CONTRACTS AWARDED FOR THEATER WORK

Construction plans for San Diego’s two newest theaters moved forward this week, with the recommended awarding of some contracts for the downtown Horton Plaza Theater complex and the completion of plans for the rebuilding of the Old Globe Theatre’s $1.5-million Lowell Davies Festival Stage in Balboa Park.

Old Globe managing director Thomas Hall has announced that a replacement for the outdoor Festival Stage, which was destroyed by an arson fire last fall, will open June 7 with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Construction on the stage, named for the late Lowell Davies, who was president of the Old Globe board of directors, is slated to begin in a few weeks.

The new playhouse will seat 613. Seating will be similar to that of the burned facility, as will the stage’s shape and size, with the addition of four eight-by-four-foot traps. A new facade will closely resemble the Elizabethan look of the Old Globe’s main theater and its smaller Cassius Carter Centre Stage. Also planned are a half-roof over the reception area and expanded facilities for the handicapped.

Approximately 85% of the steel understructure undamaged by the fire has been approved for re-use. The new playhouse will be 90% steel and concrete, with an automatic sprinkler system. The destroyed Festival Stage had been built as a temporary facility and was never outfitted with sprinklers. Individual seats in the new facility may be purchased for $500, including dedication plaque. Hall reported that 250 seats already have been dedicated.

As for the two-theater Horton Plaza Theater complex, slated to open in August with the rest of the Horton Plaza shopping center, the Centre City Development Corp. (CCDC) recommended Friday that the City Council award a $122,100 rigging, drapery and panels contract to a New York firm, Hoffend & Sons Inc. The firm had submitted a low bid of $111,000, which was increased by 10% to cover any possible changes.

In addition, CCDC recommended that the City Council authorize it to advertise and receive bids for general construction, steel, drywall, mechanical and electrical work on the theaters. The cost of this construction is estimated at $2.66 million. The seating and sound systems are scheduled for bidding in March.