The main attraction will be the venerable Warner Grand Theater itself.

Hoping to boost interest in San Pedro’s historic Warner Grand Theater, a group of supporters is producing “A Grand Ol’ Christmas” there Saturday night, a show featuring jazz dancers, a gospel singer, cheerleaders and three guitar-strumming sisters.

Sponsored by Friends of the Warner Grand, the show does not promise a slick, star-studded Hollywood-type extravaganza, according to Bill Manuel, its producer and president of the Friends. Instead, the audience can look forward to some heartfelt local entertainment intended to put the most pessimistic Grinch in the holiday spirit.

In many ways, the main attraction will be the Warner Grand itself, a 1,500-seat Art Deco movie palace, the last of its kind in the South Bay. The auditorium, where moviegoers once watched such stars as Fred Astaire and Betty Grable on the big screen, features an extravagant copper, gold and silver sunburst ceiling, and an elegant double staircase in the lobby leads to mezzanine lounges.

Built in 1931, the theater changed hands a number of times and was boarded up for several years before Ray Howell, a former manager of Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, bought and reopened it in 1984.

Manuel said interest in the theater has waned, partly due to increasing competition from new movie theater complexes in the area and the difficulty of attracting customers to downtown San Pedro, where little else goes on at night.

Last year Howell stopped showing movies and has since rented the theater out once or twice a month for live performances and film festivals. Although the theater is breaking even, Howell said that is not enough to sustain it indefinitely.

Proceeds from the show will be used by Friends of the Warner Grand to promote the theater and produce future shows. Manuel said the Friends hope increased public support will keep the historic theater from suffering the same fate as two other Warner movie palaces. One, in Huntington Park, has been split into three theaters; the other, in Beverly Hills, recently was demolished.

“The idea of the show is just to fill the theater,” said Manuel, who hopes the production will attract at least 800 people.

The performers in Saturday’s show--almost all residents of San Pedro and the Palos Verdes Peninsula--include the Del Rubio Triplets, who have appeared on “Late Night with David Letterman” and “Good Morning, America.”

The three San Pedro residents--Eadie, Milly and Elena--are best known for their upbeat tunes and their attire, which normally includes hip-hugging hot pants or short skirts. The trio’s national popularity grew out of performances in hospitals and nursing homes throughout the state.

The program will also include two dance numbers by Patsy Sabline’s Youth Troupe as well as Christmas songs by gospel singer William Harness. Other singers will perform such holiday favorites as “Oh, Holy Night,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and “White Christmas.”

Performers will include the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Choir and San Pedro High School cheerleaders.

Although the show was put together in only three weeks, Philip Ruthstrom, a part-time actor and writer who will be master of ceremonies, said he is optimistic about the show’s success and the theater’s future.

“This place is magic,” he said.

What: A Grand Ol’ Christmas show.

Where: The Warner Grand Theater, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro.

When: Saturday. Show begins at 7 p.m.

Admission: $5. Children 12 and under are free, $4 for senior citizens, members of the military and students with identification.