Curtain Raiser : Ahmanson Theatre Rededicated After Yearlong Renovation

After a $17.1-million renovation, the Ahmanson Theatre at the Los Angeles Music Center was rededicated Thursday with the blessings of a long line of dignitaries including the Phantom of the Opera himself.

The voice of Robert Guillaume, one of the actors who played the Phantom at the Ahmanson, greeted the event’s 500 guests at the beginning of the rededication ceremony with a plea to free him from “the miserable din of jackhammers” that accompanied the renovation.

Later, dressed in black tie, Guillaume and his “Phantom” co-star, Dale Kristien, sang “All I Ask of You” from the “Phantom” score while perched on a gently swaying construction bridge above the stage. Then Guillaume descended to the stage to call forth a shower of purple and gold ribbons that dropped from above. The ribbons were promptly snipped by a row of county supervisors and other civic and arts leaders, officially rededicating the facility.

The Ahmanson had been criticized since its opening in 1967 for its lack of intimacy and poor acoustics. In September, 1993, after the long run of “The Phantom” ended, the theater was closed for a massive reconfiguration. Balconies were thrust inward on a curving line, and six boxes were erected on each of the side walls. The ceiling was lowered and covered with new acoustical paneling, the backstage was expanded, and mobile dividers were installed in the balconies to decrease seating for shows that require more intimacy. The theater now can accommodate audiences from 1,300 to nearly 2,100.

The lobby and forecourt were also altered, but the forecourt was not yet open Thursday. A few finishing touches yet to be completed inside the hall also were apparent to the invitation-only audience. There was no carpet in the front section of the orchestra.

However, the show went on. As the guests arrived at the rear of the theater, they were seated on the stage, facing the dropped curtain. Then, as a taiko drummer heralded the event, the curtain rose and lights went up on the renovated interior, prompting loud applause.

Performers--many of them from the Music Center’s resident companies--were stationed throughout the hall and performed musical selections, danced or declaimed Shakespeare for the crowd. The Shakespearean actors included Charlton Heston, John Lithgow, Lynn Redgrave, David Dukes, Penny Fuller, Jane Carr and John Vargas. Some of their lines had been slightly edited to include references to the Ahmanson, which drew appreciative chuckles.

Likewise, Lula Washington, whose Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Theatre members filled the aisles, drew laughter when, in a prayer on behalf of the new theater, she asked “the Heavenly Father” to “fill each seat, each night.”

Halfway through the program, the audience moved from the stage into the orchestra section, guided by Guillaume’s Phantom voice, urging the crowd not to worry--the show’s famous descending chandelier was gone.