Curtain drops on park's Lincoln drama as organizers eye 2016

LINCOLN CITY, Ind. (AP) - The 2015 installment of the Lincoln State Park's amphitheater's drama about Abraham Lincoln's roots in southern Indiana won't be happening, state officials said.

Dan Bortner, director of Indiana State Parks, said the state is still in negotiation with the hopeful new management company for the 1,500-seat Lincoln Amphitheatre. The previous management contract was with the Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association, but it wasn't renewed.

"Production will be dark for this year," Bortner told the Evansville Courier & Press (http://bit.ly/1GS2IM6 ). "We are taking this as an opportunity to fix some things that needed fixed and take care of things in the interim. All plans are to have things up and running and a production for 2016. We fully support that. The production is a wonderful way to tell the story about the time Abraham Lincoln spent in Indiana."

He said it is still unknown what money the amphitheater will receive, as the budget won't be approved until July 1, although they have requested funding. Money for the repairs and upkeep are coming out of Lincoln Park's operating budget.

Bud Schaaf, president of Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association, said the nonprofit stepped aside as the management company in September, adding the amphitheater has been approached by an outside company wanting to take over.

"It saddens me immensely that there won't be a show this year," he said. "That's the reason the amphitheater was built. We want to tell the world this is where Lincoln got his education that made him the great president he was. It really saddens me. But we feel confident we will have another Lincoln production in 2016."

Schaaf said once it was finished, the amphitheater was managed by the drama association for one year before Holiday World took over management in 1988. The University of Southern Indiana took over from 1989-2004. It went dark in 2005 when the state only put $1 in the budget for the amphitheater. It remained so until 2009, when the drama association once again took the management role in time for Lincoln's 200th birthday.

Schaaf's confident that the show will go on in 2016 - the 200th anniversary of the Lincoln's arrival in the area.

"It would be a better situation for this company to take over, because as a not-for-profit it is always tough to raise funds and keep things going," Schaaf said. "The amphitheater is a big and aging facility; we felt it would be better if this other company took over, if they were sincere."

That meant the drama association had to cancel their contract before the state could sign one with the new company. A negotiation though, Bortner said, couldn't be completed in time for a 2015 production.

He said the state and company, which both Bortner and Schaaf declined to name, were heading back into negotiations next month with a goal of having a deal inked by early fall, allowing plenty of time to ensure a Lincoln production in 2016.

"They have a 1,500-seat outdoor amphitheater in such a historic place, we want to make sure we have someone in there that can tell the story how it needs to be told," Bortner said. "The show isn't going away. We are just taking a breather, getting our sea legs back so we can be ready to go back next season."

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Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com