Anaheim : Developer Revises Plan for Downtown Theater
A 5-year-old proposal to build a theater in downtown Anaheim has been revised for a theater in the round. The 47,357-square-foot facility would seat 2,340 and include rehearsal space, dressing rooms and a restaurant. With an “in-the-round” structure, developer Leo Freedman said, the theater will be able to attract “top shows.”
The proposed theater, expected to cost $6 million, will be built on the northwest corner of Broadway and Philadelphia Street. Freedman owned the former Melodyland theater, which was converted to a church in 1970.
“Melodyland was an oasis in a desert of non-culture. That’s what the theater in the round will be,” Freedman said, adding he would bring in entertainers such as Barry Manilow and Julio Iglesias.
City Council members Tuesday approved Freedman’s revision to his previous proposal, which called for a multistory theater with a proscenium stage. Freedman said he does not know when construction on the theater would begin.
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