INFLUX OF THEATERS, ACTING TROUPES COULD REVIVE NOHO ARTS DISTRICT When it comes to live theater, the North Hollywood Arts District probably isn’t the first place you’d consider for taking in a play. But with the coming of two mid-size theaters and two critically acclaimed acting troupes having just moved into the area, locals believe NoHo is on the verge of becoming a first-rate theater district on par with Hollywood. The addition of the long-awaited El Portal Theater complex, which is scheduled to open its doors next month, and the already up-and-running American Renegade Theatre, might even help attract commercial investment. That is, if the theaters can stay solvent. “They both have significant economics that they have to pay each month,” said Larry Applebaum, president of the Universal City/North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “If they are successful, then other theaters can go to banks and show (those theaters) as an example of a theater paying debt and being a legitimate business. If they can pull it off, they can help establish other theaters in the area. If they don’t pull it off, then the area won’t grow through live theater.” Until now, most of the 40 or so theaters in North Hollywood have been small, storefront operations that are staffed by volunteers and to some extent enjoy the benefits of cheap rent and low operating expenses. When the El Portal opens Jan. 11 on Lankershim Boulevard, it will dwarf other live venues in the area in its size and budget. The complex features three theaters with 40 seats, 99 seats and 384 seats. Its operating budget will be in the range of $2 million a year. Robert Caine, president of the group Actors Alley, which will operate the El Portal when it opens, said about half of that money will come through ticket sales. He expects the rest to come from sponsorships and grant money. Actors Alley, through grants and earthquake assistance, has already spent $5.5 million to restore the vintage 1926 theater. So far, the group has sold three-quarters of the 5,000 subscriptions available for the first season. Ticket prices range from $20 to $45 for each show. “We think people want a legitimate theater in the Valley,” Caine said. Less than a block from the El Portal, the American Renegade will have to generate more than $10,000 a month to cover costs associated with its 99-seat and 45-seat theaters, said artistic director David Cox. He said its success will be judged not only on critical acclaim but also on having money in the bank. Up to this point, its operators have paid installments on their $825,000 mortgage with money from L.A. Community Redevelopment Agency grants and federal earthquake assistance funds. Meanwhile, Cox said, box-office sales have been successful, with both weekend shows in December selling out. Once both theaters are running, NoHo will have the potential to attract crowds of 600 or more people on weekend nights into a two-block area that until now has usually been empty. Applebaum said such crowds could lure in more nightlife, such as national restaurant chains. “If they (the theaters) can put patrons there, then more businesses will go to the area,” he said. The arts district got its first Starbucks last year and Quizno’s Pizza and Dairy Queen weren’t far behind. But more-upscale eateries are few and far between. In May, the Metro Rail Red Line station is scheduled to open on Lankershim and Chandler boulevards, bringing more people to the area. But most theater owners say it’s unclear how much of a boost subway riders will provide. Further, there is a third new theater project underway in the district that will help the area in its quest to build toward a critical mass. Interact, a critically acclaimed acting troupe, has signed a 10-year lease for a building on Lankershim and Magnolia boulevards and is raising $150,000 to renovate it into a 99-seat theater. That will be nearly twice the size of Interact’s current theater, which is elsewhere in North Hollywood. Most theater owners acknowledge that the success of the bigger theaters could be detrimental to some of the smaller operations that might not be able to compete, and some could be driven out if rents increase. “There will be a shakeout if rents go up, and theaters will only be able to exist if they have enough money to attract patronage,” Applebaum said. The area has been able to attract smaller theaters because of its low rental rates, which are generally under $2 a square foot per month. But even that level of rent is a reach for some theater groups. Indeed, production coordinator James Harper with Interact says the troupe will be paying three times the rent at its new location inside the arts district as it has been paying at its old North Hollywood location. “We always wanted to be in NoHo; we had been looking there for two years and we finally found something,” said Harper, who acknowledges that smaller theaters like his could be hurt if the area becomes too trendy. “Theaters like ours can’t afford high rents. None of us are business people. If the area upgrades and things start to change, it makes us all uneasy.” Nonetheless, smaller theaters continue to migrate to the area. In the last year, about eight new theaters have opened in the NoHo Arts District. “I get several calls a week from existing theaters in Hollywood and other places looking at NoHo,” said Edmund Gaynes, president of the Valley Theater League. Critical reaction to most of these theater troupes is mixed, though Road Theater has long been a critical favorite. The recent addition of Interact and Deaf West, one of the largest deaf theaters on the West Coast, will give the arts district even more panache, observers say. “They’re both well established and among the most respected (troupes),” Gaynes said. “We want to have some of the elite theaters here so we’re not perceived as a little area of minor-league theaters.”
