Janss Buys Moorpark Melodrama

Thousand Oaks developer and arts patron Larry Janss has purchased the historic Melodrama theater in Moorpark, promising to renovate it and bring first-run movies and plays to the city as early as April.

Last week, the former documentary filmmaker paid $275,000 for the 73-year-old playhouse on High Street and plans to spend $500,000 more on renovations before opening night.

“I know I am paddling upstream on this one,” said Janss, 51. “But it’s under my skin, like a tickle under your nose and you need to sneeze.”

City officials hope reopening the 320-seat theater will spark interest in the downtown area.

“It’s not the big answer, but it may serve as an incentive to get other folks down here,” said Hugh Riley, Moorpark’s assistant city manager. “I think Larry is the best opportunity we’ve had for a long time. He seems to have the business sense and approach to the arts that we have been hoping for.”

The Janss family has a long history of development in Southern California. In the late 1800s, Larry’s great-grandfather, Peter Janss, bought 3,000 acres in what is now the west side of Los Angeles. In the early 20th century, Larry’s grandfather, Edwin Janss, donated 600 acres from the tract to build UCLA. The remaining land was developed into the city of Westwood.

Larry Janss, president of the Lawrence Janss Co. and chairman of the Gold Coast Performing Arts Assn., has been involved in theater and film for years. He produced a series of documentaries in the 1970s, winning an Emmy for “Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang.” He ran the Fox Venice Theater in Venice, Calif., from 1970 to 1976 and Shades Nightclub in Thousand Oaks.

He developed Gold Coast Plaza and Janss Village in Thousand Oaks. His family developed the Janss Marketplace, Ventura County’s oldest major shopping mall.

The Melodrama, built in 1928, was owned by Linda and Harvey Bredemann of Moorpark from 1986 to 1999, when it closed after Linda Bredemann filed for bankruptcy. American Commercial Bank sold it to Janss, who bargained down the $600,000 asking price.

Moorpark City Councilman John Wozniak recalled the raucous days when the playhouse showcased local talent and encouraged audience feedback.

“You could boo and hiss if you wanted,” Wozniak said. “They were all three-act plays--some light operas, a lot of humor.”

Janss plans to rebuild the Melodrama’s lobby and restrooms and install eight 15-foot murals on the interior walls.

A refurbished concession stand will sell beer and wine, along with the usual snacks.

Janss expects to present first-run movies, classic and Spanish-language films and plays.

“I’d like to run a number of different movies, the daily fodder would be first-run films,” he said. “I’d also like to run some art films, and the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and late Friday night horror shows and maybe have something on Saturday afternoons for children.”

Janss, who studied film at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, wants to host three or four plays a year with a run of about a month each.

Plans call for changing the name of the theater, which has been known as Moorpark Melodrama, Moorpark Playhouse and Magnificent Moorpark Melodrama & Vaudeville Company. Janss is leaning toward “The Galaxy on High” or “The Theater on High.”

Tom Mitze, executive director of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, said he doesn’t see Janss as a competitor and wishes him luck.

“The more theaters out there, the more it nurses everyone’s interest in theater,” said Mitze, who oversees the 400-seat Scherr Forum theater in Thousand Oaks. “Larry Janss has donated money to us and produced some plays here. He is a friend and I wish him well.”

Janss knows how tough it is to run a successful theater and is interviewing public relations firms to promote his latest acquisition.

‘You can only charge so much for a movie and I can only show one movie at a time, unlike some megaplex,” he said. “People always profess to love the theater, but how often do they pay $20 to go see a play?”

The city clearly hopes he’ll succeed.

It is renting Janss a large parking lot across the street from the theater for $1 a year, as it did for past owners of the theater.

Wozniak believes as long as Janss shows first-run movies and has enough seating, his chances for success are good.