Pasadena Playhouse On Verge Of Another Bankruptcy
Posted: January 31, 2010
PASADENA, CA (AP) -- The Pasadena Playhouse, which helped launch the careers of Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and other actors, will close on Feb. 7 after its final performance of "Camelot," executive director Stephen Eich said Friday. The historical stage and school is out of money, has $500,000 in bills due now, and owes $1.5 million in bank loans and other debts, Eich said. "It would be irresponsible to continue to operate in the same financial patterns of the past," he said.
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Eich said bankruptcy was an option for the 684-seat theater. He intended to join artistic director Sheldon Epps and the board of directors to hire an attorney to figure out what to do next. Thirty-seven employees were told Thursday they would be out of work. Eich said he doubted the theater's 8,000 subscribers would be reimbursed. The theater, which opened in 1925 and has been the designated state theater of California for 65 years, has spent time in bankruptcy court over the years while sometimes being called the "Pasadena Poorhouse." It always bounced back. This time, board members have been unable to locate corporate underwriting or find a major donor, Eich said. The economy also took a toll. The playhouse enjoyed its heyday in the 1940s, on the strength of its graduates and the quality of its shows, often filling five stages at once. Graduate Dana Andrews went on to star in 70 films. Tyrone Power, Lee J. Cobb, Kim Hunter, Gig Young, Raymond Burr, David Niven and Leonard Nimoy were among those who studied, performed or were discovered at the playhouse. In 1966, six years after the death of founder Gilmore Brown, the Internal Revenue Service seized assets for failure to pay $31,000 in employee withholding taxes. The theater closed in 1970. The city bought it in 1975. In 1980, several former partners bought the buildings for $1 from Bank of America. They spent millions restoring the buildings and reopened in 1986. There were some good years, but the theater filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1998. Epps was hired in 1997 and later saw some box office successes like "Fences" in 2006. That year, the theater reported record revenue of $9.2 million and a surplus of $2 million. Receipts have declined since then. |
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