Since its $11 million restoration and its gala grand reopening in 1993, the theater has been considered a failure in bringing back some of the glitter of its glory days in the 1930s and '40s, when it was one of the centers of black cultural Washington.

But here’s something no one seems to know: The Lincoln Theatre is making money. Lots of it.

Here’s something else no one seems to know: the venue is booked an astounding 80 percent of the time.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Jocelyn Russell, who came from the famed Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia, the Lincoln has begun to turn around its reputation as an underused venue. And Russell has set the theater on a new course.

When she started as executive director in the middle of last year, Russell said she was given a six-month budget of $180,000 to run the theater. By Oct. 1 of last year, she got that figure up to $420,000. As of Oct. 1 this year, the theater’s operating budget stands at $1.1 million. That places the Lincoln as one of the top five African-American theaters in the country.

But Russell has even larger plans for the theater. She sees the Lincoln becoming a $10 million operation, a goal she said could be attainable in five to 10 years. That would make the Lincoln the largest African-American run theater in the country.

"We’re building and we’re expanding and I’m taking all sorts of risks," she said. "My staff sees me as the person who’s leading them through a burning forest."

Russell said the staff and board of directors will be conducting strategy session in January to determine what direction the theater will take in the future and what sort of mix of entertainment the venue will offer. The theater is primarily a rental hall now, booking other theater companies’ productions. She said she wants to see the Lincoln producing its own shows in the future.

The Lincoln’s first foray into production will be "Black Nativity," which premieres Dec. 16. The Christmas show features a script that has scenes set in the neighborhoods of Washington. This year the Lincoln also will host a production of Quincy Jones’ "Soulful Messiah," which has been traditionally held at Metropolitan Baptist Church.

Although she is the daughter of an actor-opera singer and a concert pianist, Russell admits she is a business person at heart. The business of running a theater is just that, a business. Balancing the artistic aspects with the business side is the job of the artistic directors she brought on board, she said.

The Lincoln has been one of the anchors of the community since it was built in 1922. As a movie house and vaudeville theater, the Lincoln catered to Washington’s black middle class when theaters in the District were still segregated. When the Colonnade dance hall was added to the rear of the theater in 1927, the theater hosted such jazz luminaries as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway.

After segregation was outlawed in the 1950s, however, attendance at the Lincoln began to fall and the Colonnade was eventually demolished. The Lincoln closed its doors in the early 1970s and remained closed until renovations began in 1989.

This history of the Lincoln, and the fact that it is the only theater from Washington’s "Black Broadway" to be restored, plays a part in the decisions about the future of the theater, Russell said.

"A lot of people have a lot of personal ideas about what the Lincoln should be," she said. This is one of the many factors that will be considered during the upcoming strategy sessions, she noted.

The possibilities for the future of the Lincoln are wide open, including theater production, film premieres, jazz productions and educational programs. Russell also is looking at the possibility of expansion and has even gotten the theater’s board to begin acquiring nearby properties toward that end. Ultimately, the success of the Lincoln rests with how it connects to its audiences.

"We're creating something new here because we’re challenged to listen to the people," she said.

Copyright 1999, The Common Denominator