Bushnell’s Theater

We were appalled by reading in Stage Watch recently of Bill Bushnell’s latest ravings and demands for another $32 million from the Community Redevelopment Agency for his L.A. Theatre Center debacle--and later that Mayor Tom Bradley still backs funding.

A self-appointed savior of theater here, Bushnell never has had the slightest inkling of what it takes to attract an audience anywhere, no less to the entrails of downtown Los Angeles.

His pretentiousness of product, posing as “theater,” has always been a turn-off to audiences seeking any pure entertainment value for the inflated price of tickets.

His “art and education” drivel is an arrogance topped only by his statement “the community doesn’t know what it wants. . . . It’s my responsibility to put on these stages what I want to see done.” What conceit! Especially when it’s exactly that “community”--or more precisely the Community Redevelopment Agency--he wants all those millions from! Give us a break, please!

KEITH EVANS

Studio City