The old line goes, “The operation was a success — but the patient died.” The Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, which announced in April that it would be calling it a day, could probably identify.

Created in 1990 by theater directors, playwrights, actors, designers and administrators, the Alliance was an important umbrella service provider for the Philly theater community through its renaissance over the past couple of decades. In recent years, the Alliance was the big online hub for Philly theater professionals and audiences; 35,000 to 45,000 users a month accessed its job postings and casting calls, lively listserv discussions, show listings and ticketing program. 

The Alliance’s most visible function, though, was running the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, named for the Philly-rooted theatrical clan now represented only by Drew. Since they began in 1994, the Barrymores have been a signifier of Philly theater cred. Artists and companies rightfully tout their awards and nominations in playbills, advertising and grant proposals; InterAct Theatre, among others, proudly displays its silver statuettes in its Sansom Street lobby. But without the Alliance, it’s unclear whether those trophies will become obsolete relics — or what, if anything, will replace them. 

By any marker, the Alliance seems to have been a success. It’s grown from what it describes as a small, “ad-hoc” group to having a membership of 150 organizations, a sign of how much Philly theater has expanded in audience and revenues despite the economy. So why would it fold? 

It’s not an “income-producing entity,” explains consultant Martin Cohen of the Cultural Planning Group, who was brought in to facilitate the dismantling of the Alliance — a task he says should be complete by year’s end. The board, Cohen notes, realized that they increasingly found themselves competing for grant money with the very companies and artists they were chartered to support. So, he says, they chose to shut down with dignity.

Many Alliance services will continue through other organizations, says Cohen, though most are still up in the air. The Walnut Street Theatre will host the annual event where actors can audition for dozens of directors at once, for example, and the Wilma will take over running the Tessitura consortium, which is involved with ticketing. 

But the Barrymores are among the many things where nobody’s stepped up. The annual Monday-night awards gala (typically held in a 1,000-seat theater with a catered, open-bar party afterward) was a huge expense that brought the theater community together, but didn’t exactly draw in the new audiences that theaters need. And, inevitably, trying to keep everyone feeling that awards are being given out fairly is a headache — several different voting systems have been tried and discarded.

Erin Reilly, artistic director of Theatre Horizon and a former Alliance board member, points out that while the Barrymores covered most standard theater offerings, they weren’t designed to recognize “devised theater” — the often avant-garde ensemble creations of companies like Pig Iron, The Berserker Residents, New Paradise Laboratories and Applied Mechanics, all of which have garnered national acclaim. The Barrymores also don’t  have a category devoted to children’s-theater offerings, and, unlike other cities’ programs, don’t differentiate between union and nonunion actors or different-sized theater companies. 

But Reilly still believes that the Barrymores were important. “[Awards are] all flawed in some way,” she says, but they’re a powerful method of bringing a community together. She hopes that whatever sprouts up in its place, whatever it’s named, will “take into account the ever-changing, growing offerings of the community.” 

Reilly and others are discussing and studying other cities’ programs as possible models for whatever comes next. Awards “are unique to each community,” she says — it’s “like buying a wedding dress.” She is hopeful that everyone in the area’s theater community — even critics — will participate and contribute. 

As for this year, Barrymore ballots for this past season are in, and Cohen’s working with an outside company to get them tabulated, with the nominations to be released in August. However, he says, though they want to make sure that this year’s nominees are honored and recognized, “we don’t have the capacity to produce an event,” despite a save-the-date for an Oct. 1 awards ceremony still up on the Alliance’s website.

This year’s winners also won’t be getting physical Barrymore Awards for their lobby displays or mantels. According to Cohen, “there are no resources to provide the medallions that have been given out in the past, which frankly cost several thousand dollars to produce — each medallion is several hundred dollars, so you do the math.” Like most everything, the physical awards are still up in the air. “We’re hoping to provide something that shows recognition,” Cohen says, “but at the moment, we’re only planning an announcement to the field followed by an announcement to the press.” 

(m_cofta@citypaper.net)