Bay Theatre to Star in New Role

An old star just landed a new role.

Seal Beach’s iconic Bay Theatre takes center stage on a new website for a local organization hoping to save the 65-year-old landmark.

The Bay Theater Foundation — note the different spelling of the word “theater” — unveiled its new virtual digs recently, according to group founder Nick Carabetta.

Carabetta, a restaurant manager at the Crema Café, said it feels great to have a site for the foundation, which aims to buy and restore the landmark Main Street theater.

"I feel the ball has started to roll now,” said Carabetta, a Long Beach resident. "We’re starting to get some serious interest…I’m getting a lot of emails and a lot of support.”

In addition to the new site, Carabetta said the foundation now has the whole social media package: including a Twitter account, Facebook page, and a spot on a crowdfunding site where people can donate directly to the foundation.

The Bay Theatre opened in 1947. Even before the theatre closed ‘temporarily’ in August, its fate was the subject of concern among locals. 

When owner Rena L. Singer listed it for sale in 2008 for $3.3 million, scattered groups of history buffs and city officials sought a way to protect the business from being bought and torn down. The Planning Commission sent letters to the theater’s owner and held a brainstorming session on how to save it.

But with the foundation, Carabetta is hoping the community will rally around the nonprofit effort.

As of March 6 at 2:40 p.m., the Bay's phone message still states it is closed “temporarily." It's the same message that was on the machine in August. There have been no recent updates on its website or its Facebook page.

Carabetta, a Long Beach resident who’s seeking his MBA at Pepperdine University, said he’s still hoping to raise enough money to pay the $850 fee required by the IRS to become a nonprofit.  

According to Carabetta, the site, which Carabetta's friend Aaron Ricchio designed, went live March 1, and the Facebook page went live in February.  They've already got 123 likes, as of press time.

According to the website, the foundation plans to take a number of steps toward accomplishing its goal including setting up a board of directors by summer and starting a marketing strategy by the end of the year.  

“The end goal is to create a sustainable and viable business that will support the community of Seal Beach through business partnerships and personal partnerships," he said.

Carabetta has already filed the paperwork to make the foundation a nonprofit and is hoping to get donations and support. In particular, he'd love the help of an accountant who'd be willing to work pro bono.

Carabetta has been trying to reach out to the theater's owner, sending her an email a few days ago.

Here’s one of the messages on the Foundation’s site:

“We’re trying to get in contact with the owner of the theater. We want to show her that this is a win-win project for everyone involved. Let’s get some support behind this project and woo her into it!”

For more information on the foundation, email baytheaterfoundation@gmail.com (note that the email is “theater” not “theatre.”) or http://baytheaterfoundation.org/contact-us/ and leave them a message.

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