Baronet Theatre revival expected by summer
Posted by the Asbury Park Press <http://www.app.com> on 04/6/06
BY VINCE MILLER
STAFF WRITER
The 93-year-old Baronet Theatre in Asbury Park could light back up
before the summer with films, cabaret and live theater, according to its
latest owners.
The plan is to restore the theater and the Fast Lane nightclub next door
as the centerpiece of a vibrant Fourth Avenue entertainment district in
Asbury Park, and the owners say they are feeling the local support.
Asbury Park real-estate developer Pat Fasano and partner Dennis Dubrow,
Oceanport, bought the properties in December for $1.2 million, Dubrow said.
Fasano, who lives in New Brunswick, also owns the Wonder Bar at Fifth
and Ocean avenues, and several shops on Cookman Avenue, Fasano said.
Being one block from the boardwalk, though, the theater and the defunct
nightclub next door are in an oceanfront redevelopment zone, so their
future depends on Asbury Partners, developers of the area, and city
officials.
Dubrow said he and Fasano were not encouraged by an initial meeting they
had with Larry Fishman, chief operating officer of Asbury Partners.
Fishman could not be reached for comment.
Undaunted, the partners have received building permits and plan to spend
up to $100,000 to fix up the buildings.
Renovation work began March 23.
The partners hope to unveil the theater, with historic architectural
features intact, by summer.
"We've contracted with Days Awake, a local band, to play for our opening
night fund-raiser," Dubrow said.
"We didn't want to invest more than $100,000 until we have a certificate
of occupancy," Dubrow said.
The work includes replacing walls and ceilings, washing all 500 seats
and installing new carpet, he said. Fire exits and the roof are being
fixed, and the heating and air-conditioning units improved.
"This is a masonry building, so it's in good shape," he said.
The stage still has the proscenium arch, and the projection room still
houses refurbished 35mm film projectors.
The plan is for the Baronet and Fast Lane to become venues different
from what they were in the 1970s, Dubrow said.
Fast Lane was originally the warehouse for the Steinbach Co. But a
half-filled bottle of Southern Comfort on the bar last week was a
reminder of the days when touring bands "got their start there," Dubrow
said.
"Such outfits as the Ramones, Patti Smith and Jon Bon Jovi and Wild
Hearts played there," Dubrow said.
Fast Lane is in good structural shape, too, he said.
"But, the interior will be gutted entirely," Dubrow said.
"We plan to make Fast Lane a night club/concert hall. (We) have a
contract with Concert East to bring in the talent," Dubrow said. "They
own the Starland ballroom in Sayreville and are the No. 1 concert
promoter on the East Coast."
Fasano intends to bring a mixture of theater, film, cabaret and seminars
to the Baronet.
"Our goal is to embrace the youth of this area and give them a venue to
express themselves," he said.
"Our larger goal is to create a new arts district on Fourth Avenue,"
Dubrow said.
Looking around the immediate area, Fasano remarked, "This isn't
redevelopment. It's undevelopment.
"I'm trying to prevent another Long Branch," he said. "I'm trying to
save what we have. We don't need eminent domain here."
"This is the last of the Walter Reade theaters, and we want to save it,"
Fasano said.
The Baronet opened as a vaudeville house called the Ocean Theatre in
1913. The Walter Reade chain bought it in 1953.
In the 1960s, it was the city's art-film house, but by the 1970s,
popularity ebbed and it ceased operating by the end of the decade.
Eventually, Walter Burns and Maurice Giberson of New York bought it and
tried to restore the Baronet, from 1986 to 1991, but their applications
for certificates of occupancy were denied. So, they sold it to Fasano
and Dubrow.
Dubrow said the city's reasons for denying Burns and Giberson COs were
"ridiculous."
"The applicants had painted the theater red, which the city said was "a
color reserved for firehouses.' They also had windows in the theater,
and the city said they could not have windows inside. When we bought it,
we cemented over the windows."
Dubrow would not predict whether they will get a CO, but the owners
claim support from several areas.
"There isn't anyone in city hall, from the mayor on down, who has told
me they do not support what we are doing," Fasano said.
Tom Morrissey Productions, New York, is interested in forming a theater
group outside of New York and bringing it to the Baronet. New York is
"highly competitive and very expensive," Morrissey said.
"We did research on abandoned theaters and came to Asbury Park several
times," he said.
Morrissey said a theater company would mean jobs for local people and
more business for restaurants, shops and hotels.
"The National Endowment for the Arts says for every dollar spent to
produce shows, $20 is spent in the community," he said.
"Our next step is to get community support," Morrissey said. "We will
form a nonprofit corporation and a board of directors. We are looking
for people who would like to join us either by being a board member or
helping as a volunteer."
Support also comes from Arts- CAP, a recently formed local cultural group.
Pam Lamberton, a member of the group's board of directors, said the
organization "strongly supports" what Fasano and Dubrow are doing and
would be interested in putting on shows at the Baronet.
Dubrow said he has contacted Center Players, a Freehold troupe that
staged a production in which his children recently had roles, and was
encouraged.
"There's a possibility Center Players could put on plays at the
Baronet," he said.
For more information or to arrange a tour of the Baronet and Fast Lane,
call Dubrow at (732) 996-6843.
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