Pair Hope to Make the Ventura Theatre Their Flagship Venue

As a casting director in Hollywood, Glenis Gross was responsible for placing actors in such movies as “Valley Girl” and “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”

Now as one of the new operators of the Ventura Theatre, she is embarking on an excellent adventure of her own: putting luster back into the 1928 theater on Chestnut Street referred to by many as the jewel of Ventura.

Gross and her partner, Dan Catullo III, have signed a long-term lease with property owner Angelo Elardo, and on April 18 will take over management of the onetime movie theater that for the past eight years has served as a concert hall.

They expect to exercise their option to purchase the three-story structure, which opened for business Aug. 18, 1928.

The partners say the New Ventura Theatre will open April 24 with more than $1.4 million in state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, and they plan to spend more than $3 million on renovations over the next two years, said Catullo, a Mandalay Bay resident.

Names like David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and Tony Bennett come up when the pair explain their vision for a diversified concert hall in Ventura. Gross added that touring theater companies and ballet troupes could eventually find their way to the theater stage.

“I’d like to see a lot more variety, including more country,” said Gross, who lives in Hollywood Beach.

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Through their Back Street Entertainment company, Gross and Catullo manage 13 performers, including the Santa Barbara-based band “A Fine Kettle of Fish.”

They are new to concert hall management and ownership, but have big plans: In the next three years, they intend to open 10 concert halls on the West Coast and in Arizona.

The 1,150-seat Ventura Theatre is their first acquisition, and it is also the smallest of their potential sites.

“It may be smaller than the other ones we’re looking at, but it will be our flagship venue. I want this to be a theater that the people of Ventura are proud of,” Catullo said.

Beginning next month, crews will paint the walls, replace the carpeting and seats, and refurbish the grand chandelier hanging above the audience. They will also renovate the lobby, adding a copper wall of fame that will be filled with mementos of performers who play the venue.

The pair is working with the city to increase the general admission capacity to 1,600.

Theater manager Steve Schoenberger said that if all parties involved stick to the plan, the theater will have a successful future.

“I think this is the best thing for Ventura,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it. I have family members who worked here when it was a movie theater.”

Since 1988, when Gary Folgner took over management, the theater has been a stop for a variety of acts, from rock and country to jazz and ska.

What’s been lacking, said Catullo, a concert producer and drummer, are the stadium acts--bands that fill football and baseball stadiums in Los Angeles and who would be more than happy to make a one-night stop in Ventura to pick up an extra $30,000 or $40,000.

They plan to attract such acts by renovating the third-floor dressing rooms, including installing big-screen TVs and state-of-the-art video games for musicians to use before a show. Also, the backstage area will be upgraded, and the sound system will be of such quality that all a band has to do is plug in and play, Catullo said.

“We are going to be a very artist-friendly venue. The bands are going to want to play here,” he said.

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Terms of the lease were not disclosed, but Catullo said he and Gross have an option to buy the theater.

Their research began two years ago, and on one trip, they watched as police investigated what they say was a melee involving members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club.

Authorities say members of the club assaulted a theater security guard who was attempting to break up a fight.

“Some inappropriate things have happened. There will be some changes,” Gross said.

At times, they thought of calling their company the You’re Never Gonna Get the Theater Inc. But all that changed two weeks ago when Elardo called to say the theater was available.

“It just came out of the blue,” Catullo recalled. “I was at my house and I just thought, ‘Man. This is something.’ ”

Their dream has come true.

“We just love this old building,” he added.