State Clears Ways for 2nd Laguna Playhouse ‘Home’

The Laguna Playhouse has cleared the last official hurdle in its bid to expand to a second theater in Laguna Beach and to stage professional productions for the first time in its 67-year history.

Its application to convert a downtown building into a 225-seat venue was approved Tuesday by the California Coastal Commission, clearing the way for renovations that are expected to cost about $500,000.

Laguna Playhouse, which produces a five-play season of community productions at the 418-seat Moulton Theatre, has long sought to establish professional credentials and would operate the second stage under an Equity contract for small theaters.

“This will give us a chance to spread our wings artistically,” general manager Jody Johnston Davidson said. “We’ll be looking for shows on the cutting edge, contemporary material, new playwrights.”

Davidson said she expects to take possession of the building at 408 Mermaid St. on Sept. 1 and is making plans for the new theater “to be operational” in February or March of 1989. About a third of the money for the renovations has already been raised through private donations, she said.

The playhouse will lease the three-story building for 20 years, with an option to buy. Davidson said she anticipates that the building, formerly occupied by Pacific Telephone, would be bought “within the next couple of years.”

In addition to providing room for artistic expansion, the 17,000-square-foot building will provide the troupe with rehearsal and storage space and classrooms for a rapidly growing youth program.

“The room where we currently rehearse is a third the size of the stage at the Moulton,” Davidson said. “So you can imagine our problems. We also get jammed up for turnaround time because other groups like Ballet Pacifica use our facility.”

Another advantage of the new theater will be valet parking for 92 cars, she said. This will allow the troupe to operate through the summer. The Moulton does not have parking during the summer because of the Festival of Arts, which forces the troupe to curtail operations.

The Laguna Playhouse has an annual budget of $1.3 million and about 6,500 subscribers. Davidson expects the subscriber base to top off at 7,600 by the time the Moulton’s fall season opens.

“We have a very stable audience here,” she said, noting that while “it enjoys entertainment-oriented theater,” she nonetheless anticipates a crossover of about a third of that audience for the new theater’s more serious fare.

The 1988-89 season at the Moulton will begin with the Broadway musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (Sept. 8 to Oct. 2), followed by the off-Broadway mystery spoof “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” (Oct. 27 to Nov. 20); the county premiere of the musical “Legends” (Jan. 19 to Feb. 12); a show to be announced (March 16 to April 9), and the world premiere of Mark Turnbull’s musical “Manet” (May 18 to June 11).

Davidson said plays for the new theater have not been decided.