Wayne Newton, Country Bill Set for Troubled Theater

The Celebrity Theatre, dark since New Year’s Eve, will come back to life for at least two shows in the coming months despite a pending bankruptcy case and other legal difficulties.

Las Vegas stalwart Wayne Newton will play the theater March 11 and a country bill-- Patty Loveless and Restless Heart--will be offered April 16. Both shows are being produced by an independent promoter, Bill Silva of San Diego.

Reached by phone, Silva called the 2,800-seat theater-in-the-round a “great theater” and said he “would love to do some more things there in the future.” But he said he would wait to see how the Celebrity’s fiscal situation is straightened out before entering any long-term arrangements.

California Celebrity Theatre Inc., which has leased the theater since 1987 from the Leo Freedman Foundation, filed for Chapter 11 protection Dec. 16. Edward J. Haddad, California Celebrity’s president and sole shareholder, is locked in a money dispute with Avalon Attractions of Encino, the promoter he hired to run the theater; he is also engaged in a lawsuit with the foundation over rent. If California Celebrity loses the lease, foundation representatives have said they would look for another operator.