LAKEPORT ? The Lake County Arts Council wants to restore an art-deco facade in original architectural drawings for the Soper-Reese Community Theatre.
Theater committee chairman John Ross presented a theater update Wednesday, Nov. 12, during a members” meeting of the Lake County Arts Council. Renovation of the theater has occupied 10-plus years.
“I can”t believe the arts council had the audacity to take on this project,” Ross said. “It is a huge project.”
The building was originally constructed in 1947 by Leo Reese. It operated for 50 years as the Lakeport Cinema at 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport. Leo”s son Bob took over its operation upon his father”s death less than two years after its opening.
In February 1997, the Lakeport Cinema was vacated when Reese opened his new theater, the Lakeport Cinema 5, on Soda Bay Road in Lakeport. Bob and Margaret Reese retired later in 1997 and sold their interest in Lakeport Theaters, Inc. to partner John S. Tegtmeir.
A generous donation by Jim and Florence Soper enabled the LCAC to purchase the Lakeport Cinema. The LCAC named the building in honor of the Sopers and the Reeses.
The Soper-Reese Community Theatre offered its first arts council-sponsored performance Dec. 2, 1997, an open mic event, on a stage borrowed from Kelseyville High School. Performances continued for two years until, in 1999, a number of issues forced the suspension of performances.
A history on the theater”s Web site indicates that these issues included a leaking underground storage tank, failing ventilation system, and 100-year flood plain requirements.
After the city approved permits for theater renovations, Ross said the arts council needed $500,000. “Jim Soper challenged the community to raise $300,000, which he matched with $200,000. Our community has raised well over $300,000.”
The theater reopened to performances in January of this year. “We”ve had 10 wonderful events in the theater,” Ross said.
Carol Dobusch is teaching two theater classes, in acting and production, which meet in the Soper-Reese. Students in each class earn one unit of credit from Mendocino College. The theater classes will stage “Cinderella” in collaboration with Lake County Theater Company. Showtimes are at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13; and at 2 p.m. Sundays, Dec. 7 and 14; at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre.
“That is really a feather in our cap to have something like that going on in our theater,” Ross said.
During Wednesday”s presentation, which was held at Tulip Hill Winery, Ross displayed photos from construction as well as original drawings for the Lakeport Cinema that featured vertical columns on the building”s front facade. Ross said the arts council wants to restore the front of the theater by adding the art-deco columns that were in that original drawing. Facade improvement is being aided by City of Lakeport redevelopment.
The theater is open to performances during an interlude in phases of construction while the LCAC and Soper-Reese committee continue raising funds. Upcoming performances include a benefit concert for KPFZ 88.1 FM, 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28. The headliner is Roy Zimmerman, a political songwriter and satirist. Opening guest is Vic Star & Friends.
Artistic director Bert Hutt reported that a reading is also planned of Charles Dickens” “A Christmas Carol.” “I found a 1938 radio drama produced by Orson Welles,” Hutt said, adding that the reading would be free to the public on Saturday, Dec. 20, with a time to be determined. The dramatic reading will be broadcast over KPFZ.
The Soper-Reese Community Theatre has a seating capacity of 275. The box office is open from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursdays as well as at the time of performances. Call 263-0577 to select reserved or general admission seats. A seating chart can be viewed at the theater Web site, www.soperreesetheatre.com.
Advance tickets can also be purchased at Catfish Books, 1013 11th St. in Lakeport, 263-4454; the arts council”s Main Street Gallery, 325 N. Main St. in Lakeport, 263-6658; Moontide, 21037 Calistoga St. in Middletown, 987-4939; and Wild About Books, 14920 Olympic Drive in Clearlake, 994-9453.
