After 20 years, Rose Center Theater is still finding its voice (and its future)
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Whether it’s “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Sound of Music” or “Alice in Wonderland,” Westminster’s Rose Center Theater has made it a point to encourage youth performances throughout its 20-year run.
And, while the theater was bracing for a pending closure as it worked through leasing issues with the city of Westminster, a 19-and-under cast from youth-focused Rose Kids performed “The Little Mermaid” musical this week.
“I am an educator and I have been doing this for so many years, I know the importance of a good education in musical theater and in theater,” said Tim Nelson, managing artistic director of the Friends of the Rose Center Theater. “It just elevates the entire community.”
The center opened on April 1, 2006. Twenty years later, the theater has become known for its musicals for both adults and children, according to Nelson. But until recently, it looked like the nonprofit theater group’s lease would expire for good.
Nelson said Friends of the Rose Center Theater, which manages the theater, was on a five-year contract approved by the Westminster City Council and set to end on Dec. 31, 2025. The group got a temporary reprieve when the council extended the contract until June 30, but uncertainty loomed.
Tensions abated this past week, as the City Council decided to offer another extension of the group’s lease, through Dec. 31. Nelson said city officials are expected to confirm the contract amendment on May 13.
Even as the uncertainty surrounding its future hovered over Rose Center Theater, the show went on.
“Fiddler on the Roof” was staged in February and March, and the theater hosted a one-night-only Rose Tribute Concert on Dec. 30 to celebrate its 20-year anniversary.
“I feel like we’ve really made a name for musical theater in Orange County, and I think most of that thanks goes to the actors that we attract, the audiences that we’re able to attract, and I have a really great management team at the Rose Center with my choreographers, my technical director, our marketing manager, my box office and house managers,” Nelson said.
Nelson, who’s been with Friends of the Rose Center Theater since the beginning, has personally watched theater grow over the last 20 years.
“Watching the land get acquired, watching the building get built, was all very exciting. And then opening in 2006, [I remember] thinking, ‘Wow, it’d be great if we were here for a good five to 10 years, and now it’s 20 years later and the theater is running fantastically,” he said. “It’s just been a really awesome experience.”
Prior to coming to the Rose Center Theater, Nelson was musical director for the Curtain Call Dinner Theater in Tustin before it closed in 2010.
“A lot of actors from that theater transferred over, a lot of costumes transferred over, a lot of set pieces and props transferred over to our company when we opened,” he said. “We were really lucky at the very beginning stages that we were able to have all those kinds of resources.”
Throughout the years, the theater has been able to build a reputation for its musicals as well as partnerships with local schools, including in the Westminster and Huntington Beach school districts, according to Nelson.
“I’m a teacher and have been a teacher in both the Westminster School District and Huntington Beach, so that’s kind of nice for me that we’re able to keep training the youth,” he said.
The organization partners with schools for various theater performances — using space for rehearsals at the participating campus while the performance is staged at the Rose Center.
There’s also Rose Kids, which casts children as young as 6 for productions geared toward younger audiences and families. Some examples are “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Sound of Music,” “Mary Poppins” and “Winnie the Pooh.”
“We usually do one [production] that’s just for the kids alone,” Nelson said. “For instance, we did ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ which was for the 6-to-16 group and it was all cast by kids.”
The theater also staged “Robin Hood and the White Arrow,” a holiday production that included a youth ensemble acting as villagers, he said. “Usually at least one [show] is dedicated just to the kids and then one where we can mix multi-generational [actors].”
The theater company typically puts on four musicals a year, plus a Rose Kids production. It also serves as a rental facility for various organizations, including the Vietnamese American Philharmonic, Cal State Fullerton and Clifton Dance Project, among others.
Nelson said musical theater, and theater in general, can positively impact a community.
“It’s an important part of growing up, it’s an important part of learning … but I think it extends to past students, to everyone,” he said. “We really are multi-generational. I have many people in their 60s and 70s in productions as well. … I love to watch how everybody works together. Young’uns help the older people, older people help younger people, and it all kind of becomes one team.”
Vincent Aniceto has been involved with the theater since it opened, appearing in the cast of its first show, “Once on This Island.” He’s performed as an actor in as many as 30 productions since then and also directed some shows.
“The Rose Center has meant so much to me, my family and other artists in the community,” he said. “It has been a most important creative outlet for all of us and a source of joy and countless memories throughout the years.”
Aniceto’s not the only one with long ties to the organization. Sherré Titus, who is front of house manager, started as a volunteer on opening night in July 2006.
“The best part of my job is the interaction I have with our guests, many of whom have been patrons since the time we opened,” she said. “They also championed the cause to establish the venue in their community, something they are still proud of to this day.”
