Los Angeles herald., 1905-03-09
BELASCO & MAYER
BUY NEW THEATER
PURCHASE P0RTLAND'S BIG
PLAYHOUSE
Frederic Belasco Now in Los An
eees, Where He Will Produce
"ParsifaI" on a Scale of
Magnificence

Frederic Belasco, of the firm of b.
lasco, Mayer & Co., proprietors of the
Belasco theater of this city, arrived
In Los Angeles yesterday morning.
Awaiting him at his hotel was tele-
gram from M. e. Mayer, his business
associate, conveying the news that he
had just completed the purchase of
the Columbia theater, in Portland,
adding another link to the chain of
theaters under the FIRMS control.
The Columbia theater is Portland s
newest and handsomest playhouse. It
is located at the corner of Washington
and Fourteenth streets, and is one of
the best equipped theaters in the west.
1t was opened last July, with Mrs.
Leslie Carter as the attraction, and
since then has been occupied by high
class stock company. The house seats
over 1400 persons and is provided with
every device known to the modern
theater of first-class construction.
Chain of Theaters
Belasco Mayer & Co. lease the AL
cazar and Central theaters in San Fran :
cisco and the Belasco of this city.
With their new Portland purchase
they have very materially strengthened
their position as the foremost amuse-
ment directors of the Pacific coast.
They have other important theatrical
enterprises in view that include high
class stock companies in Seattle, Salt
Lake City, Denver, Kansas City.
Omaha and Chicago With such an
elaborate chain of playhouses under
their control they propose to give pro-
ductions of the high character that
have been made familiar to the people
of Los Angeles at the Belasco.
Mr. Beasco said last night: "Our
purchase of the Columbia theater In
Portland will not affect our company
in Los Angeles in any way. Our Los
Angeles company will remain here in
tact. Naturally. some of the players
imagined that with our Portland ac-
QUESTION they might be transferred TO
the Oregonian metropolis, but we are
so well pleased with their success here
that we will keep the organization in
tact.
To Stage "Parsifap
"As soon as | am through with my
work of staging 'Parslfal. which is my
special mission to Los Angeles, shall
go to Portland. We will produce Par
sifal' March 2Oth. and, l think, Will
give the theater patrons of the city a
big surprise. Our production will in
clude all the important features of the
original Wagneran performance, with
most of the music. 1t will be con-
densed version-if l may use such
term in this connection. Our 'Parsifal,
of course, will be in English, while
the Conreid company will give the
German Interpretation. Ours will be a
splendid school for music lovers who
want to acquaint themselves with the
great Wagnerian mystic festival. Our
production will eclipse, in point of mag
nfcence and magnitude, anything that
has ever been attempted by stock
company anywhere. We will have
thlrty-two musicians in the orchestra;
our flower girls win number eighteen,
and there will be upwards of one
hundred persons on the stage in the
ensembles. Mr.. Charles Henley of San
Francisco. who had charge of the
music in the performances of "Old
Heidelberg here, has been working
with the singers for the past two weeks
and a half. with surprisingly good sue
cess. Master Harold Forman, who is
singing this week in "The Climbers"
win sing the soprano solos in 'Parsi-
fall"