Locals Have Inside Track for Art Center Tickets : Entertainment: Sales are brisk for events at the new, $40-million center. The season begins in January with Frank Sinatra.

By JILL GOTTESMAN

Sept. 24, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

CERRITOS —

Cerritos residents, taking advantage of world-class entertainment in their own back yard, jammed phone lines this week reserving prime seats for the kickoff season at the new Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

The season begins in January with Frank Sinatra and finishes with country-pop group Alabama at the end of May. In between is an array of eclectic entertainment: ballet and modern dance, Broadway musicals and Shakespeare, jazz and classical music.

And Cerritos residents get first crack at tickets as a gesture of gratitude for their support during the six-year planning and construction of the project, Arts Center Manager Victor Gotesman said.

“We wanted residents to have the advantage during the first season,” Gotesman said. “We want them to feel a part of the performing arts complex.” Gotesman said ticket sales were brisk on the first day of the special offer, with more than 2,000 tickets worth close to $70,000 sold. By the end of the second day, sales nearly doubled to $140,000, with opening night nearly sold out.

Until Oct. 5, tickets will be sold only to people who live in the community. Residents may call to reserve tickets or go to the box office and pick the seats they want. Besides priority seating and advance tickets sales, residents also may buy tickets for the choose-your-own-performance subscription series at a hefty discount: 10% off for four performances, 15% off for five and 20% off on tickets to six or more performances. The series discounts also will be offered to the general public Oct. 5.

At a reception for the center this week, Cerritos Mayor Sherman R. Kappe said he expects the center--with its ornate Mediterranean architectural style, multicolored tile work and elevated galleries--to make a serious statement in both the performance-art and the design communities.

“It will be a delight for everyone who comes to visit,” he said, a sentiment echoed by fellow council members, many who had seen the project finally come to fruition since its beginning in 1983.

To accommodate the diverse acts scheduled at the center, the auditorium can be configured several ways: intimate recital seatings of 950 for Lynn Redgrave’s Shakespeare readings in February, for example, or larger concert and arena seatings of close to 2,000 for classical violinist Isaac Stern’s appearance in late January. Seating of 1,465 will be arranged for performances such as Twyla Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov in early February.

When the center is not being used for performances, it can be reconfigured for conventions, meetings and conferences.

The $40-million center is part of the multimillion-dollar redevelopment project at the Cerritos Towne Center, which includes the Sheraton Hotel and high-rise office buildings. Additional buildings and a retail center are planned in the next five years.

For information: (310) 916-8510; for ticket sales: (310) 916-8500.

Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts: 1993 Schedule

* Jan. 13-17: Frank Sinatra; popular music

* Jan. 19-24: “Meet Me in St. Louis”; Broadway musical

* Jan. 29: Isaac Stern; violin

* Feb. 3-4: Twyla Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov; dance

* Feb. 7: Pinchas Zuckerman; violin

* Feb. 14: Don Cossacks Song and Dance Co. of Rostov; Russian folk dance

* Feb. 16-20: Kenny Rogers; country music

* Feb. 21-22: Lynn Redgrave; Shakespeare reading

* Feb. 23: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; classical American music

* Feb. 24-25: Henry Mancini/Cleo Laine/John Dankworth; jazz and movie themes