Arts Groups Lament Sale of Theatre to Church

[whatnext]

This was touched on in another thread, but it deserves its own, as its another signpost on Vancouver's slide to mediocrity. What does it say about this city when we've lost one theatre company and now a purpose built showplace theatre in just over a year? What does it say about tax policy when a $9 million property can be struck off the tax rolls for a church but taxed as a cultural venue?

And then there's the theatre itself, one of Vancouver's few starchitecture buildings:

When internationally acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie designed what is now called The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts, he was challenged to do a lot in a confined building space.

And he succeeded brilliantly, giving Vancouver one of the most remarkable stages in the country.

Surprisingly, that theatre will soon be lost to the city’s cultural scene – and hardly anyone seems to have noticed....

...Westside Church, an evangelical congregation that now gathers on Granville Island to celebrate the teachings of Jesus and listen to sermons about the sins of homosexuality, is in the process of buying the Centre from Denver-based Four Brothers Entertainment.

The Centre recently sent out bulletins to the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Goh Ballet, cancelling their bookings for later this year....

...Somehow, in part by scrimping on the loading bays and the wings, he squeezed 1,800 perfectly placed seats in to the building, cupping the audience around a stage framed by a dramatic proscenium arch.

It is part of the magic of the Centre that reclining in those plush, purple velvet seats, you have perfect sightlines no matter where you sit in the house. That, together with the building’s remarkable acoustics and the compressed lobby that just buzzes with excitement on opening nights, makes it a special experience.

“From an audience perspective, in the house, it’s the best theatre in the city,”...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/brit...re-faces-a-real-tragedy/article12023530/