Bravos Greet Thousand Oaks’ Civic Arts Plaza : Culture: Ticket buyers flock to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Mayor Alex Fiore says it’s high time the city got its dignified due.

The hottest tickets in Thousand Oaks were on sale at The Oaks mall Tuesday morning, as about 50 people lined up to reserve seats for events at the soon-to-be-completed Civic Arts Plaza.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, city officials opened the Civic Arts Plaza box office in the mall and then scurried to find places in line before the more popular shows sold out.

Some residents waited three hours before reaching the new ticket counter because of the ceremony, but all said they were happy to be able to see theater events come to their city.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for months,” said Geraldine Sanders, who arrived at the mall at 8 a.m. to be the first in line for tickets. “This is going to be the jewel of the community, and I want to be a part of it.”

As the crowds gathered in front of the storefront box office, members of the city staff, the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Civic Theaters Commission joined Thousand Oaks Mayor Alex Fiore, who cut the ribbon opening the box office.

“This is the beginning of a new experience for the residents of our city and adjacent cities,” Fiore said. “Let the games begin.”

The mayor said he had already pinpointed seats he wants for upcoming performances, but he, like everyone else, had to stand in line before ordering his tickets.

“I think for me, and for all these people, this is really a great experience,” Fiore said. “Here we are, able to buy tickets right here in our own community for shows that will take place right here, not in L.A. or Santa Barbara.”

The mall box office will be open until September, when it will be replaced by the box office at the arts plaza itself. The public premiere will be “Man of La Mancha” on Sept. 16.

Fiore said he was buying tickets for magician David Copperfield’s performance in December. But the box office has seats available for 13 shows, including “Mark Twain Tonight,” “The Nutcracker” and a performance of the musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” which will come to the theater next April.

Tickets range in price from $5 to $45, depending on the show and the location of the seats. Most seats are between $18 and $35.

Construction of the arts center is on schedule, officials said. On Tuesday workers attached rigging to one face of the building, which will hold a curtain made of copper.

The curtain is expected to be attached to the building in pieces over the next three weeks, said Ed Johnduff, the Civic Arts Plaza project manager.

The smaller Forum Theatre will be completed in August and opened in September, and the larger Civic Auditorium is expected to be finished in October, Johnduff said.

“Now that we’ve started selling tickets, we know we’ve got to deliver on the building,” he said. “At this point, it looks like we’re right on schedule.”

Fiore said that the fact that the building is on schedule and under budget “is an impressive feat for this day and age.”

Those who waited for tickets agreed, though some were concerned about the look of the finished product.

“We’d like to have seen it not so tall, so that it blocks some of the views of the city,” said Walter Bradley, a Camarillo resident. “But you can’t have your cake and eat it too. And we’re real happy they’ve finally put a theater in there.”

Virginia Davis, chairwoman of the city Civic Theaters Commission, said the box office opening represented the end of a long process and the beginning of a new chapter in Thousand Oaks history.

“This really completes the city,” she said. “We have a house for the seniors, we have a house for the teen-agers, we have a library and now we have a house for the arts.”

FYI

The Civic Arts Plaza box office is selling tickets for Civic Arts Plaza performances. Tickets can also be purchased at any Ticketmaster location. The arts plaza box office is located on the first floor of The Oaks mall. It is open Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 449-ARTS.