The Corwin Playhouse has survived a fire, two floods, the arrival of television and a decade as a discount furniture warehouse. In March it nearly did not survive a real estate listing.
The Players have performed at the Corwin since 1985, when they rented it for $300 a month from a furniture dealer who used the stage for storage. Several of the original company members still volunteer, including one who has run the lighting board for every production since.
The building itself needs a great deal. The roof leaks over stage left, the original 1924 fly system has been condemned for decades, and the balcony has been closed since an engineer’s report in 2011. The company estimates the full restoration at about $4.6 million over seven years.
A little history
Behind the scenes, things are tighter. Donations bring in about 45 percent of operating expenses; the remainder depends on volunteers and small donors.
Ezekiel Marsh, a printmaker who has shown around town since the 1990s, described the season as “the most ambitious I can remember.”
A community development lender provided the mortgage, and a local family foundation guaranteed it. The company closed on the building in June, and the first thing it did was replace every lock.
- Previews begin a week before opening night
- Season passes from $99
- Running time about two hours with one interval
- Tickets from $16; under-30s half price at matinees
- Bar opens an hour before curtain
- Wheelchair seating in the stalls; balcony closed
- Pay-what-you-can on Thursday previews
Getting there
When the Corwin Playhouse went on the market in March, listed at $1.9 million and marketed to developers as a “rare redevelopment opportunity on a corner lot,” the Riverside Players had six weeks to find a way to buy it.
The audience is a cross-section of the valley: retirees, couples on a first date, all packed into the bar.
The season features touring acts alongside local ensembles, with more than 23 performances between now and September.
Practical details: the restoration is open on weekends through March, from noon to 9 p.m. Bring cash for the smaller vendors, and the 14 bus stops right outside.
| Phase | Cost | Raised | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase | $1,012,000 | $850,080 | In progress |
| Roof replacement | $379,000 | $329,730 | In progress |
| Seating | $1,631,000 | $929,670 | In progress |
| Accessibility upgrades | $999,000 | $259,740 | In progress |
| Lobby restoration | $91,000 | $30,030 | In progress |
The people behind it
Tickets range from $8 to $62, and children under 12 get in free. Staff advise checking the website for updates, because the opening nights are already nearly full.
Through the years, the restoration has outlasted two recessions, and sales have held steady, thanks largely to word of mouth.
They raised the down payment in nineteen days, mostly in small donations. The median gift was $40. One retired stagehand gave $5,000 he said he had been saving for a car; a group of high school students raised $2,300 selling programmes signed by the cast of a production nearly every one of them had been in.
Standing still is the most expensive option we have.
Hana Kobayashi-Reed
What to order
The space itself is part of the appeal. Original pressed-tin ceilings and a counter salvaged from a demolished hotel create the sense of a place that has always been there, though most of the furniture came from estate sales.
Parking is the main challenge. The municipal garage on Third Street runs out within the first hour, so regulars swear by the North Ferry, which runs every 40 minutes.
Kofi Mensah-Lyle, who has volunteered for 18 years, remembered the first night he walked in. “Everybody said it would not last,” Mensah-Lyle said. “We are still a little bit amazed we made it.”
The room and the service
For now, the plan is modest: fix the roof before winter, bring the lobby up to code, and keep performing. The autumn production, a revival of a 1950s comedy, sold out its first weekend, with audience members sitting in seats patched with gaffer tape.
In short: 3 public meetings, $76.1 million in committed funding, and a decision that may yet change.
We will keep reporting on the restoration as it develops. Readers with information may reach the reporter directly by email.
Reporters asked the Riverside Players for a written response. An official shared several pages of documents noting that the numbers were preliminary and subject to change.
It is worth stepping back, and a pattern emerges: decisions made in the next few months will shape the city’s finances well into the 2030s.
Jonah Abernathy can be reached at jonah.abernathy@brindlemoor-dispatch.example. Have a tip? Use our secure tip line.
My kids went to Larkspur. It breaks my heart to read this but I am not surprised.
I have lived here for thirty years and I have seen this exact plan announced at least three times. I will believe it when I see the crews.
Fair point, and thank you. We have added a line clarifying that.
The ferry is great. Took it with my dad on Sunday and he talked about the old boats the whole way across.
I have lived here for thirty years and I have seen this exact plan announced at least three times. I will believe it when I see the crews.
Made the apple cake twice now. Second time I used a mix of tart and sweet apples and it was even better.
Thanks for reading. We are planning a follow-up and would welcome tips at the address above.
Copper Row Records is a treasure. Theo once spent twenty minutes helping me find a record I could only hum.
Can we please stop calling everything a "smart" something? It is a streetlight with a sensor.
The heat pump rebate website crashed on me three times. Glad to know it was not just me.
Can we please stop calling everything a "smart" something? It is a streetlight with a sensor.
The part about the west side is the real story. Nobody on council lives over there and it shows.
The ferry is great. Took it with my dad on Sunday and he talked about the old boats the whole way across.
Went last Friday on the strength of this review. The sardines were exactly as described. Dessert was also exactly as described, unfortunately.
Good question. The documents we reviewed did not say, and the agency has not responded yet. We will update the story if they do.
The fee change makes sense for big vendors and is terrible for small ones. Simple as that.
Made the apple cake twice now. Second time I used a mix of tart and sweet apples and it was even better.
I have lived here for thirty years and I have seen this exact plan announced at least three times. I will believe it when I see the crews.
The ferry is great. Took it with my dad on Sunday and he talked about the old boats the whole way across.
Grocery prices are absurd. I drive to the store on the east side now because it is consistently cheaper.
Can we please stop calling everything a "smart" something? It is a streetlight with a sensor.
The heat pump rebate website crashed on me three times. Glad to know it was not just me.
Can we please stop calling everything a "smart" something? It is a streetlight with a sensor.
Good question. The documents we reviewed did not say, and the agency has not responded yet. We will update the story if they do.
Can we please stop calling everything a "smart" something? It is a streetlight with a sensor.
I have lived here for thirty years and I have seen this exact plan announced at least three times. I will believe it when I see the crews.
Went last Friday on the strength of this review. The sardines were exactly as described. Dessert was also exactly as described, unfortunately.
My kids went to Larkspur. It breaks my heart to read this but I am not surprised.
Does anyone know if the public comment period is still open? The city website is no help at all.
Does anyone know if the public comment period is still open? The city website is no help at all.
Thank you for actually putting the numbers in a table. Most coverage just says "millions" and leaves it at that.
The ferry is great. Took it with my dad on Sunday and he talked about the old boats the whole way across.
Can we please stop calling everything a "smart" something? It is a streetlight with a sensor.
Respectfully, the reporter left out that the same vendor ran the last pilot, which went way over budget.
The part about the west side is the real story. Nobody on council lives over there and it shows.
The heat pump rebate website crashed on me three times. Glad to know it was not just me.
Good piece, but I think the headline undersells how bad the seawall situation really is.
Good piece, but I think the headline undersells how bad the seawall situation really is.
My kids went to Larkspur. It breaks my heart to read this but I am not surprised.
Good question. The documents we reviewed did not say, and the agency has not responded yet. We will update the story if they do.
Good piece, but I think the headline undersells how bad the seawall situation really is.
Fair point, and thank you. We have added a line clarifying that.
Can we please stop calling everything a "smart" something? It is a streetlight with a sensor.
I would love a follow-up on what happens to the workers at the old plant.
Can we please stop calling everything a "smart" something? It is a streetlight with a sensor.
Respectfully, the reporter left out that the same vendor ran the last pilot, which went way over budget.
Thanks for reading. We are planning a follow-up and would welcome tips at the address above.
This is why local journalism matters. Subscribed again after letting it lapse.
I have lived here for thirty years and I have seen this exact plan announced at least three times. I will believe it when I see the crews.
Fair point, and thank you. We have added a line clarifying that.
The fee change makes sense for big vendors and is terrible for small ones. Simple as that.