By Pam Hersh, Special Writer
I walked into the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre on Sunday night to see “Into The Woods,” and got interrupted by an in-the-lobby production.
Hannah Schussel, the operator of the Theatre Store at McCarter, was announcing to her fans that the store was closing for good (actually for bad) after the June 9 “Into The Woods” performance at McCarter.
Hannah, my fashion accessories soul mate during the past 12½ years of the store’s long run, made it clear that no storybook heroes or heroines would be able to revive her retail production, adding that McCarter management was taking the concession space in the lobby in a “new direction.”
As a longtime enthusiastic supporter of McCarter, I am sure whatever happens will be interesting, creative, and beneficial to the bottom line of the theater and probably beneficial to my bottom line.
Whenever I had tickets to a show and many times when I did not have tickets to a show (the ticket taker knew me as the little lady going to the store) I never could resist purchasing gifts for myself and others from Hannah’s selection of creative, crafty, but classy scarves, purses, rings, necklaces, bracelets, pins, note cards, ties, and items related to the current McCarter production.
Everyone in the crowd of mostly women and a few men expressed “profound” sadness, in the words of one customer, over the demise of the store everyone except me.
As a jewelry-box-half-full kind of gal, I refused to mourn, because I knew in my heart that this change never would represent Hannah’s last act. Retailing is in Hannah’s DNA. Her father was a successful hardware and appliance retailer from Great Neck, Long Island, and she learned his skills and inherited his instincts.
She has had a wide variety of retail experience from small family owned operations to large retailers like Neiman Marcus. Since the time she moved to Montgomery Township with her family more than two decades ago, she has worked in several Palmer Square stores, including her own store: Toys the Store.
David Newton, vice president of Palmer Square Management, connected Hannah to McCarter when the theater decided to host a store in its lobby. She did well at McCarter, either making money for McCarter or at least breaking even.
”Most of the time I was a fiscal asset for the theater,” she says. “For a number of years, it was the most successful theater gift shop in the country, and I think I generated interest in the theater with my more than 1,000 ‘regulars,’ who liked to shop with me. Intermission became a time for a shopping experience; not just a time for snacking.”
While taking advantage of her closeout discount prices (my friends and relatives can expect some great Christmas and birthday gifts this year), I began to brainstorm with Hannah about her next retail venture/adventure. The appeal of her shop was not only her great sense of style, but also the concept of philanthropy.
It is always easier for me to justify being a shopping addict if my purchases benefit a good cause. Just like I loved shopping at McCarter, I loved shopping at the Princeton Public Library Store before it went out of business and I love shopping at the Princeton University Art Museum shop.
Granted, the items for sale at all these locations were/are fabulous, but nevertheless, the expenditure was/is made more justifiable because of the knowledge that my dollars also are supporting organizations that I love.
Then it hit me, like a jewelry box filled with all my beneficial purchases over the years: Hannah should open (with Pam helping with the buying) a retail store that benefited the charitable non-profits in Princeton, i.e., McCarter, Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton Public Library, Arts Council of Princeton, Historical Society of Princeton. Organizations who wanted to participate would become a member of the Retail Consortium for Princeton Charitable Non Profits (I need to work on the title).
Each organization could place on consignment sale some of its own signature items and share the profits from the sale of the general merchandise. Participation in the Consortium would not mean the charitable non-profit would have to cease its own retail operation, but the Retail Consortium would just enhance the non-profit’s retail efforts. One further suggestion is that this shop should be located in the university’s Arts and Transit complex perhaps in a corner of the restaurant of the Momo Brothers, who are known for their commitment to community causes.
This transition out of McCarter for Hannah should just be an intermission that will lead to an even more spectacular retailing second act. In the mean time, Hannah invites everyone to her TTFN Party (TaTa for Now) on June 10 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the theater gift shop for deep discounts on remaining items or on those items that I have not purchased.
A longtime resident of Princeton, Pam Hersh is vice president for government community affairs with Princeton HealthCare System. She is a former managing editor of The Princeton Packet.
