Lido Theater is ready for its third act in Newport Beach
Director and producer Joseph McGinty Nichol, known professionally as McG, believes the best seat in the house at Lido Theater in Newport Beach is right in the center.
“I think that is the finest seat. That is where I like to sit, when I test [my own films],” McG said.
McG has had a successful career as a record producer and director of music videos and films like “Charlie’s Angels,” “Terminator Salvation” and Netflix’s “Uglies.” Now he’s getting into another part of the entertainment industry with his company River Jetty Restaurant Group as the new operator of the iconic landmark Lido Theater. Carefully restored by the Fritz Duda Co., the theater will reopen in time for this year’s 25th annual Newport Beach Film Festival.
McG is a Newport Beach native who frequented the theater as a teenager and credits it for inspiring him to pursue a career in entertainment.
“I grew up going to the Lido Theater, and I have tremendously fond and passionate memories about looking at worlds that were larger than my own on that glorious screen. It awakened a dream life in me and I never looked back,” McG said.
The Lido Theater was built in 1939 for $110,000. It was designed by architect Clifford A. Balch, who was known for embracing the Art Deco style. At the time, Via Lido Plaza was owned by the Griffith Co., known for developing much of Lido Isle. The theater opened in October 1939 with “Hollywood Cavalcade,” starring Don Ameche and Alice Faye.
In 1986, Fritz Duda Co. purchased the Via Lido Plaza and continues its stewardship. Over the years different theater operators were brought in, including Edwards and Regency Theaters until 2014 when Lido Live took over. But after just one year of trying to make the theater a live music and comedy venue, Regency was back.
“It is very difficult to successfully operate a movie theater. Edwards was there, Regency was there … the movie business is tricky,” said McG.
In the fall of 2019, the theater closed for renovations and would remain closed for more than four years, partly due to pandemic delays. Now Lido Theater is ready to open for its third act.
The 8,974-square-foot theater has been restored to its original glory, starting with the box office, marquee and movie poster cases outside.
“Right when you walk in you can see the original booth for tickets is there, all the original lighting is there and all these tile floors are original, almost 100 years old,” said Ines Gandal, Lido Theater’s general manager.
More than 30 linear feet of hand-painted Catalina-style tile was restored in the restrooms and lobby. White, peach and turquoise tiles depicting Art Deco designs can be found in the lobby along with mahogany columns and doors. There is also a time capsule beneath an original floor tile.
A persistent urban legend often credits the Bette Davis film “Jezebel” as the opening film at Lido Theater. In actuality, Davis’ film “The Old Maid” was the first regular showing at the theater on opening weekend, according to historians. Davis, a local resident when the theater was being built, remains tied to the theater because a sitting room was added to the women’s restroom at her insistence.
“This was Bette Davis’ fainting room when it opened,” Gandal said, opening the door to the first floor women’s restroom. “It is really special.”
Wallpaper adorned with pink feathers lines the walls and pink tufted stools sit in front of the fully restored mirrors in the lavish sitting room.
Murals of underwater ocean scenes carry through the lobby and into the theater. Painters worked for almost a year using 30 different paint colors to restore the beach theme inside the two-story, single screen theater.
“The design style is a beach with the sand where the stage is with all the beige, and the greens go from light to dark blue all the way to the back balcony where even the seats are blue, ” said Gandal.
On the second floor of the theater, 190 blue seats are found, while 330 burgundy seats fill the main level along with seven ADA wheelchair spaces. Irwin Manufacturing was tapped to make the new seats, using vintage molds from the 1930s to create the decorative aisle seat panels. The golden aviation goddess on the aisle seat panels is modeled after the same design used at the Howard Hughes Aero Theater in Santa Monica.
In terms of updated equipment, the theater has been outfitted with Dolby Digital Sound speakers, and a state-of-the-art Christie Xenon Cinema Projector hums upstairs in the projection room. McG plans to show first run and classic movies, but he also envisions the space being a hub for many events with a wide appeal — from live music and comedy performances to benefits and galas.
“I want to make it really fun and vibrant with great food, a great experience, and I want it to be the heartbeat of the community. I want it to be a gift back to Newport Beach,” said McG.
McG believes the newly renovated Lido Theater can be a great addition to the city.
“I think a theater makes a seismic difference because it is essential that people physically come to together and share a physical space,” said McG. “We are more connected and yet more and more lonely than ever before and I think the theater is an offset and antidote to the loneliness and the isolation of social media.”
The theater experience is a collective one that emphasizes our similarities and brings people together, he said.
“I mean, it is just more fun to watch “The Hangover” in a theater with a great many people laughing. It is more fun to watch “The Sound of Music” with a great many people singing than it is to watch it by yourself. I just really believe in that shared experience.”
See the restored Lido Theater for yourself at the Lido community open house, hosted on Oct. 5 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The theater will also host films throughout the Newport Beach Film Festival from Oct. 17 to 24, including the closing night film “A Real Pain,” starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
