Broadway West to go dark after 22 seasons

Broadway West Theater occupies the top floor of the historic Clark Building in Irvington at the corner of Fremont and Washington Boulevards. For 22 seasons, the venue provided some of the best live theater in the East Bay. After the June 9 closing performance of Broadway West Theatre Company will close its curtain for good.

Owners Paula Chenoweth and Mary Galde have been partners in the theater company since the beginning. The first season opened in January 1997 with ‘A Few Good Men.’ Paula had majored in theater at SF State and was running the non-profit North Valley Players out of Milpitas when she met Mary. After Mary’s son graduated high school, “I just missed the theater people,” she says. At age 40 she landed a role in a North Valley Players production. The two became friends, but Paula left to run a theater company without a board of directors calling the financial shots. After Paula found the Clark Building, Mary soon followed and the two became business partners

The pair have formed a strong bond navigating the complexities of entertaining. “There isn’t a day gone by,” says Paula, “that Mary and I haven’t discussed the theater.”

That closeness is apparent each time they finish each others’ sentences, or simultaneously express the same thought. Paula acts, directs and manages the finances; Mary also directs, paints signs, builds sets, designs the programs, writes press releases, and handles the marketing and social media.

“It’s very time consuming, says Paula. “We started this theater when we were 50 and now its 21-and-a-half years later; and that’s on top of us both having full time jobs—it’s a lot of time and no break.” “You don’t get a weekend,” echoes Mary.

“Our original plan,” says Paula, “was to have a permanent company of theater people who would act, direct, run the lights, and do everything; but, you have more people who want act more than anything else. We can audition actors. Finding the people to set up the lights and run the booth has been the challenge.” “We’ve had a lot of high school kids through here,” says Mary, but they do it for a couple of years then they move on.”

Running the business has been surprisingly drama-free. “The only hiccup we had,” recalls Paula, “was when we were doing ‘Born Yesterday,’ and right in the middle of rehearsal the City decided to retrofit the building; it was three weeks before the opening and the place was a catastrophe. You’d think a bomb went off. I remember walking in and the director was sitting in the middle of the floor, muttering ‘it’s ok, it’s ok, it’s ok.’”

Broadway West is unique, with a great reputation—why close it?

“Money,” says Paula. “Our only problem has been money and making sure we can pay the bills.” But two years ago, “we started to get behind,” says Mary.

“That’s why we are closing—at least the main reason,” Paula says. “Mary and I have had to subsidize the theater the last two years.When the rent was a thousand dollars lower it was tight but it was doable; at least we broke even.”

Royalties cost money, and of course everyone who gets hired has to be paid. There’s the director, the lighting designer, sound designer, set director, technicians, and pretty soon, “It’s about six to eight thousand dollars cost for each show,” says Paula

And what of the actors? “We give the actors, you know—it’s not much,” says Mary,"a little gas money.”

“The second reason,” says Paula, “is that we are tired. The wonderful part is when we’re here and the show is up and going, and the audience is enjoying it—that’s the great part, it’s the heartwarming part; but the bad part is when we’re getting ready and we can’t pay the bills and I’m getting phone calls from this person and that person; that’s too much stress.”

“In the early days,” recalls Mary, “I just loved working on sets. A couple of times there were birds chirping outside and I’d been here all night! Now by the time its six o’clock I’m tired.” “You just don’t have the same energy,” adds Paula.

The theater’s closing brought emotional outpouring. Most of the season ticket holders have been with Broadway West since the beginning, and when Mary recently greeted them with the news, some of them “started crying and hugging me, and just breaking down,” says Mary.

Would you do it again? “Oh yeah,” says Mary, “if I was fifty again, you better believe it.” “And won the lottery,” laughs Paula.

The current production of the prize-winning ‘All in the Timing,’ by David Ives runs through June 9.

All in the Timing

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays

8 p.m.

Sunday, Jun 3

3 p.m.

Broadway West

4000 Bay St, Fremont

For more information: http://www.broadwaywest.org/ or (510) 683-9218

$20 – $27