Council Puts Hold on Theater Center Funds

The City Council has tentatively decided to withhold nearly $1 million that would enable the Los Angeles Theater Center to keep its doors open through January.

After much discussion, the council voted 7 to 5 on Tuesday to withhold the funding until it sees a report by a commission charged with reviewing the theater’s long-term financial future.

The money--$998,000--is necessary to keep the theater in downtown Los Angeles operating through its current fall/winter season.

But Bill Bushnell, LATC artistic director, said the theater has been using reserve funds to cover expenses until funding is approved.

The much-awaited report by a review panel named by Mayor Tom Bradley is expected to recommend some variation of a plan in which the city would acquire the LATC’s Spring Street building, with the existing production company becoming the leading member of a larger group of performers.