Will Theater Prospector David Houk Hit Pay Dirt?
Have shows, will travel.
That could be Pasadena Playhouse owner David Houk’s motto as he scours the Southland, looking for theaters to add to his proposed circuit for Pasadena productions.
Houk is making bids to operate--and perhaps to own--theaters in Culver City and Riverside. He’s sniffing for sites in Orange County and Santa Barbara. And, as previously reported, he has his eye on the Balboa and Spreckels theaters in San Diego.
In Los Angeles, city officials disclosed last week that Houk is among those who have expressed some interest in becoming the long-term operator of the municipal theater complex on Spring Street, former home of the Los Angeles Theatre Center company. The building would join a list of other downtown Los Angeles theaters that Houk has examined.
Houk won’t say much about all this. “We’re out exploring,” he acknowledged last week, “but nothing is concrete.” Regarding the LATC complex, he confirmed only that “we walked through it, we’re looking at it, we haven’t come to any conclusions.”
But some of his plans are much more solid.
In Culver City, Houk’s Theatre Corp. of America and Sony Pictures are vying for the 1,000-seat Culver Theatre.
Houk’s proposal, submitted to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency, envisions the Culver as “a Westside Los Angeles sister theater to the Pasadena Playhouse enabling a co-assignment of staffing, programming, advertising and other operational administration.” The document cites the success of the Pasadena production of “Other People’s Money” at the Westwood Playhouse last year as proof of “a wider and regional audience” for Pasadena productions. Meanwhile, Sony wants to use the facility for “premieres of major motion pictures and research screenings.”
A $1.5-million asbestos removal will be necessary at the Culver before anyone inhabits it; the purchase price remains to be negotiated. Asked on his Culver City application to describe how he would raise the money, Houk--who is a real estate developer--replied simply that he is “self sufficient.”
In Riverside, Houk has met twice with city officials regarding the 1,300-seat Fox Theatre. “We’re very intrigued,” said Ralph Megna of the city’s development department. “We would like to see (Pasadena plays) staged here.” But he cited one problem: “the hard bargain (Houk) drives with respect to turning it over to him as the owner. That is his goal, but we may be better served with public or quasi-public ownership.” The Fox is privately owned now and operated as a movie theater by a sub-lessor, Metropolitan Theatres Corp.
Metropolitan’s president, Bruce Corwin, said Houk has also talked with him about some of the other old movie palaces he owns or operates, including five in downtown Los Angeles. “We’re very receptive,” said Corwin. “It’s a great dream, and we’re willing to talk about any location anywhere.”
However, Corwin also indicated some impatience with Houk’s dream: “We’ve been talking about it for four years. I’m frustrated at his lack of decisiveness.”
SANTA BARBARA WATCH: Movie palace mogul Corwin said that Houk has also inquired about using his firm’s Arlington and Granada theaters in Santa Barbara. But the Granada may soon be out of Houk’s reach.
Negotiations are almost complete to move the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera from its home at the 680-seat Lobero Theatre to the somewhat larger Granada.
That leaves the Lobero looking for another “anchor tenant,” said the Lobero’s Nancy Moore. Among those she’s talking with is, natch, Houk.
However, she’s also talking with a couple of other interesting prospects: the Williamstown (Mass.) Theatre Festival, which has long wanted a winter home in California and has narrowed down its initial list of five to just one--the Lobero; and the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts in Santa Maria.
Dangling over all discussions about the Lobero is the question of seismic renovations. One of the reasons the SBCLO wants to leave is that the hall is expected to go dark in 1994-95 in order to gird itself against the Big One. All of the Lobero’s programming is expected to move to another theater, probably the Granada, that season.
TWOFER AT “TWO TRAINS”: Bring a non-perishable food or household item to the Doolittle Theatre box office, and you can get two tickets for the price of one, for the Thursday matinee of “Two Trains Running.” Items will be donated to AIDS Project Los Angeles. Tickets must be purchased with cash and are subject to availability.
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