76-12-B3

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Recycled Theater

Transcript When they screened the last picture show at the Crown Theater in Pasadena, California a couple of years ago, it looked like "curtains" for the ornate old movie place -- a fate that has befallen a lot of downtown theaters in recent years. But that was before Bruce Barkus came along. When he did, nothing -- not dollar costs, grime or downtown blight -- would keep him from making a boyhood dream of owning a theater come true. Today, he's putting the finishing touches on a complete stagedoor-to-front door renovation of the 55-year-old theater and will open it this spring, not to show the latest trendy sex-and-violence films, but a mixture of family films and stage shows. Mr. Barkus says he searched up and down California for the theater of his dreams. He had plenty of boarded up theaters to look through, but the Crown was just right. It holds up to 2,700 people, has a big stage and plenty of dressing rooms and a fine theater-size organ which delights Barkus, who is a professional theater organist. The new owner's enthusiasm for his restoration project has been infectious. A scientist at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed a computer "language" that can be used to feed any kind of music through an offstage computer into the theater's sound system. A good example of ornate theater decoration in a style called Greek and Roman Revival, the Crown is being brightened up to give modern theater-goers a taste of those old days. It boasts a hand painted curtain featuring a 1920's automobile cruising through a pastoral landscape. And, it comes complete with Burgundy Red seats and plush carpets. What does he think about swimming upstream against a film trend that glorifies anti-heroes, violence, and sex? "We are going to show films that families can enjoy," Mr. Barkus says simply. And, he wants to put on stage everything from local variety shows to Las Vegas-league entertainers. Illustrating the caliber of entertainers and movies he hopes to attract, he mentions Victor Borge, Frank Sinatra, "Oklahoma" and "the Sound of Music". A tall order, but Mr. Barkus is determined to succeed. "Most important," he says, "I would like to bring back that nice warm spirit we had in theaters." Now, several months after he started, and with about a half-million dollars invested in restoring the theater, he is about to find out. Recycling of old movie theaters has worked elsewhere. For example, St. Louis, Missouri and Oakland, California have recycled old cinema palaces as symphony and concert halls with success. If you like entertainment that entertains, I'm sure you'll join me in wishing Mr. Barkus good luck. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 76-12-B3 Production Date 04/13/1977 Book/Page N/A Audio Youtube? No
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