HUNTINGTON BEACH : Theater Renovation Nearing Completion

For the first time since the Community Theatre opened at Golden West College more than two decades ago, it is undergoing a face lift.

Work crews have begun repainting the theater, replacing its seat upholstery and laying new carpet.

The 340-seat theater, which opened in 1971, today draws about 18,000 patrons a year. It stages about six college theater productions a year, as well as four or five band concerts.

The refurbishing project will cost $85,000 in private funds.

To date, the foundation has collected about $70,000 in pledges or donations from businesses, groups and individuals, said Glenda Blackburn, executive director of the Golden West College Foundation, which is raising the money for the project.

To raise the rest of the money, the foundation has begun a campaign selling commemorative seats at the facility. For $250, a patron may purchase a lifetime seat, which will be marked with a brass plate bearing the donor’s name.

The facility is to be spruced up by May 1 and will reopen for that month’s production of the musical “Evita.”

The theater improvements are the first phase of $2 million in renovations envisioned for the campus, Blackburn said.

As planned, the next two phases would including building a permanent home for the Intercultural Center, renovating the library and remodeling the Student Union, the Student Services wing and the Health/Physical Education buildings.

If the next two phases are approved--and if the foundation can raise the money--they will be completed over the next four years, Blackburn said.