Claremont : Bridges Concerts to Be Cut

Performances at Bridges Auditorium will be sharply curtailed next year because the 2,500-seat hall is too expensive for the six Claremont Colleges to maintain, a school official said this week. Six shows and concerts are scheduled for the 1988-89 school year, down from the 20 that have usually been given.

Eleanor Montague, vice president for administration planning, said the Bridges staff will be reduced from five to two full-time employees. Extra personnel will be hired when needed.

Montague said all the colleges contribute to the maintenance of Bridges, the largest and oldest theater serving the schools. She said there are no plans to close the building.

Next year’s shows will include two dance companies, the opera “Madame Butterfly,” the Peking Puppets and concerts by Leontyne Price and P.D.Q. Bach. Montague said the customary daytime educational programs for schoolchildren will continue, with four slated for the coming year.