4 — Friday, March 27, 1992 —- North Shore News

ACTION good for West Van

Odeon

ALL THE world’s a stage. Except in West Vancouver.

Greater Tiddlycove, as J affec- tionately call it, appears to have lost its chance to get a live theatre-plus-plus-plus, not- withstanding the ambitious efforts of the ACTION group.

But, as theatregoers know, ap- pearances can be misleading. There’s still a slim chance that a theatre-plus will be included in a new building on the site of the long-closed West Van Odeon movie theatre, but the old Odeon — badly dilapidated and full of several feet of water —- is detinite- ly doomed, notwithstanding AC- TION’s efforts to save it.

The most recent development in this long-run financial drama — yes, the world of money also has its poses and waiting for the right psychological moment — was as

recent as Tuesday.

That was when West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager and Ald. Pat Boname and Novth Shore Arts Commission development officer Brenda Berck held a meeting with Ward McAllister and Bruce Ledingham.

There’s been much confusion over who precisely owns the site, but McAllister, an affable and apparently open man who is puzzled that the media haven't picked up the phone and talked to him, identifies the owners as a uumbered company owned by himself and Ledingham which plans to build afresh on the site in a joint venture with three Hong Kong men.

The details of Tuesday’s meeting aren’t being disclosed, especially with ACTION’s raw wound of failure to save the old

Odeon so recent — as McAllister said, —**We don’t want to pour gas on a fire.”’

But. heavily stressing the ten- tativeness of the matter, McAllister said that his group is “looking at the feasibility of maybe developing a limited facili- ty”’ in che new building.

He notably avoided the use of the word ‘‘theatre,”’ a hint that the facility might be more than a theatre but at least a couple of pluses less than ACTION’s dream complex.

Our young and muscular mayor generously praised ACTION’ ef- forts, but he too said that its pro- posal was seen as ‘“‘grandiose.”’

The scaled-down concept that McAllister and his group is con- sidering, and tentative is the word, would be a ‘‘facility”’ of about 5,000 square feet, ‘‘sub-service”’ — that translates as below ground level — and with an entrance at the rear, not on Marine Drive.

To my ear, that sounds as if it might double as some kind of public meeting space, of which West Vancouver is just as badly in need as it’s in need of a theatre. Maybe more so.

McAllister wouldn’t speculate on what kind of arrangement his group might have with the municipality.

A long-term lease, with the municipality renting space for theatre and other uses? I’d guess

so.

What happened to ACTION — Acknowledging Creative Talent In Our Neighborhood — is plain enough. It was long on energy but short on cash.

{t had strong and widespread support among cultural groups and spirited individuals, but it

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GARDEN OF BIASES

didn’t have the horses.

James Hazell, the young, energetic, and entirely appealing young man who spearheaded ACTION — mind you, I'd find anyone appealing who is so ob- viously loving towards animals, as Hazell is toward my old dog Sam — has plainly been bruised by the experience.

Hazell has a very forward-look- ing, multicultural, multi-ethnic vi- sion for West Vancouver, which might not sit well with ‘‘the most incredibly safe, most careful peo- ple | have ever met.”’

That’s his description of West Vancouver council, as reported in the North Shore News’ good story

on the collapse of ACTION’s bid by reporter Evelyn Jacob.

Hey, let me guess: council is probably flaming liberals com- pared with the wonderfully de- cent, quiet-living, and rich citi- zenry of Canada’s most affluent municipality.

In any event, it’s clear that Hazell stirred up a lot of interest but simply didn’t have the cheque.

McAllister said that when Hazell approached him last sum- mer about saving the Gdeon — the sale price at that time was $3,850,000 — he told Hazell: **Put up some money.”’

ACTION had some pledges, but I'd judge that Hazell was running far ahead of a council that would have to scrape hard even for a contribution toward a much more modest theatre-cum-whatever.

McAllister pointedly said that he’s now dealing with ‘‘the people who actually make decisions’* — the North Shore Arts Commission and, as exemplified by Tuesday's meeting, people with the weight of Mayor Sager and Ald. Boname.

The latter too was quoted as saying that she stopped hearing from Hazell when she asked: ““Who pays?"’

One thing seems certain, and two things seem uncertain.

The certain thing is that the West Van Odeon is doomed, its structure undermined by the famous creek that in the past ran through the site.

It’s uncertain whether any theatre will be built in West Van- couver, and if so whether it would be part of the complex te be built by McAlister and Ledingham — the latter, by the way, a scion of the weil-known construction company that’s been part of Van- couver for 82 years.

But if one is built, I'd say that credit should be given where credit is due — to those who alerted sleepy Greater Tiddlycove to the issue.

How about calling it ACTION Theatre? Or anyone for the James Hazell Memorial Theatre? Just kidding. I think. Ce

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