Bass Hall VP looks back at its 25 years of impact on Fort Worth

RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
rich@dallasvoice.com

Whether you are in formal wear or in jeans, the classic architecture and luxe interior of Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth make every visit feel special. From Broadway shows to contemporary concerts, the venue offers an array of performances on its mainstage, and this year marks its 25th anniversary of doing so.

Home to Cowtown’s major companies — including the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Opera, the Cliburn concerts and international piano competition and the Texas Ballet Theater — the hall celebrates its landmark year by bringing the arts to downtown Fort Worth.

On May 1, 1998, the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall opened, built entirely with private funds. The 2,042-seat hall was designed in classic European opera house form, with its 80-foot diameter Great Dome atop the Founders Concert Theater and two 48-foot-tall angels at the building’s Grand Facade which are now among Fort Worth’s iconic signature landmarks.

Jason Wise

Performing Arts Fort Worth, the nonprofit owner and operator of Bass Performance Hall, celebrates 25 years of Bass Hall with public outreach this month. Last week, the first of two community events was held with a Resident Company Showcase giving visitors a sample of what the hometown has to offer. On Sunday, PAFW will host a Community Open House where guests can get a behind-the-scenes look at the Hall — including on stage.

“For 25 years, Bass Performance Hall has been a theater, a classroom and a pillar of our community,” Performing Arts Fort Worth President and CEO Dione Kennedy said in a press release. “Whether you’re new to the area or have been with us since the very beginning, I invite you to join us as we commemorate this great milestone not just for the Hall, but for Fort Worth.”

Helping Bass Hall and PAFW continue to make a big impression for 15 of those 25 years is Jason Wise, vice president of programming and engagement management. He’s the guy who shapes the Broadway season at Bass Hall and books all the concerts happening there other than the resident companies’ events. Wise’s position oversees many departments that help to perpetuate Bass Hall’s reputation as an arts leader in Fort Worth and North Texas.

“The job goes from the time we book a show until the show leaves, and anything in between is under my umbrella duties,” Wise said by phone. “But really, I have 25 other coworkers who are the stars.”

Wise’s team includes the programming and marketing teams, patron services (or box office), the VIP presenter club, events and rentals and house production.

“It’s crazy to think I started just as the director of marketing,” he said, adding that his rise to VP is indicative of the Bass/PAFW environment, a place where team members have the opportunity to grow and expand.

Having a supportive husband who knows exactly what Wise has to deal with doesn’t hurt. He has been married since 2014 to Tony, who worked at the former Dallas Summer Musicals before switching over to a private events company.

“My job is very demanding and definitely not an eight-to-five/40 hours a week thing,” Wise said. “[Tony] gets it, and that makes a huge difference. He loves Broadway, so he’ll go scout shows with me. I love that we can chat about our perspectives after the show. He still gets to be part of the industry through me.”

With that kind of support at home and a team that mixes well creatively, Wise can perpetuate an optimistic outlook for his own sake and for Bass. Having open discussions with colleagues can spark new ideas even when everyone is on the same page.

“That’s the part I love. We all meet every two weeks and everyone has a seat at that table,” he said. “Some of our best ideas can come from other departments, and that dynamic always helps us get to our end goals with a buy-in for everyone.”

When he began as the marketing director, Wise said, PAFW viewed itself as a small nonprofit without a full understanding of its breadth of resources. When he compares the programming that Bass does now to its programming back then, the successes are far different and far bigger.
Now, Wise helps facilitate Bass’ leadership in the area arts scene.

“It’s been nice to evolve as a city and community. We continue to test the waters and not program the exact same thing over and over,” he said. “On a personal level, I’m proud and happy to see how we continue to grow.”

As with every arts organization, the pandemic delivered a hard hit to Bass’ operations. But it also gave the team a new perspective: What would the future of the Bass look like? Not having a specific answer to that was almost the answer.

“The challenge was determining what the next thing is, but we didn’t want to get caught up chasing a rabbit down a hole,” he said. “The exciting thing coming out of the pandemic is that it allowed a lot of us to look at things with a fresh perspective. We took everything we did in 2019 and threw it out the door.

“We decided to operate on a clean slate.”

Wise said that allowed him to throw the playbooks away and expand his own horizons. “We may not know what will happen in a year, but that’s the exciting part. We keep ourselves open to new ideas and what opportunities exist for us.”

The 25th anniversary season launched in last fall, and noted highlights of the season so far have included A Tribute to Peace – North Texas Welcomes Kyiv City Ballet, a collaborative presentation with Texas Ballet Theater, and a sensory-friendly performance of Disney’s The Lion King, a first for Bass.

The season concludes with Sunday’s open house.

“We couldn’t do what we do without our patrons, and we hope people who have never come by — this is their chance. We always want to remind that all our welcome here, and we hope people new and returning will come celebrate and have fun with us.”

Community Open House, 1-5 p.m. at Bass Hall. Free but ticket reservation is required. BassHall.com/25.

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Fun facts about Bass Performance Hall

Bass Hall is located at 525 Commerce St. in downtown Fort Worth and its two large angels welcome all to its halls. But beyond its annual Broadway at the Bass series, its eclectic lineup of concerts and performances and the four resident companies’ calendars of events, what else do you know about Bass? Here are some interesting tidbits you might not be familiar with:

  • While many performance halls throughout Europe and the US were studied to cast a vision for the design of the Hall, the project team and architect David M. Schwarz decided New York’s Carnegie Hall best displayed the feel of traditional elegance and modern technology.
  • DMS Architects, who designed Bass Performance Hall, have also designed a number of other iconic buildings around DFW including Sundance Square Plaza, Dickies Arena, Cook Children’s South Tower, National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, Fort Worth Public Library, American Airlines Center and Globe Life Park in Arlington.
  • Bass Performance Hall was the second tour stop on the first national tour of Disney’s The Lion King back in 2002.
  • If you’re in the lobby portals and look up, you’ll notice that the Gentling Brothers painted a sunrise mural in the East Portal, and a sunset mural in the west. So the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west in the Hall.
  • The Grand Façade is made from Texas limestone.
  • The heralding angels were sculpted by Marton Varo out of 104 blocks of Cordova Creme limestone from the Texas Quarries outside Austin. He spent three years carving the angels at his outside studio in Southern California. He carved the angels in pieces, using an eight-foot model, then shipped them in blocks to Fort Worth in November 1997 where he assembled them on site. He took two months to carve the wings in Fort Worth because they would be too fragile to ship.