85 years and counting

Few octogenarians ? people or institutions ? possess the energy, the drive or the consistent professional excellence of the 85-year-old Laguna Playhouse.

From its embryo years in the early 1920s ? when plays were performed in private homes ? through the years of struggling as a community theater group in a small theater building on Ocean Avenue and eventually to its present location on Laguna Canyon Road in 1969, where it “turned pro” in 1995, the playhouse has survived, endured, grown and thrived.

Along the way, the playhouse has served as the starting point for some illustrious careers ? among them, Harrison Ford, Toni Tennille, Mike Farrell, Marlo Thomas and Barbara Eden (who will be honored April 29 at the playhouse’s annual gala fundraiser).

South Coast Repertory got its start here also, presenting much of its first season in 1965 before completing construction of its own building in Newport Beach.

Bette Davis also performed here at the height of her career, sharing the stage with Barry Sullivan in a benefit performance of “The World of Carl Sandburg.” John Carradine starred in and directed “Hamlet” in 1956, and three years later Patrick Macnee and Ralph Story were in Laguna to headline “Don Juan in Hell.” Most recently, Julie Harris brought her one-woman production of “The Belle of Amherst” to the Laguna stage on two separate occasions.

The history of the Laguna Playhouse ? which turned 85 last Oct. 22 ? began on that date in 1920 with the aforementioned plays produced in private homes. In 1922, the first full production, Susan Glaspel’s “Suppressed Desires,” was staged in an old vulcanizing shop located where Coast Highway and the White House Restaurant now meet.

Two years later, the playhouse became a tangible reality and the building at 319 Ocean Ave. opened at a cost of $5,000. It would serve as home base for the Laguna Playhouse until 1969, when the present theater was built.

The Depression was equally depressing for those engaged in artistic endeavors. In 1937, lacking the funds to continue, the playhouse sought assistance from the city of Laguna Beach, which purchased the Ocean Avenue theater.

During the early 1940s, the playhouse did its part in the war effort, housing a detachment of soldiers in need of temporary barracks. The USO rented the playhouse for $18.75 per month, paid in the form of a $25 war bond, for the duration of World War II.

Summer stock came to Laguna in the 1950s as independent production companies rented the building for their shows. In 1959, Hap Graham came aboard as managing director, a position he filled through 1964 and again from 1971 to 1975.

Douglas Rowe succeeded Graham as managing director in 1964 and served through 1966, playing a major role in the planning of the new theater. Rowe returned in 1976 ? wearing three hats as managing, executive and artistic director ? and finally retired in 1991.

Others serving as managing director during the 1960s and ‘70s were Irma Nofziger (1966-69), John Ferzacca (1969-70) and Jack Seymour (1970-71). The current guiding hands at the Laguna Playhouse are Executive Director Richard Stein, who arrived in 1990, and Artistic Director Andrew Barnicle, who took over from Rowe a year later. Their creative stamp has been applied to myriad productions over the last 15 years.

Stein puts the Laguna Playhouse story into perspective with this observation: “If I were to live to 85, I would be thrilled to have had a life story like the Laguna Playhouse. Its original founders had high artistic aspiration, producing the latest, often daring, works of theater in storefronts and homes.

“Its first space, from 1924 to 1969, is fondly recalled as a gem of a theater, seating just over 200 with a postage stamp-sized stage and a front door under the boughs of a giant old pepper tree?. When its new theater opened in 1969, it became Orange County’s premier performing arts space.”

Over the past 15 years, the playhouse leadership has transformed it into a world-class theater company that has produced numerous important premieres, two national tours and has earned popular and critical acclaim, growing into one of the largest and most prestigious theaters in the region.

“Our 85th anniversary is an opportunity to look back with pride at a moment when the Laguna Playhouse is embarking on the most ambitious chapter in its history ? the creation of a new facility. As remarkable as our history has been, our future will be even brighter,” Stein said.cpt.28-playhouse-2-CPhotoInfo781QDA6L20060428iyedibncMARK DUSTIN / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Posters from past shows at the Laguna Playhouse line the walls of the Green Room.cpt.28-playhouse-CPhotoInfoGP1QCU6420060428iycsj5ncDON LEACH / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Sophie Cripe, past president; Richard Stein, executive director; Andrew Donchak, president; Andrew Barnicle, artistic director; and Donna Inglima, director of youth theater, education and outreach, on-stage at the Laguna Playhouse.