When’s the next show?

Elia Powers

The curtain is still closed at 707 E. Balboa Blvd.

A marquee is in place, as are framed signs facing the street,

stating a vision for a vibrant theater within.

But for now, the doors remain permanently locked.

The drapes are pulled shut behind glass windows, blocking light

from entering the hollow room.

Inside the theater, a damp wooden deck is bolted to the ground. A

bed of sand that used to sit underneath layers of carpet and concrete

was exposed after contractors gutted the building.

A stage is still visible, and that’s where Mary Lonich’s hopes

rest.

As executive director of the Balboa Performing Arts Theater

Foundation, she is in charge of bringing the theater out of its

decade-long slumber.

Lonich already has overseen a $20,000 makeover project. Local

businesses volunteered to replace broken windows, paint over graffiti

and empty the inside of the venue.

The theater’s edifice, now manicured, is a testament to Lonich’s

interest in attracting attention from the outside.

Neighborhood residents and Balboa Peninsula visitors have taken

notice.

“People still remember us,” says Christopher Trela, foundation

director of marketing and development. “They walk by and ask, ‘When

is the next show?’”

For now, Lonich and Trela have no answer.

But they do have a goal: Reopen a 320-seat, multi-purpose theater

with a rooftop entertainment space by the fall of 2008.

SETTING THE STAGE

For nearly 65 years, theater and film enthusiasts frequented the

beachfront venue, known to host some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

The building dates back to 1928, when J.P. Greeley built a

performing arts center called the Ritz Theater on the site of the

famed Rendezvous Ballroom, which had been destroyed by fire.

The Ritz was renamed the Balboa Theater in 1939, and it served

primarily as a movie house throughout the next three decades.

By the mid-1970s, the theater had earned a reputation as a revival

movie house, featuring classic films such as “Casablanca” and

“Citizen Kane.” Popular midnight performances of the “Rocky Horror

Picture Show” played Fridays and Saturdays until the theater closed

in 1992 due to poor attendance.

The theater building is still uninhabitable, so Lonich and Trela,

along with an office assistant, have set up their temporary

headquarters in the second story of an adjacent complex. They spend

much of their time on the phone, making contacts with leaders in the

local artistic community.

Lonich is a firm believer in forming alliances. “Our business is

based in partnerships and joint operations,” she says with

conviction.

That theme emerged from a Feb. 17 “Artistic Advisory Board”

meeting, in which local performing arts executives, directors and

producers discussed marketing strategies and programming ideas with

Lonich and Trela.

Jerry Mandel, Orange County Performing Arts Theater president, is

among those interested in getting the dormant theater back into

operating condition. “We are underserved in terms of the number of

performing venues in our area,” Mandel says. “To be able to take that

space and develop it for the community is of interest to everyone.”

RUNNING THE SHOW

For now, programming conversations remain abstract. Lonich

envisions a theater that can host a horror film showing one night,

showcase an up-and-coming performing artist the next and also be

rented out for a Newport Beach community event.

She has thoughts of opening the doors to local schools and

artistic institutions like the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Gregg Schwenk, executive director of the festival, said he and

Lonich have discussed ways that a remodeled venue could help attract

films to Newport Beach.

“We would certainly want to utilize the theater and promote

projects together,” Schwenk said. “Our festival is always excited

about new venues.”

Lonich is thinking beyond the peninsula, but she is careful not to

lose a local focus.

“It’s a different environment down here,” Lonich said. “We want to

retain the simplicity of the theater. It has never been a garish,

gaudy, stainless-steel type of place. People aren’t going to come

because we’re the next Disney Hall.”

And because the theater is located in a high seasonal tourist

area, Lonich said the programming schedule would likely differ

depending on the season.

During the fall and winter, when year-round residents fill a

majority of the seats, she said the theater could search for a

variety of indigenous shows with short run dates. But during spring

and summer months, when weeklong renters swarm the beaches and

audience turnover is higher, Lonich said the theater’s focus could

turn to longer-running shows.

Theater Board of Directors President Nancy Gardner said the

venue’s beachfront location is a key factor in programming decisions.

“We can be more casual,” Gardner said. “We are going to be able to

do things that are edgier. It’s a perfect venue, because it’s so

intimate.”

PLANS PUT ON HOLD

Lonich, who worked previously as a general manager and fundraising

director for the San Jose Philharmonic, was hired in the summer of

2003.

She credits past theater patrons and volunteers, who filled board

of director spots, with keeping momentum going through trying years.

After the theater closed in 1992, few signs of a quick

revitalization emerged.

The Balboa Performing Arts Theater Foundation debuted in 1996, and

by the next year there was talk of a $1-million remodeling project

that would allow the theater to open before the new millennium.

That never materialized. A combination of structural problems and

retrofitting necessities slowed the process to a near halt, as

construction costs continued to rise.

“It became a major deal,” said Dayna Pettit, board of directors

founder and former president. “It wasn’t a matter of new seats. It

was a matter of taking it apart and putting it back together.”

And not all of the foundation’s remodeling concepts were agreeable

with the city of Newport Beach.

“The theater had grandiose plans for a basement which would hold

dressing rooms” said Newport Beach City Councilman Tod Ridgeway. “We

learned that that wasn’t a financially feasible concept. Money was

expended on those plans, and that money was wasted.”

‘FROM GRASS ROOTS TO PROFESSIONAL’

When Lonich entered the fray, she said she saw an organization

that had a strong community backing but needed a more professional

edge.

Gardner said that was of the reasons the foundation had confidence

in Lonich.

“Volunteers are wonderful, but theater is a business when you get

right down to it,” Gardner said. “She was the right person to help

board members who didn’t have a performing-arts background.”

In the past year, Lonich attracted Trela, who served as director

of public relations and publications for Orange County’s Pacific

Symphony.

And she worked to fill the board of directors with people who have

practical experience in the arts. The most recent addition was

Socorro Vasquez, a Peninsula resident who serves on numerous regional

arts boards, including the South Coast Repertory’s.

“We have world-class theaters in Costa Mesa,” Vazquez said. “It’s

time to take pride in our community. Mary is the right person to take

us where we need to go.

“This project has gone from grass roots to professional.”

EYE ON THE BOTTOM LINE

Ridgeway, whose district encompasses the theater, is familiar with

the foundation’s quest to renovate the building. He said the city of

Newport Beach has paved the way for a vibrant neighborhood.

“The city took a leap of faith by doing improvements down there,”

he said. “We threw thousands of dollars into refurbishing buildings

and providing ample parking.

“We enabled them. Now it’s a matter of whether they can sell the

project.”

Ridgeway said he would like to see the area near the theater

develop into a district of sidewalk bistros and shops.

But getting full City Council support for the theater hinges on

the foundation’s fundraising, he said.

Lonich estimates it will cost the foundation $6.5 million to get

the building up and running. She set an initial goal of $2 million to

be raised by December, and she said 35% has been raised thus far,

which puts them on schedule. Lonich said she is not willing to let

construction begin until 75% of the funding is obtained.

“The finances are driving this project,” she said. “We were so

eager in the beginning to put out a time frame, but we have learned

our lessons. We want to make sure that when we start building, it’s

done in a timely manner.”

Lonich and Gardner said the board will continue to focus on

targeting individual donors rather than holding large fundraising

events.

Lonich has approached companies and individual consultants to

provide pro-bono services. PricewatershouseCoopers has created their

financial plan. Development consultant Carol Hoffman helped the

theater get a 55-foot roof entertainment space passed through the

Newport Beach Planning Commission last Sept. 23.

Hoffman said one of the remaining roadblocks is passing that

addition through the Coastal Commission.

Lonich said she realizes that until construction begins, the

theater will remain an abstract concept to many who have followed the

project.

“There’s a sense that it’s not happening or that it’s not moving

forward because we aren’t publicizing everything we do,” Lonich said.

“For some people, building is the only thing they’ll acknowledge.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’ve made progress,” she said.

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

[email protected].