New theaters inspire Pilot’s man, woman of the year
Tom Titus
Local theater took on a new look in 2002 -- a pair of new looks,
to be precise.
UC Irvine completed the four-year renovation project on its main
theater facility, while South Coast Repertory built a new showplace
from the ground up, remodeling its Costa Mesa complex in the process.
Each venue offers theatergoers an exciting new experience and each
was instigated -- artistically in one case, financially in the other
-- by an individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty
over the years to initiate superior stage programs at their
respective locations.
They are two with a passionate dedication to quality theater and
they are making it happen from their separate vantage points. They
are Robert Cohen and Julianne Argyros, the Daily Pilot’s man and
woman of the year in theater for 2002.
Cohen, whose title is Claire Trevor professor of drama, has been
at UCI as long as there has been a UCI, starting his tenure in 1965
when the university was built. His resume of accomplishments -- at
UCI and elsewhere, along with his lengthy list of published books on
theater -- is far too voluminous to relate here.
Over the years -- 37 in all -- Cohen has expanded the theater
program at UCI. In the early days, he headed a repertory theater
company that tackled some enormously difficult works. One in
particular stands out in the memory.
This was the searing production of “Marat/Sade,” in which Cohen
(in a rare stage appearance) played the French philosopher Jean Paul
Marat, while the Marquis de Sade was portrayed by an actor who would
go on to create the role of Juan Peron in Broadway’s “Evita” and
carve out an impressive career in motion pictures -- Bob Gunton.
This year, Cohen brought two vastly dissimilar projects to the
stages of UCI theaters -- an epic production of Bertolt Brecht’s “The
Good Person of Szechuan” in the spring and a magnificent staging of
the hit Broadway musical “My Fair Lady” just last month.
The latter was particularly significant, as it marked the grand
reopening of the former Village Theater, now known as the Claire
Trevor Theater -- named in honor of the Academy Award-winning actress
whose generosity made the project possible.
In 1999, shortly before her death, Trevor contributed $500,000 to
support the renovation of the Village Theater. In June, 2000, the
theater closed to undergo a full interior remodeling that would take
two years to complete, and to which the school and campus would
allocate substantial additional funds.
It was the second local theater to be named, in 2002, in honor of
a woman who had donated a substantial sum of money for its
realization.
Julianne Argyros displayed so impressive an example generosity
that the new theater at South Coast Repertory was christened the
Julianne Argyros Stage.
Argyros and her husband, George, the U.S. ambassador to Spain,
contributed $5 million toward SCR’s newest showplace, which opened in
October with the world premiere of Richard Greenberg’s “The Violet
Hour” and was the new venue for SCR’s ninth annual Hispanic-flavored
Christmas show, “La Posada Magica.”
Julianne Argyros’ love for the theater began at the age of 5, when
she would perform dramatic readings with her mother at luncheons in
the small community of Adrian, Mich., where she was raised. After
moving to Orange County, she devoted her time to philanthropy and
community service.
She never performed on stage again until 1997, when she starred
opposite SCR co-founder and artistic director David Emmes in a
benefit staged reading of A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters.” That little
one-night stand raised $50,000 for SCR’s expansion project.
She is president of the Argyros Foundation and has won numerous
awards, including a 1986 city of Costa Mesa Heart Award and a 1999
Love of Children and Music Award from the Orange County Philharmonic
Society.
Local theater is richer today for the artistic acumen of Robert
Cohen and the financial contributions of Julianne Argyros. Their
“year” was 2002, but their accomplishments span the decades.
* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His
reviews appear Thursdays and Saturdays.
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