Having accumulated a staggering $22.3 million of debt since its completion just seven years ago, Livermore's Bankhead Theater lost its last Executive Director, Ted Giatas, in December of 2013, after just two months on the job, and faced closure.
The City of Livermore and three organizations came together in June "to open a much needed path for the Bankhead Theater and to continue offering the Tri-Valley an exceptional venue for the performing arts in the heart of downtown Livermore."
Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center Chairman Phil Wente placed the blame on the State's elimination of redevelopment agencies in 2011, saying that "nearly 400 other cities in the state ... had long-standing plans jeopardized for a regional theater. Operating as a stand-alone venue, the significant bond debt remaining on the Bankhead Theater put it at high risk of default and closure."
More than half of the needed $4 million this year to continue operations has been raised, it is reported. And the Performing Arts Center is now looking forward to resolving the debt eventually, having the ownership of the theater transfer to the City of Livermore and the County of Alameda, subject to leaseback by LVPAC.
Events for the eighth LVPAC Presents season have been booked and include both popular returning artists, as well as new performers. Some four dozen groups and artists are scheduled to appear, representing a broad range of musical styles such as rock, country, classical, and world, plus cirque, comedy, and dance.
The new series offers seven packages that span entertainment genres from an acoustic guitar series, featuring Leo Kottke, Ottmar Liebert, and Andy McKee, to a World Stage series with Tango Buenos Aires, Russian National Ballet Theatre, Women of Ireland, and the return of Mariachi Sol de Mexico.