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NEWS
STORIES
 
Resurrection --
front row, centre
A Beijing production brings a new life
and a new name to the old Ford theatre
Forget the Ford. It's now The Centre, or
more formally The Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts, and its new
owners are eager to see the 1800-seat theatre at 777 Homer take its place as
the heart of Vancouver's languishing entertainment district.
The former Ford Centre, which looks to be
in fine fettle despite being shuttered since 1998, Dr.
Dennis Law led his wife, two of his brothers and a nephew in welcoming
Vancouver back to The Centre. And in an earlier interview he urged the city
not to believe reports that the Ford failed due to our indifference.
"As I looked at the numbers,"
Law says, "I think Vancouverites showed up reasonably well for what
those shows were. They just ran too long." Law is referring to
impresario Garth Drabinsky's policy of trucking in, often for months at a
time, only his own lavish Broadway spectacles such as Show Boat or Ragtime.
Drabinsky's Livent Inc. proved to be a financial house of cards and the Ford
Centre here was not the only theatre in Canada darkened in the wake of the
company's collapse. "Vancouverites need to feel great about the fact
that you are not to blame for what happened. The problems lay
elsewhere," Law says.
Law emphasizes that The Centre will try
to cater to everyone, with everything from three-week runs of big Broadway
shows and international simulcast concerts to such new creations as Of
Heaven and Earth. This big-budget Chinese spectacle created in Beijing
in collaboration with Oscar-winning art director Tim
Yip (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) will formally open The Centre in
May, and Law makes it clear he's out to attract more than just an Asian
audience for the show.
"We're banking on scale, we're
banking on the mystique of a thousand years of movement and dance
transformed to the present, and I'm banking on the fact that not only will
Asian-Canadians find an ethnic pride in this show, but non-Asians will say,
'Man, I never thought the Chinese movement form could look this energized,
this daring,'" he says.
He's had to move heaven and earth to
mount it here, but Law says it's easier to get Of
Heaven and Earth and its 90-plus performers up to speed here than it
would be to try and find a large North American touring show on such short
notice. Some promoters were reluctant to deal with the former Ford until a
new owner was firmly in place.
"These people have been called by
other potential buyers before and they got tired of wasting time on the
phone," Law says. He says the phone calls are coming in, and
hints that there's even the possibility of finally seeing something as big
as The Lion King in Vancouver.
For the bargain price of $7.75 million, Dennis
convinced his brothers Ronald, Christopher and Jeremy, all doctors in
Denver, to join him in taking on The Centre and a new challenge. In Denver
the Laws have tackled difficult real-estate projects involving delicate
mixtures of condominium and retail or office and warehouse, "and these
are far from the performing arts but the parallel is that we are willing to
do more than the usual to make it work."
The artistic side that saw the brothers
unite to produce Warriors of Virtue, a 1997 kung-fu film for kids, as well
as Of Heaven and Earth, is sure to emerge here.
"Even though we're doctors,"
says Law, "we do have a creative bent behind us. Given the opportunity
we will bring in other shows we've created ourselves."
But the emphasis for now is on finding
what's available out there to make the right fit for The Centre.
"This isn't a big civic theatre like
the Queen Elizabeth. Comparing apples to apples, I think this is a great
space. It's more architecturally friendly to me than a lot of the cramped,
renovated Victorian-type old spaces in which you take intermission out in
the alleyway. I especially love the auditorium, where there are great
sightlines even from the boxes."
As for the entertainment district that
should have taken hold from the Ford to the Vancouver Playhouse on Hamilton,
Law feels "it becomes that way only if more and more people come to see
the shows here or at the Queen Elizabeth or the Playhouse. You can't
singlehandedly make the entertainment district by building more theatres and
more seats -- if the shows we can bring in attract audiences, then you'll
see bars and restaurants flourish. You get there by evolution, not by a
management decree."
by Peter Birnie
Vancouver
Sun
8 Jan 2002
Curtains
rising on mothballed $24.5 million theatre
If ever there was an opera house that
deserved to have its own phantom it was, until last weekend, the Ford
Centre, which closed in 1998, just a few years after it opened.
For nearly three years, the stylish
performance venue located in the heart of Vancouver's entertainment district
has been gathering cobwebs. Yesterday, it was reopened and renamed The
Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts.
Members of a remarkable family based in
Denver, Colorado, will try to do what Garth Drabinsky failed at so
spectacularly when he commissioned architect Moshe Safdie to design a new
theatre to showcase Broadway hits.
The Ford Centre, which cost $24.5-million
to build, drew rave reviews during its short life for its acoustics, sight
lines and small, but glamorous interior. Unfortunately, Mr. Drabinsky,
co-founder of Livent Inc., wasn't able to keep the theatre alive when his
company collapsed, with Shakespearian plot twists, in 1998.
For three years, the theatre sat like a
big, empty box across from the Vancouver Public Library, just down the
street from both the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, which stages ballet and
symphonies, and General Motors Place, where the Canucks provide their own
brand of drama in the NHL.
Passing that silent building, anyone who
loved the arts had to shudder. It was a reminder of missed opportunities, of
things that could have been and, in a way, a perfect symbol for the malaise
that Vancouver, often called No Fun City, has suffered through.
Last October, four Chinese-American
brothers, who are physicians, businessmen and patrons of the arts, heard
about the mothballed theatre. They crunched the numbers, had agonizing
debates, and decided to do what nobody else had the nerve to try.
They will chase the ghosts out of the
theatre and attempt to revive Vancouver's performing arts scene.
Live theatre thrives on small stages in
the city, the contemporary music scene is hot, there are vibrant art
galleries and Ballet B.C. is on the ascendancy since moving into a new
facility late last year.
But since Mr. Drabinsky shut the Ford,
the biggest Canadian city west of Toronto has missed big shows.
Dennis Law, a surgeon with the University
of Colorado Health Science Center and a former All-American fencer, took
centre stage yesterday and promised what amounts to heart surgery for
Vancouver's arts scene.
"Vancouver really needs to be a
leader in the field of performing arts and not a follower," he said.
Facing rows of plush lined seats, that,
for the first time in years, had warm bodies in them, he described the
theatre as "one of the greatest Broadway-type venues in North
America," and said it is time it got back into production.
"The size of the theatre and its
sight lines are perfect," he said. "We truly believe that this is
the right time and the right place to bring this theatre back."
Ron Law, a cardiologist who described
himself as the pessimist of the family, said he was "buoyant with
enthusiasm" about the theatre and its cultural role in the city.
"This is more than a business. It's
an idea of civic pride," he said.
Chris Law, a plastic surgeon, walked into
the theatre for the first time on Saturday, after the family had already
made the purchase, for a mere $7.7-million.
The first thing he noticed was all the
dust. "But I was really surprised. It was in remarkably good shape for
something mothballed for more than two years," he said. "I thought
it would be horrible -- but it really has been kept up."
And when the lights came on in the
theatre, he liked what he saw.
"You need good bones to work
with," he said. "And this theatre has good bones."
The Centre In Vancouver For the
Performing Arts will open this spring with the North American premiere of a
show that was brought to the stage for the first time last year, in Beijing.
Of Heaven and Earth, said Dennis Law, is a mix of River Dance, Cirque de
Soleil and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Tim
Yip, an Oscar winner last year for his work on Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon, will be the artistic director.
- by Mark Hume National
Post
Troubled Ford Centre
finally sold
Hong Kong-based firm
pays $7.75 million for theatre, which will reopen
B.C. taxpayers will be left holding the
bag for $5.4 million, but Vancouver's Ford Centre for the Performing Arts
will reopen next spring under new ownership and with a new name, The
Vancouver Sun has learned.
More than three years after flamboyant
theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky's Livent Inc. went bankrupt, a purchaser
has finally been found for the 1,849-seat, state-of-the-art theatre, which
was built in 1995 at a cost of about $27 million.
Paying $7.75 million -- well under the
$12.9-million asking price -- the new owner will be Global Pacific
Properties Inc., a Hong Kong-based conglomerate. The family business is
controlled by four brothers, all medical doctors who emigrated to the U.S.,
settling in Denver, Colo.
The provincial government won't see a
cent of the $5.4 million it holds on a second mortgage, since that amount is
behind a first mortgage worth approximately $10 million, as well as real
estate commission to Colliers International of between $150,000 and
$200,000.
The debt owed to the province also would
have stood behind more than $300,000 worth of property taxes had the money
not been paid by the first mortgagee.
The Ford theatre's current assessed value
is $11.438 million, a huge drop from $18.47 million in 1998, when it shut
down.
The $7.75-million sale, to be approved
today in B.C. Supreme Court, is to close Dec. 28. The four Law brothers --
philanthropists as well as patrons of the arts -- say they intend to
revitalize the theatre at 777 Homer in the spring.
"We're excited to be part of the
spirit of Vancouver," said Dennis Law, one of the new principals.
"Our plans are to offer a wide range of stage and music performances
for all audiences, everything from favourites like Kiss Me Kate and Cats, to
contemporary shows never staged before."
Dennis Law, a vascular and thoracic
surgeon, and his three siblings, Ronald, a cardiologist; Christopher, a
plastic surgeon; and Jeremy, an orthopedic surgeon, also own a company
called Four Brothers Entertainment, with interests and businesses ranging
from medicine, to consumer products and commercial real estate.
In Asia, Global Pacific is mainly
involved in property investment and manufacturing. Its interests in the U.S.
include about one-million square feet of commercial property, mostly in
Denver.
The brothers produced Warriors of Virtue,
an MGM-distributed action-fantasy film that was reportedly the
highest-budget American motion picture ever produced in China.
"Vancouver is a remarkable Pacific
Rim city embracing a diverse culture," Dennis Law said Wednesday.
"Through the [Ford theatre], Vancouverites and visitors alike will
enjoy an eclectic and zesty menu of theatre, dance and music from all over
the world."
Opened in November 1995, the Ford Theatre
operated for three years, largely presenting Livent's Broadway-scale shows,
before Drabinsky's empire crumbled and Livent went bankrupt.
Shows at the Ford stumbled almost from
the start. A 1997 production of Phantom of the Opera played to half-full
houses, a 38-week run of Show Boat ended a month early, and only a heavy
reduction of ticket prices kept Sunset Boulevard and Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolour Dreamcoat afloat.
In 1994, when then-premier Glen Clark and
Drabinsky first ballyhooed the Ford Centre project, they boasted the venture
would generate $165 million in economic activity for B.C. and thousands of
fulltime jobs.
When Mortgage Fund One, a Vancouver-based
lender, took foreclosure action in 1999, it alleged in court documents that
Drabinsky had been warned by an entertainment consulting firm the Ford would
not be financially viable.
Mortgage Fund One, administered by
Montreal Trust Co., held a $5-million first mortgage on the property. With
compounded interest, its total claim is expected to be in the $10-million
range.
The government originally won the right
to sell the Ford Centre, but after it failed to do so, conduct of the sale
was awarded to the first mortgagee.
Over the past three years, prospective
purchasers viewing the property included religious groups, televangelists,
recording companies and ethnic television stations. -
Vancouver
Sun December 21 2001
Denver
Laws reboot Ford Centre
Although they've only owned the Ford
Centre for a couple of weeks, four brothers from Denver, Colo. expressed
confidence in the city's future as an entertainment hub in announcing their
vision for the theatre Monday.
The brothers-Dennis, Ronald, Christopher
and Jeremy Law, successful Denver physicians known for their philanthropy
and support for the arts-say their plans for the former Ford Centre will put
Vancouver on the cultural map.
"Some say, not us, that Vancouver is
too far west to be an entertainment town, but in time Vancouver will
succeed," said Dennis, a vascular and thoracic surgeon. "The
future depends on the aspirations of Vancouverites who want to see shows
here and in other venues."
The darkened theatre, vacant for almost
three years following the 1998 bankruptcy of Livent Inc., first came to the
Laws' attention in October. The brothers often visited Vancouver after
falling in love with its geography and culinary scene and will likely come
more often-and not only because of the theatre. Mike Law, Ronald's son,
recently moved here after being drafted to play for the Vancouver Ravens
lacrosse team. He's also the vice-president of marketing and sales for the
Laws' company, Four Brothers Entertainment Co.
After intense scrutiny of the building
and the city's cultural make-up, the brothers purchased the Moshe Safdie-designed
building for $7.75 million (Cdn), a third of the original $24.5 million
price tag when it was completed in 1995. Four Brothers Entertainment Co.
officially took ownership of the 1,850-seat theatre Dec. 28. They renamed it
The Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts.
Dennis Law said acquisition of the Homer
Street theatre is "beyond real estate." "It's about faith in
the city," he said. "Vancouver's evolving greatness depends on the
vibrancy in artistic, cultural and entertainment venues. Arts and culture
are elements that define humanity. Vancouver needs to be a leader in
performing arts-not a follower."
He later added that it was the right time
in the right place to revive the theatre.
For their first show, which is scheduled
for May, the Laws will present the North American premiere of Of Heaven and
Earth, a large scale production described as "an East-West fusion dance
show" based on 1,000 years of Chinese dance and movement forms
transformed for the modern stage. The "dancecrobatic spectacular"
debuted in China last year and played to sold-out houses at Beijing's Poly
Theatre. The show is directed by Tim Yip, well-known for his artistic
direction in movies, TV, opera and theatre. Yip won a 2001 Oscar for best
art direction for the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
"We wanted to [present] modern,
unique, new and high-tech shows that have the potential to put Vancouver and
this centre on the map," said Dennis. "It's to test and take
advantage of Vancouver's eclectic make-up of the city. [Of Heaven and Earth]
is worthy because it fulfills our criteria and more."
The Laws, who were raised in a tight-knit
Hong Kong family and left to study medicine in the U.S., maintain close ties
with Beijing and Hong Kong. They pointed out, however, that the shows at The
Centre will not be exclusively Asian-focused.
"We're not trying to gear this
theatre to appeal only to Asian audiences," Dennis said. "We need
to have much more than that. We're looking at Broadway shows, concerts,
plays. We want to make this a theatre venue of the 21st century."
Older brother Christopher, a plastic
surgeon, added, "We're a flexible company and the needs of the market
will dictate what kinds of shows we'll have.
We hope to have something different than
what is at other locations."
The Laws insisted they are not interested
in taking business away from other theatres, notably the Vancouver Playhouse
and Queen Elizabeth Theatre, two of three civic theatres a block away from
The Centre. "I think we are complimentary rather than
competitive," Chris said. "We don't have to rob each other of
audiences."
Glynnis Leyshon, artistic director for
the Vancouver Playhouse, welcomes the re-opening of the former Ford Theatre,
saying it will have a positive impact on the local theatre scene.
"Vancouver is a very big city with
very few cultural amenities," she said. "Vancouver has never had
that range of physical spaces that make a cultural scene vibrant and the
reopening of the Ford will help that. I wouldn't be thrilled if another
700-seat proscenium theatre [like the Playhouse] opened. That would be
redundant."
Leyshon said she was impressed with the
Laws' desire to listen and absorb ideas from the community, which Garth
Drabinsky failed to do.
"The previous programming was not
the best route to go," she said. "We don't need to replicate and
duplicate what Livent did in other cities. If they integrate the theatre
into the cultural context of the city, they'll be successful."
Coun. George Puil, who sits on the civic
theatre board, said the reopening of the former Ford Theatre will be good
for the city, even if the city lost the chance to buy it.
"Do I think it will be good or bad
for the city? What do you think?" he said. "I would prefer that it
was owned by the city. We're in the business of operating theatres. If we
could have bought it for $1, we could have taken it over. When the Q.E. was
dark, we could have sent the employees over to operate the Ford
Centre."
Puil also wasn't bothered by the fact
that a piece of Vancouver is now in American hands.
"A lot of Americans own
property up here just like a lot of Canadians own a lot of property in the
U.S.," he said. "The top developers in town, like the Bentall
Corporation, don't develop here but in the States. If we're going to be
involved in free trade then it's a two-way street." -
By Fiona Hughes
Vancouver
Courier
PROPERTY
DETAILS:
ADDRESS: 777-799
Homer Street
LOCATION: Between
Georgia and Robson Street opposite in Downtown
Vancouver Strategically located on the Downtown Peninsula
closeby:
- Gastown to the North - Cordova
and Water Street
- Yaletown to South - Smithe to
Pacific Boulevard
- Theatre Row - Cinemas and Vogue
Theatre between Georgia and Nelson
- Scotia Dance Centre at Granville
and Davie
- BC Place and GM Place to the
East
- Robson Street (city's highest
pedestrian traffic) half block to the south of subject property
- Vancouver
Public Library
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