Brownstein: Former Evenko exec wants ‘to bring culture and the economy back’ to St-Denis St.

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Those with long memories will recall a time when St-Denis St., particularly the area bounded by de Maisonneuve Blvd. and Sherbrooke St., was the cultural hub of the city — when the biggest names on the entertainment front, both franco and anglo, played Théâtre St-Denis. And when restaurants and stores in the area were able to partake in the resulting profits.

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Those were the days when our Quartier Latin was something to sing about — when the area wasn’t singing the desolation blues of more recent times.

Certainly contributing to the downturn was the shifting of the cultural scene to the area now known as the Quartier des spectacles, among other spots in the city. Unabated road construction, COVID, and store and restaurant vacancies also took their toll. That part of St-Denis — among others — soon began to empty out. And the Quartier Latin looked like it was on life support, with questions abounding as to whether it could ever be resuscitated.

There have been some developments of late. Mayor Valérie Plante announced a billion-dollar plan for downtown, including the Quartier Latin. And the Montreal Comic Arts Festival brought nearly 100,000 people to St-Denis over three days in May.

There is a long way to go, but there is even more hope on the horizon with Wednesday’s announcement that Jacques Aubé, a major player in the city’s cultural scene, has been named the chief executive officer of Espace St-Denis.

Having been at the helm of Evenko until 2020, Aubé was instrumental in the promotion of the Osheaga and ÎleSoniq festivals, as well as expanding the cultural programming at the Bell Centre, Place Bell and the Quartier des spectacles. After leaving Evenko, Aubé served as consultant for the Olympic Stadium, the Festival d’été de Québec and Place des Arts. He moved mountains to bring U2 to the Hippodrome site in 2011, and Metallica to the Big O in 2023.

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There’s no doubt that Aubé has both the cultural cred and the connections.

Espace St-Denis, owned by France Film and located in the epicentre of the Quartier Latin, is the complex that includes Théâtre St-Denis, the refurbished Studio-Cabaret (formerly Théâtre St-Denis 2), Le Molière and Le Marie-Louise restaurants, and an office tower.

Théâtre St-Denis, with a capacity of about 2,200, came to life in 1915 as a movie theatre, but was transformed into a live-entertainment venue in the 1970s, hosting an array of theatre productions, concerts and, lest we forget, the Juste pour rire/Just for Laughs festival. There are now plans to renovate the theatre.

“It’s going to take a lot of love, but I’m confident we can restore life like it was in the Quartier Latin,” Aubé says in an interview. “I’m in the process of speaking to many on the arts scene about bringing events back to the street.”

Aubé is encouraged by the news that the École nationale de l’humour will be moving to the street in 2026, and that the provincial government will infuse nearly $50 million into St-Denis St.’s Maison de la chanson et de la musique du Québec (formerly the venerable Bibliothèque St-Sulpice).

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“I would compare Espace St-Denis to the old Forum as a monument in the area,” Aubé says. “There has been some incredible talent that has come to Théâtre St-Denis over the years: Bob Dylan, Jon Bon Jovi, Elvis Costello, Ozzy Osbourne.

“My goal now is to revive those days and bring programming that people of all ages want today — to do what we did with the Bell Centre, Place Bell and even the Corona (now Théâtre Beanfield). There’s a lot of life on the city’s entertainment scene, and we want to bring some of it here.”

So, what’s Aubé’s game plan?

“We’re already doing a fair amount of musical theatre (La famille Addams, La Cage aux folles, Tootsie). We have a Chicago musical tribute and a circus festival coming next summer. We want to do some immersive arts shows at Studio-Cabaret (like last year’s Lasting Impressions, which drew 70,000 visitors). But it would be really nice to get back some of the anglo comics we used to host here with Just for Laughs.”

On that note, Aubé confirms he’s speaking to ComediHa!, the new JFL owners.

“There have been talks about working with them.  Nothing is set yet, because I’m just getting started here. But I really expect we will be opening a lot of doors. I work with everyone, like the Evenko team and other city players. I’ve got plenty of ideas to bring to the table. The goal is to bring Théâtre St-Denis back to life, to bring culture and the economy back to the street. And I’m optimistic about achieving that.

“Give the people what they want and they will come back. It’s really not more complicated than that, and it’s fun to have that opportunity to do that again.”

Rubin Fogel, the legendary Canadian concert promoter and former owner of Club Soda, has confidence Aubé can succeed.

“We’ve collaborated together in the past and he has the necessary experience and qualifications to take Espace St-Denis to the next level,” says Fogel, who co-produced Lasting Impressions.

“It is vital for the city to restore the glory of the Quartier Latin, and I wish Jacques the best of luck.”

bbrownstein@postmedia.com

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