Party, Play Open Lyceum in Gala Style

SAN DIEGO —  Calm and quiet definitely were not ingredients of the opening night performance and gala staged Saturday by the San Diego Repertory Theatre (or the Rep, as it likes to be called) at the new Lyceum Theatre.

First they raised the curtain, then they raised the roof.

A certain frothy symmetry swirled through it all, rather like whipped cream spun through a big bowl of chocolate mousse. The event had its serious side and its light-hearted moments, a bill of fare satisfactorily advertised by the masks, representing Tragedy and Comedy, that hung high above the obelisk that fronts the Horton Plaza theater.

The opening night presentation of “Quilters,” a play that garnered six Tony award nominations in 1986, drew a crowd of nearly 500 dressed-to-be-seen patrons to the 6 p.m. cocktail reception that presaged the performance. For once, the champagne flowed not like water, but like champagne--by the bucket, as it were, a liberal river of bubbly that raised high spirits even higher and turned the fete into a festival.

For most guests, this was the first opportunity to set foot inside the theater, and they were greeted by all sorts of sights and wonders. Rep managing director John McCann stood just inside the door, welcoming one and all with a cheery, “Our house is your house, it’s all here for you to enjoy.” He looked natty in his formal evening clothes, which, in the iconoclastic style of the modern stage, he completed with well-worn sneakers instead of the more traditional patent leather pumps.

Birth of Tradition

Yet there was no doubt that tradition was much in every one’s mind--the anticipated birth of a new San Diego tradition that the Rep hopes to father under the Lyceum proscenium. For example, the starkly simple set used for “Quilters” was nothing but a series of rough-hewn steps that ended in mid-air but gave every appearance of aiming towards Heaven, rather like a post-modern Jacob’s ladder. The symbolism was clear--the Rep is reaching for the skies.

Amid symbolism and silliness, between Jacob’s ladders and sneakers, there were speeches, of course. City Councilman Mike Gotch, the master of ceremonies, provoked the first of numerous cannonades of applause when he took the speaker’s podium to say, “Welcome to our new Lyceum Theatre; how do you like it?” Rep board President Jennifer Hankins followed with her greetings and was succeeded by former President John Messner, who has been involved with the Rep since its inception in 1976. “I can’t believe we’re here,” he said. “Ten years--it’s hard to believe this dream is a reality.”

Verge of Tears

Rep artistic director Doug Jacobs and producing director Sam Woodhouse took the next two turns at bat, Woodhouse bringing the audience almost to the verge of tears when he said, “I’m standing in the middle of this dream come true, and believe me, it is in full color and complete Sensurround. Thank you to all of you for giving us this palace to make magic in.” Because the audience was feeling perhaps a touch giddy after all these addresses, it even applauded when a stagehand walked out to remove the podium. Then the play began, and for the next two hours, the audience settled in for the comfortable fantasy of this homespun musical.

The cocktail reception and performance were but the first acts of a grander production that continued when the guests ascended the Lyceum’s curving staircases to Broadway Circle. Here, they found twirling arc lights slashing through the skies and a stilt-walking, tap dancing Pied Piper who led the crowd across Broadway to the U.S. Grant Hotel for dinner and dancing.

Supper Party

Gala co-chairs Nancy MacHutchin, Nanci Washburn and Cheryl Ayers laid on a simple little supper party; the mood, music and entertainment were from the Cotton Club era, and the guests wasted no time getting into the get-down mood that infected those good-time days. The dance floor filled instantly and stayed that way until 1 a.m., except during dinner, when professional dancers borrowed the floor for a tango exhibition. The crowd was ready for grub--the meal started well after 11 p.m.--and was pleased by the cold salmon in sauce vert flavored with spinach, veal loin, and berries in whipped cream. The tables looked grand and glamorous with massive centerpieces carried out in crimson and cream. Chocolate favors shaped like the Rep’s logo masks accompanied the guests home.

Ernest and Jean Hahn, the honorary co-chairmen (the Ernest Hahn Co. built Horton Plaza and the Lyceum Theatre) arrived for Act II of the performance and stayed on through the gala. They had the sort of schedule that night that no one would envy, having first to travel to the Hotel del Coronado for the presentation of their granddaughter, Jennifer Hahn, at the La Jolla Debutante Ball. They smiled through it all.

Downtown Crowd

A youngish and decidedly downtown crowd turned out for the evening, among them Phil and Catherine Blair, Mel and Linda Katz, John and Anne Gilchrist, Jennifer Wilson with Rick Gulley, Patti Barrington with Jack Berkman, Kathi and John Howard, Lesley Binder, Chris and Francie Mortenson, Judith Harris with Robert Singer, Jim Harris and Adrienne Alpert, Gerald and Maxine Trimble, Steven and Trudy Blau, and City Councilmen William Jones and Uvaldo Martinez.

Others were Dan and Rita Grady, Aage and Veryl Frederiksen, Irwin and Joan Jacobs, Danah Fayman, Bill and Lollie Nelson, Hal and B.J. Williams, Chuck and Judy Bieler, Kit and Karen Sickels, Bob and Gail Arnhym, and Linda Aldrete with Bill Purves.