Shadow board members meet with landlord

AURORA | Cornerstone Equity Partners met with Shadow Theatre board members Wednesday to discuss the terms of the theater’s looming eviction from their current building on Dayton Street.

The meeting included Cornerstone partners Doug Adams and Michael Rasser, as well as Shadow Board President Herman Malone and board members Michael Hancock, Peter Cukale and Jim Wheeler. The meeting came two days after the investment company formally announced they were beginning eviction proceedings for the theater located at 1468 Dayton St., after their continued failure to pay the $7,500 monthly rent on the building.

“I would say the meeting went well,” Rasser said. “Both parties discussed how we can move forward and we are striving by the end of Friday to have an agreement between us signed, sealed and delivered which would work for everyone.”

Rasser added that there was no discussion of the Shadow Theatre trying to stay in its current space.

On Wednesday, Shadow board members released a statement ensuring a continued run until January of its current production “Nina,” a musical biography of jazz legend Nina Simone. Their future in the building on Dayton Street, however, was uncertain.

“Shadow Theatre Company appreciates the outpouring of love and support we have received from our patrons and friends in Aurora and Denver — and across the nation — as we continue to adjust to the current challenging economic times and present first-rate live theatre,” the statement says. “Shadow Theatre is creating an agreement with Cornerstone Equity regarding performances at 1468 Dayton.”

Rasser has said that Cornerstone would like to keep the space as a community theater, despite the hefty rent attached to the 9,400-square-foot building. The investment firm would be willing to work with potential tenants on a reasonable rent structure and schedule, Rasser said, but Cornerstone can no longer afford to bear the majority of operational costs for the facility.

“There are a couple of options being discussed, those would be agreed upon by 5 p.m. Friday,” Rasser said in regards to the current negotiations. “Both parties are working to amicably resolve this.”