Turner Musical in May and June."
“The Center’s own Rising Stars series recently produced performances of Newsies and our Center Stage Theatre had audiences rocking out to Rock of Ages; both were such high quality they rival anything seen in New York and I’m also really excited about Steel Magnolias that will be running in October, because it’s such a beautiful and powerful play about empowerment and the challenges we face and how we need friends and family to fill in each other’s gaps. Given all the turmoil in the world today, I am also excited that we are producing The Wizard of Oz, as part of Center Stage Theatre in November.”
“Our Midland Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops concert on Dec. 14th is going to be a true stand-out this year, as it will star Gretchen Shope and Broadway veteran, Kevin Massey (Tarzan, Big River). Gretchen is a local celebrity, having just graduated from Midland High School this year who quickly gained national attention after winning the coveted 2024 “Jimmy Award” that celebrates the best young performers from around the country. It’s also very personal to us, as Gretchen honed her chops at the Midland Center, and Creative 360, as well as other local arts-organizations and she served on staff as one of our Center’s music educators this past summer.”
“She’s so talented, hearing her sing gives me chills and makes me think of how people reacted when they first heard stars such as Barbra Streisand. I strongly encourage our community to join us for the performance, as I believe we will all look back in a few years when Gretchen is a mega-star and we can say, ‘we saw her when…’
A truly unique presentation slated for January at the Center is Space Explorer THE INFINITE, which offers the world’s most captivating immersive adventure through virtual reality and other advanced theatrical technology, bringing the wonder of space exploration to the Center with its Michigan debut. Inspired by NASA missions aboard the International Space Station, 360-degree videos are captured in space using advanced technology offering exclusive encounters with astronauts and breathtaking views of Earth. Every sensation deepens your connection to the universe and your place within it, offering an emotional odyssey that leaves a lasting impression.
As we wind down our conversation, I ask Steve what some of his goals are for Midland Center as he takes over his new position.
“I would love to find a way to encourage more interest in Dance in this region,” he reflects. “While we’ve had some recent highly-successful performances, such as by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, among a few others, and will be welcoming the Grand Rapids Ballet to join the Midland Symphony Orchestra for The Nutcracker this year, I would like to get more people interested in dance, as it is so beautiful and can inspire visitors in new, exciting ways, different than theater or music, for instance.”
“I’m very excited about this new season,” concludes Steve. “This season is selling incredibly well and there is a high demand for shows. Our subscriptions are at an incredible high and people are also choosing add-ons because they’re hungry for content. It’s a great year to be joining the Center and being a part of this continued growth, especially as we get closer to opening our re-imagined museum.”
“I am beyond excited to join this multifaceted organization in the heart of the beautiful Great Lakes Bay Region,” Steve said. “My experience in marketing and storytelling, combined with my love for the arts, historic preservation and nonprofit causes to support the Center. I look forward to becoming part of the community and to collaborating with organizations throughout the region.”
To purchase season tickets and review all the details on the many varied events and concerts coming up at Midland Center, please visit www.midlandcenter.org.-
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