Changing the curtains at Lido Theatre

Young Chang

NEWPORT BEACH -- It’s a sunny day in Newport Beach and Elizabeth

Wright exits the Lido Theatre blinking her eyes because the sun is

suddenly really bright after two hours in the dark.

With an old-school flair that matches the Art Deco backdrop of the

theater’s pink exterior, the 92-year-old says she just finished watching

Woody Allen’s “Curse of the Jade Scorpion.” The film got mediocre

reviews, she continues, but her friends said she should watch it so she

did. Her verdict is “two thumbs up.”

Wright said she prefers foreign, slightly “artsy” movies, which is why

she’s been loyal to the Lido Theatre for the past 30 years. She likes its

flicks, its old-fashioned decor, its single-screen intimacy. She doesn’t

understand why it needs any fixing-up.

“I think it’s appropriate for Newport Beach,” Wright said of the

62-year-old structure’s old-fashioned style.

But theater officials promise that the renovations starting Monday,

which will close the facility for at least two weeks, will preserve the

landmark’s historic look. They call the project a “rejuvenation” to get

the Via Lido Plaza theater looking more like its original face than ever.

“To kinda bring back its early years and the glamour of a 1939

theater,” added John Loper, vice president of the California Division of

the Fritz Duda Company, which manages Via Lido Plaza.

No major changes will be done on the exterior except for some

retouching of paint and fixing of broken neon lighting. Other repairs

include repainting the marquee, acquiring new sound equipment and

improving the projection quality.

Loper added that the big screen and elegant balcony will remain

intact, partly because few single-screen theaters nowadays still have

balconies.

Built in 1939 by the Griffith Company, which originally owned the

property, the Lido Theatre has been operated by Edwards Cinemas since the

mid 1970s. With more than 600 seats, a balcony, rich burgundy curtains

that veil the single screen and a cozy old-fashioned feel, the Lido

Theatre has offered foreign, artistic and smaller-budget films throughout

the decades.

When Edwards Cinemas declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, its

lease for the theater expired. Edwards has continued to operate Lido on

an interim basis, but Lido officials say a new theater operator will be

announced soon. Talks are underway with several independent theater

chains. Until then, the focus will remain on restoring the theater before

it moves into new hands.

Wright, who maintains that the films offered at Lido are an

alternative, rarer kind, said renovations or not, this is her theater.

“I would always keep coming here,” she said.