Lyric Opera makes a bet on a budding 'belle of the ball'
The long-neglected North Park Theater, built in 1928, has a bright
future as a cultural home for opera, chamber music, dance, theater and
film.
By Valerie Scher
February 2, 2003
San Diego Union-Tribune
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The long-neglected North Park Theater, built in 1928, has a bright
future as a cultural home for opera, chamber music, dance, theater and
film.
So say leaders of Lyric Opera San Diego (formerly San Diego Comic
Opera), who will officially launch a fund-raising campaign tomorrow at
the theater, located at University Avenue and 29th Street.
The company
has already raised $1.8 million – more than half the $3.2 million it
needs to help renovate the city-owned building, which is expected to
reopen in early 2005. Never mind the peeling paint on the marquee, the barred and boarded-over
windows, the decorative urns and torches that are missing from the
roof. Backed by city officials, the business-support organization North
Park Main Street and local developer Bud Fischer, the historic movie
palace and theater will be transformed into the centerpiece of a complex
that will include offices, dining and parking
"This theater has been a Cinderella, an orphan in the ashes," says Lyric
Opera's artistic director, J. Sherwood Montgomery. "But it's going to
be the belle of the ball."
Like Cinderella, the North Park Theater was overlooked and
underappreciated. It stopped showing movies decades ago.
Subsequently
used for church services, the theater was purchased by the city in the
late 1980s and has been vacant since 1989.
Though previous attempts to
turn the North Park Theater into a performance venue failed, mostly
because of money problems, the ongoing restoration project appears to be
succeeding. The San Diego City Council approved the renovation last
April, the architectural plans are in place and the 800-seat theater is
currently undergoing earthquake retrofitting.
On Tuesday, the Council voted unanimously in favor of negotiating the
DDA (Disposition and Development Agreement) for the parking structure,
which ensures that it will built.
The city and Fischer are providing
financial support for the project that will cost approximately $5.7
million, not including the parking garage.
"It's all very positive;
this is something to rally behind," says San Diego City Councilwoman
Toni Atkins, whose district includes North Park. "We're talking about
the revitalization of the theater with a use that the community
embraces."
"This is a great old building with a lot of the original
stuff," says Fischer, the developer who is key to the renovation. "I got
involved because I thought it would be a good project – and good for
the community."
Supporters say that raising the remaining $1.4 million
is eminently doable, given the potential benefits of making the North
Park Theater a cultural resource that will enhance the neighborhood.
To
help prevent nearby streets from being clogged with cars, the city has
entered into a public-private partnership and will construct a parking
structure across from the theater on what is now a parking lot at 29th
Street and North Park Way.
The largest donation for the theater project
thus far is a $1 million gift from the Delaware-based Stephen and Mary
Birch Foundation, which has long been generous to San Diego
organizations. (The facility will be named the Stephen and Mary Birch
North Park Theater Complex.)
Fischer has contributed $200,000 to Lyric
Opera's campaign (in addition to the $2.5 million he is putting in as
developer of the building). Funds also came from local philanthropists
Merle and Teresa Fischlowitz, whose $200,000 challenge grant grew to
$600,000 thanks to contributions from Lyric Opera board members and
supporters.
"The fact that Lyric Opera San Diego would come forward is a
huge victory," says Councilwoman Atkins, who says the 24-year-old
company is "well-known locally and respected, with the ability to raise
the necessary funds."
The move to the North Park Theater will
undoubtedly bring greater prominence to the city's second-tier opera
troupe, below San Diego Opera.
Lyric Opera currently presents operas,
operettas and musicals in Balboa Park's 600-seat Casa del Prado Theater.
Its next offering, Mozart's "The Abduction From the Seraglio," opens a
six-performance engagement (in English) March 28. The company's first
Mozart production, it will be led by former San Diego Opera chorus
master Martin Wright, Lyric Opera's new principal guest
conductor.
Company officials say the North Park Theater will be
superior to the Casa del Prado in terms of looks, amenities and sound
quality. They praise the spacious lobby, charming decor, deep stage and
ample orchestra pit.
" The acoustics are excellent," says general
director Leon Natker. "The theater is the right shape, made with the
right materials."
If all goes as planned, Lyric Opera will serve as
managing tenant, with an option to purchase the theater (at a
still-to-be-decided cost) from developer Fischer.
The company was
charged the nominal fee of $1 for a 99-year lease but will still have to
cover operating expenses.
Expecting to move its offices from downtown
to the theater in 2005, the company plans to expand its annual budget
from the current $600,000 to more than $1 million and to increase
productions from four per season to five or more.
But Lyric Opera
doesn't present enough performances to make the theater a bustling,
year-round operation. The company will be in charge of renting the
facility to other groups. Though rental fees are yet to be determined,
company officials say the "reasonable rates" will be in keeping with the
often limited budgets of local nonprofit groups.
Already, nearly
two-dozen arts organizations have inquired about the theater.
Among the
potential renters are the San Diego Master Chorale, San Diego Chamber
Orchestra, Malashock Dance & Co. and the Hispanic Film Festival.
In
addition, the film program at Balboa Park's Museum of Photographic Arts
has expressed interest in collaborations with the theater when a larger
venue is needed for film-related events.
Another plus is the theater's
proximity to the area's schools.
"School groups wouldn't even have to
take the bus. They could walk there with their teachers," says artistic
director Montgomery, who calls the North Park Theater a "jewel box" of a
venue.
For Montgomery, the theater has sentimental meaning. He and his
family used to live in the area, and he attended movies at the North
Park as a child.
"I can remember sitting there as a 7-year-old and
wishing I could see a show on stage, not a movie," he says.
Thanks to
the renovation, Montgomery will not only be able to see shows. He'll
also be directing them.
Jack Montgomery '62
