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Webster Groves Arts Commission endorses letter urging Opera Theatre to remain in city
Summary
The Webster Groves Arts Commission voted to endorse a letter in support of keeping Opera Theatre in Webster Groves and asked members to provide talking points; Arts Commissioner Dottie will draft the letter for commission approval.
The Webster Groves Arts Commission on a voice vote approved a motion endorsing a city-supported letter urging Opera Theatre to remain in Webster Groves.
The commission’s endorsement aims to provide the City Council and the university with a formal expression of support in advance of a budget decision and possible venue moves. Arts Commissioner Dottie, who said she is on the opera’s board, agreed to draft the letter and circulate talking points for commission input.
Commissioners discussed why keeping Opera Theatre in Webster Groves matters, citing the company’s role as a cultural anchor, its educational activities with students and children and the visibility a local venue provides. “I had to reproduce myself because I'm on the board of that one,” Dottie said when asked to draft the letter.
City staff asked for a timely submission; commissioners asked to receive the draft quickly so they could send edits. The commission’s motion was seconded and carried by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting minutes.
The commission requested that the draft include concrete benefits — for example, community programming, student engagement and economic activity tied to performances — and coordinated language so city and university messages do not merely repeat one another. Commissioners asked staff to circulate the city’s talking points and to copy Webster University’s points when available.
The commission will review Dottie’s draft and submit the final letter to the mayor’s office and City Council as requested.
