Theater Group Cites ‘Dramatic Financial Losses’ : Thousand Oaks: Company says cancellation of a Santa Barbara run won’t affect production of six musicals at Civic Arts Plaza.

The theater group scheduled to anchor the Civic Arts Plaza’s inaugural season with six Broadway musicals has abruptly canceled a three-week run in Santa Barbara, citing “dramatic financial losses.”

But executives at the Theatre Corp. of America say they still expect to produce all six musicals in Thousand Oaks, filling 12 weeks of the season with song-and-dance extravaganzas.

“We don’t anticipate this affecting the rest of our business,” said James J. Bardwil, a senior vice president with the Pasadena-based Theatre Corp. of America.

“This particular situation relates only to Santa Barbara. It means nothing to Thousand Oaks.”

Matching Bardwil’s optimism, Thousand Oaks theater officials said they feel confident that the musicals will be a hit. Although they have not yet signed a final contract, city officials said they expect the deal to be completed.

Yet the director of Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre warned Thousand Oaks to tread warily in dealing with the cash-pinched company.

“There are forces and economic conditions working on Theatre Corp. of America that are sources of concern to them and therefore should be of concern to those who work with them,” Nancy R. Moore said.

Since launching a series in Santa Barbara two years ago, TCA has struggled to fill the 680-seat Lobero. Shows such as “Twilight of the Golds” and “Joined at the Head” attracted only about half the 7,000 subscribers necessary for the productions to break even, Moore said.

Weak ticket sales and a debt topping $10,000 forced TCA executives to cancel a three-week Santa Barbara engagement scheduled to begin Thursday.

Their decision to scrap the play “The Fourth Wall”--and probably the rest of the season--came just 24 hours before opening night.

“We are attempting to reorganize and ‘right size’ our business in order to meet the many financial challenges that lie ahead,” TCA officials wrote in a letter to Santa Barbara ticket-holders. Within three to six months, they said, the company would “secure the resources necessary” to refund subscriptions.

The last-minute cancellation ripped a $125,000 hole in the Lobero’s half-million-dollar annual budget due to lost rent and ticket sale revenue, Moore said.

A similar fiasco in Thousand Oaks could cost the Civic Arts Plaza money because of forfeited rent, but the city itself would not lose any cash.

“We’re not investing any money into this at all,” theater Director Tom Mitze said. “We’re strictly a landlord.”

But a sudden cancellation or a big flop could give the Civic Arts Plaza a black eye during its maiden season, since “patrons do not necessarily separate the city from the producer,” theater Commissioner Larry Janss said. “It’s a risk that’s unavoidable.”

In an attempt to minimize that risk, Commissioner Harry Selvin said he would “take a good look” at the company’s finances before inking a final contract with TCA.

Commissioners agreed on a three-year deal giving the group exclusive rights to present Broadway shows, but negotiators are still working out details about how tickets will be sold and other minor points.

“Obviously, this is the time to get out our magnifying glass and take a good look at the contract,” Selvin said. “Hopefully, we’ll be very prudent and wise in our decisions.”

In a memo to the Theater Commission last October, Mitze described selection of a group to present the musicals as “one of the most important programming decisions we make” because “it will set the tone for the Civic Arts Plaza.”

After entertaining several proposals, the commissioners chose TCA, although the group had only just launched its first musical season.

So far, that series has not turned a profit. But the second show, “Mame,” attracted good-sized crowds, filling about 85% of the 1,450 seats in Glendale’s Alex Theatre, Bardwil said. The third production in the series, “Fame,” opens this weekend.

As for next season, TCA executives have not yet settled on a lineup. Possibilities include a stage version of the film “Raising Arizona” and a boogie-woogie version of the traditional opera “The Mikado.” Also under consideration: an evening of Jerome Kern music titled “A Fine Romance.”

Whatever the titles, all six shows will travel on a circuit tour, hitting Glendale, Fresno and San Diego in addition to Thousand Oaks.

“We chose those markets carefully,” Bardwil said. “We believe they’re going to be very successful for us.”