Failed lease negotiations mean final bow for None Too Fragile at Akron Woman's City Club
None Too Fragile Theatre, whose long-term lease expired Dec. 31 at the Coach House, will be moving out of the historic building owned by the Akron Woman's City Club after negotiations with the club for a new lease failed.
At issue is the club's "zero net lease," which requires that the theater assume all liabilities ― including structural issues ― for the building, as well as pay for improvements, in addition to rent. The award-winning None Too Fragile began leasing the Coach House building at 732 W. Exchange St. in July 2019, eight months before the pandemic began.
None Too Fragile's original, 4½-year lease with the club, which theater co-founder Sean Derry signed in 2019, included the zero net clause. At the time, he said, he was assured verbally by former club vice president Kendal Taylor, who has since died, that the nonprofit Akron Woman's City Club would pay for all structural costs. None Too Fragile would pay for improvements to the building.
That verbal agreement worked fine for 3½ years, Derry said. The theater would often front the club the money for structural repairs, including roof and HVAC, and deduct the cost from their rent, which it paid to the Akron Woman's City Club every four months.
As a renter, Derry said the theater was willing to do the work and front the money for repairs as long as the club deducted the cost from the theater's rent.
In addition, None Too Fragile has put more than $50,000 of its own funds into renovating the theater, including electrical work, repairing the concrete at the entrance, redoing the bathrooms and lobby and painting the building inside and out.
Now, in order to renew the lease, the Akron Woman's City Club is holding the theater to the letter of the zero net terms, Derry said.
The theater cannot afford to operate under full liability for the building and pay rent, he said.
"We should not be responsible for structural fixes on a building that's over 100 years old," Derry told current Akron Woman's City Club Board President Suzanne Shriber in August.
Shriber did not return repeated calls for comment. Club liaisons Jane Delcamp and Rachel Whitehawk-Day also did not respond to requests for an interview.
The Akron Woman's City Club had faced financial stress in recent years and its membership declined to about 90 last year. In 2018, the club was on a plan to pay $119,660.49 in delinquent Summit County property taxes, which it has since paid off. And with declining revenue in 2022, the club had a $200,000 deficit, which members pulled together to pay off by 2023.
From 2018: Coach House artistic director is out; theater’s future unclear at Akron Woman’s City Club
Repairs needed at Coach House building
The biggest repairs needed at the Coach House are the roof and the replacement of two of the building's working HVAC systems, Derry said.
In late January 2023, the theater took $1,600 off its rent after a pipe burst in the scene shop, where the HVAC system didn't work. None Too Fragile lost props, set pieces and shelving. Derry sent a message to the club with photos but said he didn't hear back.
Last March, when the roof was leaking in the theater lobby, Derry was immersed in directing and co-starring in a show and asked the Akron Woman's City Club to take care of the roof repair. He sent the club photos of the leak.
That was when Derry said Shriber first informed him via text that because the theater was in a zero net lease, the roof repair was None Too Fragile's responsibility. Derry told her that in the original 2019 lease meeting, the theater was assured that the club would cover structural fixes.
Shriber stressed again that the roof repair was None Too Fragile's responsibility. Later, he said she also questioned why Derry deducted $1,600 from the theater's rent from the burst pipe damage two months earlier.
Derry provided Shriber with examples of how the club had set a precedent over 3½ years of allowing the theater to take the cost of structural repairs off the rent. She did not respond, he said.
In both April and August, Derry was asked if the theater was ready to renew its lease. Both times, he said no, not as it was written as a zero net lease.
"We shouldn't be paying rent and fixing your building and improving it," Derry said.
After several months of failed negotiations, Derry turned down the club's final offer and texted club leaders that None Too Fragile would pay rent for January and February as they worked on cleaning and moving out.
Search for new None Too Fragile home
None Too Fragile had previously operated for seven years in a small black box theater at Pub Bricco in the Merriman Valley.
With its move to the 75-seat Coach House, None Too Fragile gained backstage space, a scene shop and a more comfortable seating arrangement for the audience. None Too Fragile operated in its own building at Coach House and didn't have to tear down its set each week to accommodate jazz groups like it had to do at Pub Bricco.
The Akron Woman's City Club had formerly run its own Coach House Theatre with hired artistic directors. The building operated as a theater since 1948, when the club's Little Theatre Players transformed the carriage house into Coach House Theatre.
When None Too Fragile began leasing the Coach House in 2019, Akron Woman's City Club got out of the theater business.
"We were kind of a turnkey solution for them. We knew what we were doing, we had a following, we could come in, we had some money and we could get the building up to a code position and make it safe," Derry said.
Last February, in a Beacon Journal article about the Akron Woman City Club's 100th anniversary, Delcamp said: “Four years ago, we rented it to None Too Fragile, and that has been a very big blessing. They have really rehabbed that theater. I think it’s a nice collaboration.”
Derry and his wife, co-artistic director Alanna Romansky, moved to Highland Square with their three children in July to be closer to the theater.
In 2019, None Too Fragile had originally sought to buy the Coach House building from Akron Woman's City Club, but the club declined. In August, Derry said, Shriber asked if the theater was still interested in buying the building.
Derry responded that he didn't know, since the real estate market had changed since pre-COVID. He needed to know how old the leaky roof is, he'd have to replace two HVAC systems near the end of their lifespans, and he would also soon need to replace two air conditioning units.
Award-winning theater
None Too Fragile, an off-Broadway-style theater that produces thought-provoking plays in a black box-style space, was founded in 2013. It draws top acting talent from Northeast Ohio and beyond for its shows, with audiences coming from throughout Northeast Ohio.
More: 'The Weir' tells of Irish hauntings that go beyond ghost stories at None Too Fragile
The award-winning theater won six Cleveland Critics Circle awards for 2023, including best performance, as well as honorable mentions for best non-musical, best actors, best director and best scenic design. Cleveland Scene also recognized the theater for best multiple-play season for 2023.
The company's last show at Coach House was "Skylight" in December. None Too Fragile has not announced a new season for 2024 since it is now looking for a new home.
Derry said None Too Fragile is focused on finding a space that suits the theater's needs, which include appropriate acoustics and electrical service.
The theater has no debt and is in good financial shape, he said. But finding a home to start a new season in will take time.
"We're going to be dark for the foreseeable future. We don't have a space lined up," Derry said. "Whatever we do, we're gonna do it slow."
He said None Too Fragile has plans to look at a space in Cleveland, but wherever the nonprofit lands, it has to be the right space.
"We're not gonna lose anybody because of this," Derry said. "Our audience is loyal. Our membership base is gonna come back."
Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: None Too Fragile, Akron Woman's City Club part ways over lease issue
