After two years of creative confusion, the Alex Theatre has figured out a story line of how to renovate itself – and give a boost to the rest of downtown Glendale. The plot calls for remodeling the stage, expanding the dressing rooms and adding two elevators for performers at the downtown theater at a cost of about $6 million. It will add an extra 6,400 square feet to the facility. Elissa Glickman, chief executive of Glendale Arts, a non-profit that manages the formally titled Alexander Theatre Performing Arts and Entertainment Center, said the renovations are intended to accommodate bigger productions as well as artists who have won Grammys or sold millions of albums. “We see this as a linchpin for our ability to compete against the Greek Theatre and the Wiltern,” Glickman said. The Alex first opened in 1925 as a neighborhood vaudeville and movie house. It held movie previews and first-run films regularly attended by studio execs. But after years of decline, the Brand Boulevard landmark closed in 1980. It opened again in 1993 when Glendale’s now-defunct redevelopment agency agreed to invest $6.2 million to transform it to a performing arts center. More than two decades later, it needed another facelift and Glendale’s redevelopment agency stepped in to manage the remodel. The big plot twist came in 2011 after the state’s elimination of redevelopment agencies halted renovations. However, the state recognized the plans as a legal contractual obligation, so the renovations will continue under a city successor agency that will invest $5.2 million. The city will provide a $750,000 loan and Glendale Arts will contribute up to $125,000. Plans call for the renovation to start July 1. The theater will be closed through Oct. 31. The organization hopes downtown businesses will contribute, given the foot traffic the theater generates. Glickman said she is working on a naming campaign to solicit money from local businesses. Various parts of the theater, such as a dressing room, could bear the name of a local company. The venue hosts more than 250 events and serves more than 130,000 patrons a year. Michel Schoucair, general manager at Carousel, a Lebanese restaurant nearby, can tell whenever the lights are on at the Alex. “About 50 to 60 people come into the restaurant and eat before or after a show,” he said. “When they have a show, we are packed here.” – Lucy Guanuna
Theater Sees Bigger Role To Play
