Letter to the Editor: Theatre management

Dear Editor: 

2020 has been a year of anxiety with one crisis after another. 

We have unceremoniously passed two different milestones. First was the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Downey Theatre. Second was the 7th anniversary of the final musical performance of the Downey Civic Light Opera. 

My hope is that as time goes by people will not forget the wonderful shows that were once produced here by Marsha Moode and her team. When the city brought in that horrible theatrical management company VenueTech, the Civic Light Opera was pushed out of existence with great contempt. All of those terrific musicals are now history. What the city has is a group of people running the theatre who could not manage a large scale production if their lives depended on it. 

Now I'm reading about Measure S. Is this really all they do is ask for more money? Downey Theatre could and should be the artistic centerpiece of the community. The A-answer, the only answer, is to allow a responsible and respectable theatrical management company to bid for the contract to run the building. 

I think that many others besides myself would be elated if when this whole pandemic shutdown is finally over and in our rear view mirror, the Downey Theatre would have a truly grand re-opening under a new professional leadership. We could possibly see the return of the popular DCLO, perhaps a resident opera company as well. How about some unprecedented support for the Downey Symphony? Maybe a return of the Sunday travel film series, and so much more.

City of Downey: the ball is in your court. Please don't drop it this time. The Northern California company VenueTech is not welcome here.

Mike Sanburn
Bellflower