`Show Boat' Opens New B.C. Theater

Northwest musical theater fans will soon have another place to see glitzy, Broadway-style shows when the spacious new Ford Centre for the Performing Arts opens its doors with a hit revival of "Show Boat."

The $24.5 million, 1,800-seat facility, in the heart of Vancouver, B.C., near the city's new library complex, was designed by famed Israeli-Canadian architect Moishe Safdie. And it was bankrolled by Toronto-based impresario Garth Drabinsky, whose Livent Inc. also produced the Tony-winning edition of "Show Boat" that baptizes the theater.

At a recent Seattle news conference hosted by the Canadian Consulate, Drabinsky made it clear that with this and several other new ventures, he is mounting a full-scale campaign to lure U.S. as well as Canadian audiences.

After "Show Boat" finishes itsopen-ended run at the Ford Centre (it already has advance ticket sales worth $12 million), Drabinsky will bring in the first Northwest engagement of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tony-winning musical "Sunset Boulevard" as a follow-up.

His plans should spark some competition for Seattle's refurbished Paramount Theatre, which probably won't get the U.S. tour of "Sunset Boulevard" until years later, in 1998 or 1999, and for the 5th Avenue Theatre, which also occasionally presents national tours of musicals.

With the bravado of a seasoned showman, Drabinsky doesn't hesitate to tout his wares over what his rivals are offering.

"At our theater you will get the full-blown version of Broadway musicals, not something cut down for touring," said the man who also co-founded the Cineplex Odeon movie chain.

Drabinsky noted that Livent Inc. will always present its own productions of splashy shows in Vancouver first, before booking them into other Northwest cities. Given the number of revivals and new attractions his company is hatching, the number could add up.

It was the Drabinsky-backed tour of "Phantom of the Opera" that spent 22 weeks in Vancouver several years ago. Now the producer has secured the rights for a fresh adaptation of "Pal Joey," with permission to include tunes from other Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musicals in the score. Playwright Terrence McNally, who may rewrite the "Pal Joey" book, already is at work for Drabinsky on a musical of the E.L. Doctorow novel "Ragtime." Also in progress: a show based on the noir film "The Sweet Smell of a Success," with music by veteran Broadway composer Cy Coleman.

Already the proprietor of Toronto's 3,000-seat North York Theatre, where his "Show Boat" revival and the hit Broadway musical "Kiss of the Spider Woman" originated, Drabinsky is acquiring some south-of-the-border real estate, too. Livent Inc. will soon refurbish an old Chicago movie palace, the 2,100-seat Oriental Theatre, into a live venue, and renovate two dilapidated Broadway theaters, The Lyric and The Apollo, into one 1,800-seat arena.

"The musical theater market is dramatic and growing," Drabinsky says, noting that Livent Inc. is "the only public company devoted exclusively to live entertainment," and that it garnered $250 million (Canadian) in revenues last year.

The Vancouver production of "Show Boat," which stars Cloris Leachman and George Grizzard, premieres at the Ford Centre on Dec. 3. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., the Ford will stage an inaugural ceremony and a "test out its acoustics" concert by Canadian actor-singer Brent Carver, who won a recent Tony for his performance in "Kiss of the Spider Woman." For concert and "Show Boat" tickets, call 292-ARTS.