Curtain-Raisers : Benefit Opens Theater Complex; Another Charity Bash Will Mark IMAX Debut

Proving it’s a party place, the Spectrum Entertainment Center in Irvine opened last week with a gala benefit for six local charities.

Hundreds of guests paid $50 each to attend the Moroccan-themed extravaganza, where they sampled shish kebab, viewed fireworks and rubbed elbows with Irvine Co. chairman Donald Bren and theater mogul James Edwards Sr.

And that was just the beginning. In January, the $50-million complex will launch its IMAX 3-D theater at a benefit for Childhelp U.S.A. and the Orangewood Children’s Foundation.

Chairing the event is Patti Edwards, wife of theater scion James Edwards III. “Our opening gala will mark the first time anyone has sat in the seats of IMAX,” she said during a recent visit to the center.

“The theater uses the most advanced technology available for the 3-D format,” she said. “It’s going to give us the chance to experience something we don’t have anywhere else in the country but New York. It’s really going to be a thrill.”

Guests will pay $100 each to dine on fare from Spectrum restaurants, sip champagne in the lobby and watch portions of “Wings of Courage” and “Into the Deep” on a six-story screen.

Headsets with built-in lenses and sound systems will allow guests to enjoy IMAX’s “virtual reality” experience, Patti Edwards said. “Each set gives you your own PSE--personal sound environment.

“In ‘Wings,’ you feel like you’re in an airplane and other planes are coming at you--you keep wanting to duck. ‘Into the Deep’ makes you want to reach out and grab the fish,” she said.

Patti Edwards, president of the Orange County chapter of Childhelp, chose the beneficiaries of the IMAX opening.

“I wanted people to understand that one of them, the Orangewood Children’s Home, is for the emergency placement of abused children. The other, Childhelp, is for their long-term care,” she said. “Both badly need money. One hundred percent of the proceeds will be given to the charities.”

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During the opening gala, Jim and Patti Edwards stood outside the center’s still-unfinished Edwards 21 Cinemas, watching workmen put the finishing touches on the 40-foot lobby’s Gazebo Cafe. Inside the auditoriums, craftsmen laid carpet and secured the plush theater seats.

“Tonight, it’s still a work-in-progress,” said Jim Edwards, a tinge of disappointment in his voice. “But tomorrow, we’ll be open for movies.”

When party-goers weren’t watching belly dancers or listening to a big band, they were bistro-hopping or playing high-tech games at Sega City.

Ygal Sonenshine of Laguna Beach climbed aboard a hot-pink race car simulator in the amusement emporium and did his best to win the “Indy 500” with seven competitors.

“That was great--but I didn’t feel the wind on my face the way I do in my Ferrari,” he joked, after placing third.

Midway through the festivities, Bren and James Edwards Sr. (“Mr. Movie,” as his pals call him) spoke to the happy crowd.

“This is a form of a destination resort for those in search of a smile,” Bren said, “a place that demands you leave your cares in the parking lot.”

Then, introducing the senior Edwards, Bren said: “James Edwards is a gentle giant who thinks big and acts big. I respect him for that.”

Edwards, who was on the eve of his 89th birthday, told guests he “knew Bren when . . . . I first met him when he was with the Mission Viejo Co.”

“He was a futurist in the things he saw.”

After introducing his wife of 63 years, Bernice, the senior Edwards thanked the crowd for attending the opening.

“Thanks for sharing your money and your time tonight,” he said, smiling. “We hope to see more of it.”

Event proceeds of $60,000 will be divided equally among Human Options, Homeaid Orange County, the UCI Health Science Center, Irvine Valley College Foundation, the Orange County Education Foundation and the Irvine Barclay Theatre.