Star Power : Barry Brown Is Bringing Broadway to Long Beach

Pia Zadora was nervous.

“I’m not Jewish, I’m not a klutz and I don’t have a big nose,” she said, sitting on a couch in her Terrace Theater dressing room before a recent rehearsal for a local production of “Funny Girl.” She plays Jewish comedian Fanny Brice in the role made famous by Barbra Streisand.

The portrayal is a stretch for her, conceded Zadora, better known for her singing and movies than for any serious work on the stage.

So why was she risking her reputation as an entertainer in a performance almost certain to be measured against that of the inimitable Streisand? Because “Barry’s making me do it,” quipped the diminutive actress, tossing her blond head back with a smile and smoothing her short, silky skirt. “He’s totally responsible; he talked me into it.”

It’s the kind of artistic daring for which Barry Brown is famous. And it’s the kind that patrons of the Long Beach Civic Light Opera are likely to see more and more of as he grows into his job as the company’s new producer and artistic director.

“I find it interesting to cast people slightly off center,” said Brown, who joined the LBCLO in September. “It raises eyebrows.”

Five months ago, he created a furor when he canceled most of the musical theater company’s upcoming season. About 300 theatergoers canceled their subscriptions, including some who questioned whether his rejection of “Purlie,” a black-oriented show, represented a turning away from the company’s oft-stated commitment to staging productions of interest to minority groups.

Within two weeks, Brown, 48, had lined up a whole new season. Relying on personal contacts in Hollywood and on Broadway, where he had been a Tony award-winning producer, the former New Yorker booked a series of new shows featuring such well-known stars as Zadora, Tommy Tune and Sally Struthers.

Saturday’s opening of “Funny Girl” marked Brown’s debut as the company’s producer. And while the jury is not yet in on the overall critical and popular response to his taste in shows, some of the initial trepidation seems to have given way to praise.

Most of the ticket holders who canceled their subscriptions have since been replaced by new customers, LBCLO administrators say. The concern over minorities seems, for the moment, to have been assuaged. And lovers of the local performing arts say they are eagerly anticipating what Brown has to offer.

“I think he’s really exciting,” said Sandra Gibson, executive director of the Public Corporation for the Arts, a city-supported agency charged with promoting the arts in Long Beach. “I think he’s going to bring some fresh ideas and approaches.”

For starters, Brown intends to use his Hollywood and Broadway connections to bring increasing numbers of big-name stars to town, especially television and movie personalities who would like to perform on stage but seldom get the opportunity.

“The beauty of Long Beach,” he said, “is that it lets these people do what they want to do on stage with only a 5 1/2-week commitment, and they can usually sleep in their own beds.”

Brown said that he had already spoken to several people, including Angela Lansbury, Carol Burnett and Lily Tomlin, all of whom had expressed interest in performing in Long Beach.

In addition, Brown wants to attract more young people. “If we want to be in existence in 10 years, we have to begin right now to appeal to a younger audience.”

The median age of the company’s regular subscribers is 60, according to LBCLO administrators. Brown said he hopes to lower that by staging at least one show each season that is “more daring and controversial” than such standard fare as “South Pacific,” “The King and I,” and “My Fair Lady.” This season’s choice, he said, is “Pal Joey,” a musical about the relationship between a wealthy older woman and a younger man.

While Brown said he remains committed to attracting audiences that include more minority members, he believes that the goal can be better achieved by staging good shows rather than specifically ethnic productions. At the same time, he said, he is making concerted efforts to sign minority performers to star in some of them.

And finally, Brown said, he plans to make better use of the city’s major entertainment complex, especially the 840-seat Center Theater next to the 3,054-seat Terrace Theater downtown. He plans to expand the company’s repertoire to include dramatic plays. “There’s no reason that we can’t be a major world-class performing arts center like Lincoln Center (in New York) or the Music Center (in Los Angeles),” he said. The first play, Brown said, will probably open in June, with three more to follow next season.

Those familiar with Brown say that if anyone can pull it off, he can.

After debuting with “Gypsy” in 1973--a show that eventually won a Tony award, the theater’s highest honor--Brown went on to produce 10 more Broadway shows, including the Tony award-winning revival of Kaufman and Ferber’s “The Royal Family” and “La Cage aux Folles.” Later, he produced the country’s first major AIDS benefit, “The Best of the Best,” starring Bette Midler, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Marilyn Horne, Melissa Manchester and others.

Brown said he decided to leave New York last year after the death of his longtime producing partner, Fritz Holt. After serving as entertainment director at Universal Studios, Brown was offered the job of replacing former LBCLO producer Martin Wiviott, who had left for a similar position in Los Angeles. The offer appealed to him, Brown said, because it provided an opportunity to earn a regular paycheck for doing what he loves to do--produce Broadway-type musicals.

“He’s a producer of great integrity, professionalism and good taste,” said Susan Lee, director of road resources for the New York-based League of American Theaters and Producers, of which Brown is a member. “He has been involved with nothing but the highest standards of musical theater, and if he brings any amount of that integrity and flair to Long Beach, the company will benefit.”

Leland Ball, president of the National Alliance of Musical Theater Producers, which represents theaters outside New York City, said: “We’re very excited that someone of his stature is getting involved in the regional musical movement.”

Indeed, LBCLO administrators believe that Brown’s influence will bring a new level of sophistication to the company that as late as 1978 was still putting on amateur performances at a local high school auditorium. “He’s sensational and inspiring,” said Executive Director Pegge Logefeil. “He’s bringing a touch of Broadway to Long Beach.”

That seemed evident during the recent rehearsals for “Funny Girl” as performers in their street clothes practiced songs and dances with relish and poise on the vast Terrace Theater stage.

Sitting in the audience between run-throughs of her own number was stage veteran Kaye Ballard, who plays Zadora’s mother in the production. “I’m very impressed with this outfit,” she said. “These kids aren’t chopped liver.”

And Barry Brown?

“Anyone who does ‘Funny Girl’ this close to Los Angeles without Barbra Streisand is taking a chance,” she said. “The man has courage.”