Shakespeare Fete--a Matter of Support

The pundits have had a field day with the presumably Philistine reaction of the Garden Grove City Council toward funding of the Grove Shakespeare Festival. However, once the jeering has subsided, it may be that they have raised a valid, albeit clumsily presented, point.

Although Garden Grove should be proud of the festival, it has developed into a communitywide, perhaps countywide, treasure. I suspect that most of the tongue-in-cheek hard hats among recent festival audiences came from outside Garden Grove. Maybe it is time to make the festival a truly community enterprise by widening its support into the surrounding cities and/or the county. As something enjoyed by the community at large, it hardly seems fair to have Garden Grove be the sole provider of tax-paid support. Spreading the burden among several municipalities should make it easier to manage.

As for the idea of converting the theater center into a dinner playhouse, to paraphrase a Garden Grove genuine hard hat recently interviewed by a Times reporter, “We don’t need no more dinner playhouses.”

GORDON W. NEAL

Huntington Beach