Photo courtesy the University School of Music Arthur Miller received a bachelor's degree from the University in 1938. His "Death of a Salesman" earned him a Pulitzer Prize 11 years later in 1949.

Miller Theatre could open in less than two years

University President Lee Bollinger saw the need to attract national and international theatrical talent to Ann Arbor - hoping that some of the theater's veterans would stay on campus long enough to teach their trade for a semester or two.

He also saw the need for a mid-sized theater on campus.

The best way to kill both birds with the same stone? Build a theater in honor of one of the University's most famous graduates - Arthur Miller.

"I called Mr. Miller and he was very interested - I believe he called it a 'lovely idea,'" Bollinger said. "This is a concept he has turned down many other places, but Michigan seemed right."

Bollinger, who originally announced his intentions to build a theater bearing Miller's name last September, said the new theater may open its doors as early as January, 2000.

"It is a high priority for me and, I think, for the University as well," Bollinger said. "We've got a long way to go, but this is something that is very important."

Bollinger said a likely model for the theater is London's 21-year-old National Royale Theatre.

Special Counsel to the President, Anne Knott, said the Royal National fits what "has become the mold for mid-sized theaters."

A "spartan and intimate theater, lending itself to being very actor-centered" seems to be a theme those involved in planning the Miller theater are shooting for, Knott said.

The task of collecting information on the potential theater and nailing down concrete suggestions that will eventually go to the president's office belongs to a University faculty committee comprised mainly of professors from the Schools of Art and Design and Music.

Music Dean Paul Boylan, who heads committee activities, said the group is scheduled to resume planning for the Arthur Miller Theatre early next month after a summer hiatus.

Last spring the committee reviewed and endorsed a contact paper on the potential theater compiled by former Theater Prof. John Russel Brown.

Brown's 30-plus-page proposal submitted from New York in April,outlined his ideas for what the new Arthur Miller Theatre would look like, where it should be located and what types of entertainment it should hold.

Brown suggests the theater be built on East Liberty Street at a site that some call Tally Hall, and others refer to as Liberty Plaza. That location, the current home of cooperate offices for Borders Inc., features a parking garage above the building which could house the theater.

Brown calls the site "ideal," highlighting Liberty Street's "welcoming public face."

While Bollinger said a number of sites are still being considered, the theater will likely be built on Central Campus and that "Tally Hall seems to be a very effective site."

In keeping with the traditions of England's National Theater, Brown's suggestions stress that the would-be theater feature a small stage and auditorium. This design will heighten the

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