JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The manager of Thalia Mara Hall is speaking out about conditions at the facility, saying she’s been sounding the alarm with city officials for months.
“The next thing to happen is someone’s going to get hurt or worse,” said Angie Ladner, division manager of the Municipal Auditorium.
Ladner spoke with WLBT Friday as she was driving out of town.
She says she’s been trying to warn city officials about problems for months, sending “9-1-1 emails” on everything from the sinking orchestra pit to the broken elevator.
“No internet, no elevator. We didn’t have an elevator this entire year. We had no ADA access,” she said. “I’m screaming at the top of my lungs, emailing weekly reports, everything. But meanwhile, we’re slammed. We were in the middle of symphony season, Broadway. We were slammed all year.”
One of those “reports” was sent on October 22, 2023, where Ladner warned city officials about the orchestra pit, which was on the verge of collapse and leaking hydraulic fluid.
“The pit is not stable and is in great need of attention, as people are constantly using it,” Ladner wrote. “The fluid that is leaking is seeping into the ground, causing the ground (concrete) underneath the pit to stay soft.”
Human and Cultural Services Director Pamela Scott responded to that email, saying it was very concerning and that she was open to a walk-through, as well as any ideas Ladner had to address her concerns.
“We can see what resources there are available… to address what we can as we work to identify outside resources,” Scott wrote.
Ladner’s comments come a little more than a month after the city closed the roughly 56-year-old auditorium amid discovering mold growth there and a day after multiple arts groups shared their frustrations about the city’s lack of communication on when Thalia Mara would reopen.
“We’re all just disappointed,” Ballet Mississippi Artistic Director David Keary said in a joint statement with other arts leaders. “Things do happen. Parts wear out. But we do need better communication from the city.”
Ballet Mississippi is moving its 60th-anniversary production of The Nutcracker to Jackson Preparatory School’s Fortenberry Theatre as a result. Ballet Magnificat’s Christmas production, Light Has Come, also is being moved to Prep.
[READ: Kevin Hart show canceled at Thalia Mara amid auditorium’s closure]
Ladner detailed multiple problems at the facility, from the leaky roof to the theater’s aged rigging system. She also said that the toilets do not flush and that for months the hall had no Wi-Fi or phone service.
“We didn’t have Wi-Fi and phones for five months and we put on an entire Broadway season,” she said. “We sold out without any issues, just me and my stage manager.”
As for the leaky roof, the longtime events promoter spent much of Friday moving garbage cans on the stage to prevent water damage to its wooden floor.
“If the wood starts to crumble on the stage, the stage is gone,” she said.
The rigging system presents another problem.
“The brakes failed twice. I’ve got video of that happening. We put thousands of pounds of brakes on these ropes, and they just fail,” she said. “Thank God nobody was standing on stage at that moment.”
The rigging is the intricate rope system used to control curtains and other props on the stage. The original ropes were installed in the 1960s and are still in place, and many have worn down so much so that brakes no longer work.
“No one’s ever inspected them, and no one’s ever oiled the slips, and so they’re slipping,” she added. “I had one of the guys take me up there. I’ve got a video of it where he shows me, and he says, ‘I was up here one day and one of the weights fell and somebody said when it hit the stage, it was so loud they heard it up front in the auditorium.’”
Ladner said a group is expected to come next week to assess the system. However, she questions whether they know about the mold that’s developed there.
Following the theater’s closure, Jackson brought on CTEH to conduct an assessment of the facility. An air inspection report was released to the public on August 27, nearly two weeks after it was completed.
Hygienists discovered three types of mold during their assessment: Penicillium, Cladosporium, and Aspergillus, the most common types found indoors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Deputy Director of Human and Cultural Services Mike Williams attributed the problem, at least in part, to Thalia Mara’s faulty HVAC system, which had been operating at 25 percent for the last decade. As a result, the humidity levels in the facility rose.
[READ: ‘Wasn’t as bad as we were expecting’: City releases report on Thalia Mara Hall mold growth]
Ladner believes much of the mold could have been prevented had the city made repairs to the facility this summer when the theater was closed.
“When I came on board the IBC was leaving and I entered into a meeting with CDFL, Pam Scott, Mike Williams, and a couple of other people, and I suggested [because] June and July are slow, let’s close down and let’s get that chiller and put it on the roof,” she said. “So, I shut down the calendar for June and July.”
“I had gotten so much [flack] for it from promoters and agents, and nothing ever happened,” she said. “Nothing.”
Ladner says she’s faced a growing backlash for raising concerns about the theater. She’s currently been moved from Thalia Mara to a “cubicle” at North State Street.
She says the city told her the move was made because of the mold. However, she says no fungal growth was found where her office was located.
Ladner also is facing disciplinary action for not clocking in, even though she says she is supposed to be salaried. Additionally, she was questioned by at least one member of the mayor’s staff for attending a council meeting where Thalia Mara was discussed.
She’s speaking up now because she’s worried someone will get hurt if repairs aren’t made. And, as a longtime events promoter and planner, she says her reputation also is on the line.
Before joining Thalia Mara, Ladner’s career included stints doing events for the Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Valley and helping open Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blue’s Club in Biloxi.
“My name is on this. If I tried to go out and get a job right now, the whole east side of the Mississippi River knows that Thalia Mara is falling into the ground,” she said. “It’s just getting worse and worse.”
Jackson Director of Communications Melissa Faith Payne could not be reached for comment Friday after hours.
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