Barclay Theatre

Last updated
Irvine Barclay Theatre
The Barclay
Barclay Theatre.jpg
Barclay Theatre in 2023
Barclay Theatre
Address4242 Campus Drive
Irvine, California
United States
Coordinates 33°38′57″N117°50′27″W / 33.649200105513565°N 117.84077998189964°W / 33.649200105513565; -117.84077998189964
OwnerCity of Irvine and UC Irvine
Capacity 755
OpenedSeptember 30, 1990;33 years ago (1990-09-30)
Website
www.thebarclay.org

The Irvine Barclay Theatre, often referred to as The Barclay, is a 755-seat performing arts venue in Irvine, California, located on the campus of the University of California, Irvine. Jointly owned by the city and university, it opened in 1990 and has hosted various musicians, bands, plays, and guest speakers. San Francisco-based architecture firm Wurster, Bernardi and Emmons designed the theater.

Contents

History

Advocacy for a community theater in Irvine first arose in the 1970s; the city itself was incorporated in 1971. In 1986, a group of private investors as well as officials from the city and the University of California, Irvine formed a nonprofit called the Irvine Barclay Theatre Operating Company. Richard Barclay, a real estate developer, became the namesake after donating $1 million to the project. The total cost of the theater's creation and construction was $17.4 million with $11.3 million of funding provided by the city, $4.3 million from private donors, and $1.8 million from UC Irvine. The university also provided 2.3 acres (0.93 ha) of its land for the site of the facility. [1] [2] Media members previewed the venue ahead of its opening ceremony on September 30, 1990. The Los Angeles Times gave the theater a positive review, praising its design. [3]

On March 23, 2004, former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the inaugural UCI Citizen Peacebuilding Award in a ceremony at the Barclay Theatre, where he thereafter gave a speech on environmental sustainability. During the speech, Gorbachev criticized the U.S. invasion of Iraq and at one point received a standing ovation from the crowd. [4] Upon its first awarding, the university named the accolade after Gorbachev. [5]

In 2012, Elvis Costello performed a concert at the Barclay. [6]

In 2015, the Barclay Theatre hired former Segerstrom Center for the Arts president and CEO Jerry Mandel to be its president. [7]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the theater closed indefinitely. During its closure, the theater organization spent over $2 million to install new seats, carpet, lighting, and air conditioning in the venue. [7] In summer 2021, the organization announced plans to reopen with a mask and vaccine requirement for patrons. [8] The theater reopened on June 24, 2021, with a performance by soprano Renée Fleming restricted to two-thirds capacity. [9]

Architecture

Larry Cannon of San Francisco-based firm Wurster, Bernardi and Emmons designed the 755-seat Barclay Theatre. Its architectural style has been described as "Bay Area modernism" and Cannon expressed an emphasis on function over aesthetics. The theater house consists of sandblasted cast-in-place concrete. Upon the Barclay's opening in September 1990, the Los Angeles Times described the "jewel box" theater's interior as a "stripped-down rococo elegance" with a "feminine intimacy" that stands in contrast to the building's "cool, masculine" exterior. An architectural review published in November by the Times criticized some of its aspects, such as its courtyard and its "jarring" appearance during daytime compared to its "seductive" appearance in the evening. [10]

The theater has been credited for its intimacy and lack of nosebleed seats – no seat in the auditorium is more than 60 feet away from the stage's proscenium arch. [3] [10] Of the 755 seats, 585 are ground-level orchestra seats while 170 are balcony seats. Its proscenium is 24 feet (7.3 m) tall and 40.5 feet (12.3 m) wide with a dark crimson velour front curtain. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grauman's Egyptian Theatre</span> Movie theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Grauman's Egyptian Theatre is a historic movie theater located on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Opened in 1922, it is an early example of a lavish movie palace and is noted as having been the site of the first-ever Hollywood film premiere. From 1998 until 2020, it was owned and operated by the American Cinematheque, a member-based cultural organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange County Great Park</span> Public park in Irvine, California

The Great Park is a public park located in Irvine, California, with a focus on sports, agriculture, and the arts. It is a non-aviation reuse of the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro. The Orange County park comprises 28.8% of the total area that once made up the air base. The project was approved by the voters of Orange County in 2002 at $1.1 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fashion Island</span> Shopping mall in California, U.S.

Fashion Island is an outdoor regional shopping mall in Newport Beach, California. Opened in 1967 by The Irvine Company as the anchor to their master-planned Newport Center district, Fashion Island is anchored by Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom.

Donald Leroy Bren is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and owner of the Irvine Company, a U.S. real estate development corporation. With a net worth of $18 billion, he ranks number 104 on the 2024 Forbes Billionaires List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grauman's Chinese Theatre</span> Movie theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles

The TCL Chinese Theatre, commonly referred to as Grauman's Chinese Theatre, is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvine Spectrum Center</span> Shopping mall in California, U.S.

The Irvine Spectrum Center is a open-air lifestyle center developed by the Irvine Company, located in the Irvine Spectrum district on the southeast edge of Irvine, California. The center features Nordstrom and Target department stores, a ferris wheel, and a Regal Cinemas 21-screen movie theater. Built over a 10-year period, the first phase of the center opened in 1995 and the second phase followed in 1998. The third phase was completed in 2002. The fourth and fifth phases were built and completed between 2005 and 2006. The center was used for establishing shots of the fictional "Mall of Miami" in the Disney Channel television series Austin and Ally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Capitan Theatre</span> Cinema in Hollywood

El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple is owned by The Walt Disney Company and serves as the venue for a majority of the Walt Disney Studios' film premieres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saban Theatre</span> Historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California

The Saban Theatre is a historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California, formerly known as the Fox Wilshire Theater. It is an Art Deco structure at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hamilton Drive designed by architect S. Charles Lee and is considered a classic Los Angeles landmark. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of California, Irvine Medical Center</span> Hospital in California, United States

The University of California, Irvine Medical Center is a major research hospital located in Orange, California. It is the teaching hospital for the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Wurster</span> American architect and educator (1895–1973)

William Wilson Wurster was an American architect and architectural teacher at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, best known for his residential designs in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Theatre (Fullerton, California)</span>

Fox Theatre is a historic movie theater located on Harbor Boulevard in Fullerton, California. Built in 1925 as part of the chain of Fox Theatres, the theater was closed and abandoned in 1987. The Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation is currently in the process of fundraising and restoring the theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts</span> Entertainment venue in California, U.S.

The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts is a 154,000-square-foot (14,300 m2) entertainment and music venue located in the Cerritos Towne Center of Cerritos, California. It is owned and operated by the City of Cerritos and it opened its doors to the public on January 9, 1993, and hosts opera, cabaret, jazz, dance, magic, drama, musicals and comedy performances as well as private functions. Its season runs from August of one year to May of the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC Theatre</span>

The UC Theatre is a music venue on University Avenue near Shattuck Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States. From 1976 until 2001, it was a movie theater known for a revival house presentation of films. In 2013, The Berkeley Music Group was formed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to renovate and operate the UC Theater as live music venue. It reopened its doors on April 7, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre</span> Former amphitheatre in Irvine, California

Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre was an amphitheater operating from 1981 to 2016 in Irvine, California.

The Nederlander Organization, founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander in Detroit, and currently based in New York City, is one of the largest operators of live theaters and music venues in the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on the Detroit Opera House in 1912. The building was demolished in 1928. It later operated the Shubert Lafayette Theatre until its demolition in 1964 and the Riviera Theatre, both in Detroit. Since then, the organization has grown to include nine Broadway theaters, making it the second-largest owner of Broadway theaters after the Shubert Organization, and a number of theaters across the United States, including five large theaters in Chicago, plus three West End theatres in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crawford Hall (Irvine)</span> Athletic building at UCI

Crawford Hall is the basketball and volleyball practice facility for UC Irvine Athletics. Crawford Court located in Crawford Hall is a 1,400-seat arena that houses the UC Irvine intercollegiate athletics offices, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's volleyball and women's volleyball teams practice facilities.

The campus of the University of California, Irvine is known for its concentric layout with academic and service buildings arrayed around a central park, and for its Brutalist architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Gate Theater</span> United States historic place

Golden Gate Theater is a California Churrigueresque-style movie palace built in 1927 on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, California. In 1982, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The theater closed in 1986; the retail building built around it was damaged in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake and demolished in 1992. The remaining theater building was left vacant for more than 20 years as preservationists fought with owners and developers over the future of the building. It was finally converted into a drugstore and reopened in 2012.

The New Swan Theater is an outdoor, portable theater that is assembled and disassembled each summer as part of New Swan Shakespeare Festival, the annual Shakespeare festival at the University of California, Irvine. It is a reduced-size replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peacock Theater</span> Music and theater venue in downtown Los Angeles, California

The Peacock Theater, formerly Nokia Theatre and Microsoft Theater, is a music and theater venue in downtown Los Angeles, California at L.A. Live. The theater auditorium seats 7,100 and holds one of the largest indoor stages in the United States.

References

  1. ↑ "Mission & History - About Us". Irvine Barclay Theatre. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Top Developer Richard Barclay Dies at Age 72". Los Angeles Times . July 4, 1992. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Herman, Jan (September 27, 1990). "Irvine Barclay Theatre Debuts on schedule, on Budget and on Solid Ground". Los Angeles Times. pp. 3, 10, and 11. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Former leader of Soviet Union visits UC Irvine". Los Angeles Times. March 28, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Gorbachev to visit UC Irvine on March 23". Los Angeles Times. March 12, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  6. ↑ Wener, Ben (October 3, 2012). "Live review: Elvis Costello's solo acoustic show breathtaking at the Barclay". Orange County Register. Southern California News Group. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Smith, Christopher (December 17, 2021). "COVID-19 gave Jerry Mandel the opportunity to remake the Irvine Barclay Theatre". Orange County Register . Southern California News Group. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  8. ↑ KCAL staff (August 23, 2021). "Orange County's Biggest Live Performing Arts Venues To Require Vaccination, Masks For All Ticket Holders". CBS News. Paramount Global. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  9. ↑ Miller, Jeffrey (August 23, 2021). "Soprano Renée Fleming will perform indoors, in-person concert in Irvine on June 24". Orange County Register. Southern California News Group. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Bissell, Terry (November 1, 1990). "Architecture Review: Restrained Elegance - At Sundown, UCI's Functional Concrete Barclay Theatre Turns Seductive". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Technical Specifications". Irvine Barclay Theatre. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.