‘Titanic’ memories that bode well

When the $11-million renovation of the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center is officially celebrated at a Jan. 17 gala, Carol Channing will descend a grand staircase that was designed to look like the Titanic’s.

Why would the organizers of a grand opening want to evoke memories of one an ill-fated maiden voyage?

Because the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities spent a lot of moola on the set for “Titanic: The Musical” in 2001, and the group’s executive producer, James Blackman, thinks the scenery “would help the evening along.”

“It looks like a beautiful hotel lobby. I don’t want the stage to look like ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos,’ ” Blackman said. “It won’t read as if we’re on the Titanic.”

But on second thought, he added, “maybe I’ll wear a chain of rabbits’ feet.”

-- Don Shirley