A production of Over the River and Through the Woods in February proved to be a successful draw for downtown Torrance. (Brad LaVerne )
Theatrical productions will return to Old Torrance on a regular basis this fall for the first time since the early 1990s.
The city-sponsored Torrance Theatre Company will produce a five-show season at an intimate, municipally owned Cabrillo Avenue venue.
The Torrance City Council approved a yearlong lease at its Tuesday meeting.
The 55-seat venue, at 1316 Cabrillo Ave., is seen as another element of a long-term economic development strategy to remake the historic downtown as a pedestrian-oriented retail and restaurant area.
"We really believe in the theater arts, but in addition to that, we really believe it's going to help downtown on the weekends," said Mayor Frank Scotto, who championed the idea. "It's truly a great way to give a stimulus to the downtown area."
A pilot program in February - a 12-performance run of the family-oriented show "Over the River and Through the Woods" - proved that would be the case, said Cary Jordahl. He's president of the Friends of the Torrance Theatre Company, the volunteer fundraising arm of the municipal program.
The company has produced a series of about four shows a year, in addition to Torrance's traditional summer musical, at Civic Center Plaza venues since 2004.
"We did the show in the downtown space to see if our reputation would travel, so to speak," Jordahl said.
According to an informal survey the group conducted at each performance, "almost every person (in attendance) had dinner downtown before they came to the show," he said.
"That entire run, not only did it sell out, but it oversold during the course of the run."
Live theater hasn't been seen on a consistent basis in Old Torrance since the demise of the Torrance Theater Company in the early 1990s, said Linda Cessna, the city's deputy community development director and a member of that troupe.
The group, which also counted the likes of a pre-"Reservoir Dogs" Quentin Tarantino among its members, produced shows at a former movie theater on Cravens Avenue.
The group quit once it lost its performing space; the theater was torn down to make way for condominiums.
Old Torrance has seen a subtle change in recent months with the addition of new businesses and attractions that cater to a hipper demographic the area has not traditionally seen.
A farmers market began operating this spring, offering organic food, cheese and other goods, for instance.
Old Town Coffee and Tea, which boasts a bohemian vibe, and gastropub 1321 Downtown Taproom Bistro are other recent arrivals.
The latest addition is wine shop Amore Vino, which opened July 29 on Marcelina Avenue.
It sells 125 different wines and a selection of craft beers, offers a monthly wine club and has cultivated a relationship with several downtown restaurants that won't charge diners a corkage fee when they buy a bottle of wine at the store.
"We weren't too concerned that Old Torrance wasn't ready (for us), especially when we saw 1321 (Downtown Taproom Bistro) open up," said co-owner Rudy Gallegos, who also lives in Old Torrance. "It's refreshing to know there are quite a few people who enjoy a good bottle of wine, and they are coming here."
It's that kind of clientele the Torrance Theatre Company hopes to attract.
A variety of downtown restaurants offered discounts or free appetizers to show patrons during the pilot run earlier this year.
Gia Inferrera, the company's producing artistic director, said she met a couple walking their dog who chanced upon a show last winter.
They told her the opportunity to see cultural amenities like live theater was exactly why they decided to move to Old Torrance seven years ago.
"Downtown is amazing," Inferrera said. "It's quaint. It's safe. It could be like a Belmont Shore - a walking neighborhood. ... I'm hoping that's what this will blossom into."
Lighter fare - "we feel our patrons don't need any more drama right now," Jordahl said - rather than avant garde works will be emphasized.
The initial production - the entire lineup will be revealed Saturday at the opening night of the summer musical "Chicago" at the James Armstrong Theatre - will be the Jeff Daniels-penned farce "Escanaba in da Moonlight."
"You have to know your audience and your audience is not so much cutting edge," Jordahl said. "We have to balance between something that's culturally worth doing and selling tickets."
The theater company has secured only a short-term lease because, theoretically, the Redevelopment Agency-owned property could be redeveloped at any time.
But it is cheaper to produce shows at the small venue than, say, at the Civic Center's George Nakano Theatre, Jordahl said.
Municipal budget cuts have gradually trimmed the group's budget - a major reason the year-old Friends of the Torrance Theatre Company was formed - that now stands at $60,000 annually.
The Friends group recently made its first donation of about $15,000 to the company it was founded to support, Jordahl said.
"It's an inexpensive way for us to produce theater," Jordahl said of the Old Torrance venue. "And we're encouraging people to come to downtown Torrance."
Which is what the city has long wanted to see.
"It brought people downtown that were never down there before," Scotto said. "It's exactly the plan we've had ... to try to get this new vibe in the downtown area."