Westsiders Welcome New Theater

Architect Renzo Zecchetto

Hot on the heels of the Mark Taper Forum unveiling its spiffy new remodel, (see blog post below), an entirely new theater opened its doors this past weekend for a first airing. The Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center (now known as The Broad Stage after Eli and Edythe Broad gave a large donation) is a community theater for a small town (Santa Monica, pop. 80,000).
 
But low in ambition it is not. Frank Gehry, Don Chadwick, Warren Beatty were among Westsiders who showed up for the unveiling of the sleek new theater designed by Renzo Zecchetto, an artwork by Tony Berlant, and a performance -- to test the sound and lighting -- by a line-up of actors that included Annette Bening, James Cromwell, Rosario Dawson, and Dustin Hoffman, a major backer of the theater. The Broad Stage is the result of ten years of planning, under the indefatigable leadership of former opera singer Dale Franzen. The building is cleanly modern, with cool, crisp lobby and exterior, and a curvaceous, enveloping interior with 500 or so seats facing a vast stage. Large because it's intended to house, says Franzen, all kinds of performance, from solo musicians to large casts. Overheard at the cocktail party: many people expressing relief that they’d no longer have to drive to downtown for the theater. This begs one question, which is why did Eli Broad, proponent (in his post-suburban developer years) of a cultural heart in downtown, support a venue that might keep people away from Grand Avenue?

On our next DnA, airing Tuesday, August 26, we’ll talk about the new Broad Stage and the remodeled Taper, and the challenges facing the architects, the clients, and the theater in LA today.