SHRINE REMODELS FLOOR TO IMPROVE SIGHTLINES

In a $216,000 remodeling project, the Shrine Auditorium Co. is seeking to correct the facility’s ground-floor sightlines.

With 6,500 seats and an enormous stage, Shrine Auditorium has long been the home of big foreign ballet companies visiting Los Angeles--and, since 1982, the local venue for American Ballet Theatre. But, because of the concave slope in the auditorium floor, many seats in the center sections offer only a partial view of the stage.

To solve this problem, a 19-member crew from CIR Construction Co. of Sun Valley has been working since Aug. 1 to build a platform of 3/4-inch maple that slopes upward from the orchestra pit to the aisle in front of the entrance tunnels.

Designed by Fred Samaha of the local architectural firm W. D. Coffey Associates, this new floor will reportedly raise seats about 14 inches in the problematic middle zone and four to five inches at the front.

The seats in the center sections will also be staggered. Other improvements include providing additional space for wheelchair patrons near the entrance tunnels, installing an 80% wool carpet and a new air-conditioning system. The improvements are expected to be completed by Sept. 25, with the auditorium scheduled to be back in use by Oct. 4.

Because the staggered seating will result in the loss of about 110 seats, an American Ballet Theatre official estimated that the company faces a potential gross of $200 less per performance--even with increased ticket prices for the improved sections. (Previously, tickets for those areas were sold at less than the top rate.)

Auditorium manager James F. Oakerson acknowledged that Ballet Theatre helped influence the decision to correct the sightline problem at this time, but he said that “customers’ complaints” were the primary motivation.

“Over the last 10 years we’ve been successful,” he declared, “and we’ve put the money back in.” He cited the remodeled, glassed-in lobby area and other major improvements as part of a $3-million, pay-as-you-go renovation of the 59-year-old auditorium.

ABT ‘NUTCRACKER’

American Ballet Theatre will present 17 performances of “The Nutcracker” at Shrine Auditorium, Dec. 20-31. Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov’s staging of the familiar Christmas ballet was last danced in Los Angeles by the company in Jan., 1978.

The two-week engagement includes nine matinees. Casting will be announced later.

Information: (213) 553-9000.