Harold Matzner retires from McCallum Theatre, Garry Kief named new chairman
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Harold Matzner is leaving his position as chairman at the McCallum Theatre. The announcement comes a couple weeks after Matzner officially retired as chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Entertainment executive Garry Kief is the new chairman of the Palm Desert venue. Kief is also the husband and business manager of singer/songwriter Barry Manilow, and a board member of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Matzner described his health as medically stable for the time being, but said it's time for "a younger person with more vitality and strength to step into the role."
"Garry certainly fits that bill," Matzner said. "I picked Garry because he knows the business and he has a good imagination, which is important in operating the McCallum. He'll be a good partner with (McCallum Theatre President and Artistic Director) Mitch Gershenfeld and they'll do well together."
The pair first met over two decades ago when Kief joined the Palm Springs Tennis Club and Matzner paid out of his own pocket to fix the club's tennis courts.
"Harold has pretty big shoes. I'm not going to pretend to fill them, but maybe half the size," Kief said. "I get a kick out of it because we're like oil and water. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree, we argue and take different positions, but we've stayed friends. He's been a great mentor to me on how to get things done, make your own personal commitment to improve things and he does a lot of things people don't know about to help the valley."
Kief said he hopes to evolve the theater, touch a bigger base of people who live in the area, potentially expand the length of future annual seasons and attract a bigger roster of artists to perform at the venue.
"Harold did a magnificent job of getting the theater on firm financial footing. I've been to hundreds of theaters around the world and the McCallum is a jewel box. It stands out with tremendous community support, whereas a lot of other theaters in the country have closed up or shortened their seasons. We have the potential to do a lot more and I think Mitch (Gershenfeld) has a great team of people. I think we're going to be able to evolve into doing more things rather than fewer things."
Matzner succeeded the late Isabel Bigley Barnett, who passed away in 2006. Under his leadership, the theater enjoyed building a substantial financial surplus every year, and its reserves increased from $8 million to $40 million. The venue also survived a difficult two-year period a decade ago, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We're going to have another nice surplus this year and will probably be adding over $2 million and spending $1 million on capital improvements," Matzner said. "I'm proud of the overall success of the theater. Mitch and I did that together. He's been an outstanding partner in this, and I think both of us had a lot of fun doing it once we got the theater into the black."
As more bands and entertainers enjoyed regular touring schedules as the COVID-19 pandemic waned, global tours grossed $6.28 billion, according to Pollstar. Gershenfeld told The Desert Sun in April that the 2022-2023 season saw the second-highest sales year in its history, but added there are still challenges for theaters. Jeffrey Norman, vice president of communications and public affairs, said there are customers who come to the theater 20 to 40 nights a year, which he said is "unheard of in any market."
"The audiences weren't coming back (to other theaters) to the extent that they were here. I feel comfortable that our audience knows what we have, what we're doing and attending the shows we have," Gershenfeld said.
When discussing his retirement, Matzner said it's time for him to move on, but he would continue to work with the theater if needed and will enjoy attending as a spectator. He plans to remain on Eisenhower Health's board of governors and continue working with other local nonprofits.
"I'm still involved in a lot of things and won't have a problem with time," Matzner said. "I love Eisenhower and they're the only reason I'm still here. I would have died three or four times if they hadn't come to my rescue. We're so lucky to have a hospital like that," Matzner said.
Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Harold Matzner retires from McCallum, Garry Kief named new chairman
