Santa Fe Springs : Group to Revive Theater

A new group is planning to revive local community theater by replacing the Santa Fe Springs Community Theater, which held its last performance Aug. 3.

Luis Franco, president of the Santa Fe Springs Community Playhouse, which will replace the former community theater group, said the playhouse is looking for a director and producer. The group, which already has an executive council and board of directors, made plans last week to approach the City Council for money,Franco said.

He said preliminary plans have been made to stage a musical in August at the City Hall Plaza.

The community theater folded last year when it was saddled with a $2,805 debt due to poor ticket sales. Although the company broke even with its first production, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” it operated at a loss with musical productions “Damn Yankees” and “West Side Story” because of low attendance. A fourth production was canceled due to lack of funds.

In September, the City Council voted to pay outstanding debts incurred by the company because former producer Tom Hut had to spend his personal funds to pay the debt. The theater company had staged musical productions, with city subsidies ranging from $10,000 to $22,000, for five years.