The Music Center and Center Theatre Group introduced and dedicated July 29 the extensively renovated Mark Taper Forum, the downtown venue considered the "smaller" theatre at the Music Center complex. The $30 million remodeling and enhancement of the facility was completed over the past year. Attending the ceremony were local officials, including members of the County Board of Supervisors; Music Center chairman John B. Emerson; CTG artistic director Michael Ritchie; major donors; and other members of the arts community.
The makeover of the 41-year-old facility, encompassing state-of-the-art design and technology, was undertaken to improve the patron experience and production capabilities at the Taper. Said Stephen D. Rountree, the Music Center's president and CEO, "We continue with great support from the county of Los Angeles to steward Dorothy Chandler's dream of a vibrant performing arts center in downtown Los Angeles. When the public arrives in September, the new vibrancy will be evident." The facility opens Sept. 14 with the first production in the renovated theatre: John Guare's drama The House of Blue Leaves. The past season's Taper shows have been staged at CTG's much larger space, the Ahmanson Theatre, directly across from the Taper on the Music Center Plaza.
Funds for the renovations were led by a $5 million gift from Brindell Roberts Gottlieb, in honor of her late husband, Milton, followed by a $4.9 million allocation from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. The Music Center and CTG worked together to secure the funding that made the renovation possible. Gifts came from individuals, foundations, and corporations. The S. Mark Taper Foundation contributed $2 million to name the auditorium in honor of the late Mark Taper's wife, Amelia. Jon and Lillian Lovelace made a significant contribution, naming the stage in honor of CTG's founding artistic director, Gordon Davidson. The Marcia Israel Foundation donated $1 million to name the new lower-level lounge. Another 20 individuals, foundations, and corporations contributed for the project.
Los Angeles-based architecture and design firms Rios Clementi Hale Studios and Harley Ellis Devereaux joined a team of managers, contractors, theatrical consultants, and acousticians to modernize the venue's 1967 "new formalist" interior. "The Mark Taper Forum has always been a unique and beautiful theatre," said Ritchie. "This renovation has managed to maintain both the iconic architecture and the intimate quality of the theatre while improving virtually every aspect of the theatre experience, both for the artists and the audiences. I cannot wait to get actors back up on that stage."
Highlights of the enhanced amenities include a raised and lit entrance with direct level access to the Music Center Plaza; the new Brindell and Milton Gottlieb Act II entrance hall, nearly doubled in size, with a spacious bar; the Amelia Taper auditorium, including more-comfortable seating with increased leg room, new carpeting, and zebrawood wall paneling and walnut-trimmed ceiling; the expansive 1,350-square-foot Marcia Israel Foundation lounge; restroom facilities that are nearly tripled in size; and enhanced accessibility, including an elevator and handrails in the theatre.
Among the theatrical upgrades are a powerful and quiet air system; a state-of-the-art electrical system and a more efficient lighting grid and catwalk system; enlarged maneuverable stage doors for scenery mobility; expanded backstage areas and new dressing rooms; a hair and makeup studio; a workroom; and new ceiling panels and baffles for enhanced acoustics.
Recognized as one of the top resident theatres in the nation throughout its four-decade history, the Taper has received many awards for its productions and a special Tony in 1977 for theatrical excellence. The producing company Center Theatre Group includes the Taper, the Ahmanson, and the 3-year-old Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.