THE ALEX SEEKS OUT NEW SOUND OFFICIALS HOPE BIGGER NAMES WILL BE DRAWN IN BY SYSTEM.Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer GLENDALE - Alex Theatre The Alex Theatre is a historic landmark located at 216 North Brand Boulevard in Glendale, California of the United States of America. It is currently owned by the City of Glendale and operated by the Alex Regional Theatre Board. officials want a new sound system, hoping it can help the 81-year-old venue attract more big names to its marquee and compete in a crowded field of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, concert halls. Installed in 1993 as part of the theater's renovation, the current sound system is wearing down and is so old that it's difficult to find replacement parts. And it's not in stereo, since it was intended mostly for spoken word and theatrical performances. The theater, which operates as a nonprofit with support from the city, will ask the Glendale Redevelopment Agency today for $75,000 to begin the upgrade. The project would cost an estimated $375,000 over three phases. Theater officials expect to come up with $140,000 and want the city pay for the rest. The first $75,000 would go toward reinforcing the roof structures on either side of the stage to support the 1,800-pound speaker systems. Officials want to install a state-of-the-art system built by French company L-Acoustics at the theater, which seats 1,381. They hope the new system will help them compete with other venues, including the Wiltern LG in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The Alex, which opened in 1925 as a vaudeville and movie house and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places This article is about the U.S. Register. For the National Register of Historic Places in Canada see Canadian Register of Historic Places. The National Register of Historic Places , has attracted some major acts. In June, Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American R&B/soul singer, actress and author. She is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, the most performed with a large church choir. New-age pianist George Winston This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. played there in 2004. But concert producers sometimes need to truck in their own sound equipment to give their shows more oomph. On Jan. 27, during a performance by an Armenian singer Alla Levonian, the bottom speaker cluster gave out with a high-pitched squeal, Alex officials told the city in a report. Attracting performers popular enough to be promoted by House of Blues House of Blues (HOB) is a chain of music halls and restaurants founded in 1992 by Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett and his friend and investor Dan Aykroyd. It is a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine, whose clubs celebrate African-American culture, specifically Concerts or the Nederlander Organization The Nederlander Organization founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander of Detroit, is one of the largest, most experienced operators of live theatre and music in the United States. is a challenge. ``We have had those types of performers but we just feel there's an opportunity to broaden the number that we're able to host over the course of a year,'' said Barry McComb, the theater's executive director. ``Los Angeles has lots and lots of venues that artists can be presented at, so it's important, to be competitive, that we have the technical capacity to meet the needs of the artists that come to town.'' In recent years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time theater has hosted concerts by Armenian and Filipino performers that have proved popular. But the theater wants to mix up its calendar, attracting young and old audiences with a variety of tastes. ``It would be people that would go to see a band like Chicago to a younger audience that is interested in seeing a more cutting-edge band,'' McComb said. So far at least, theater officials have the ear of Mayor Rafi Manoukian. ``If we want the Alex Theatre to have more quality performers and performances that can use or need more sophisticated systems,'' he said, ``then we need to provide them those sound facilities.'' Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com |
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