Historic Royce Hall celebrates spring reopening with notable artists

Monday, 6/23/97 Historic Royce Hall celebrates spring reopening
with notable artists CAMPUS: Famed past performers, acoustics, size
impress students

By Jammie Salagubang Daily Bruin Contributor Sure, Royce Hall
appears on all of UCLA’s brochures and souvenirs and the UCLA
Store’s bags. But for the past few years, the mammoth structure has
been dormant, housing scaffolding instead of the performing artists
who helped make it famous. This spring, however, all this will
change. Royce Hall will once again open its doors to the artistic
community. Before its seismic renovation and reconstruction, Royce
Hall had been the venue of the UCLA Center for Performing Arts
(CPA) since 1931. Thanks to its acoustics and size, Royce has
hosted some of the greatest dancers and musicians. Now the spoken
word will also get a boost, thanks to the addition of sound
chambers. Even the Royce Hall organ has undergone renovation. And
by the looks of this year’s season, the reopening celebration will
reflect that spirit of rebirth. "The theme (of this season) would
be tied to the fact that it’s one of celebration and our return
home," says CPA director Michael Blachly. "Even though it doesn’t
happen until late in the year, it really becomes a season of
celebration, of our being able to return to the main performance
space." Although only seniors and older students may remember Royce
now, incoming freshmen will get a chance to form their own
memories. Royce reopens on April 4, 1998, with a gala fund-raising
event featuring a diverse (and ever increasing) list of performers.
The April 14 world premiere of "Monsters of Grace" by Philip Glass
and Robert Wilson marks Royce’s first public reopening. The first
collaboration between Glass and Wilson since 1976, "Monsters of
Grace" is a multimedia show involving visual images, film and
music.Blachly stresses that the show is still a work in progress.
"How they’re coming together, we’re just not sure," Blachly says.
"They’re just now putting the pieces together." If waiting until
April is too long for the culturally starved, CPA offers
performances at other venues to start off their 1997-1998 season
which begins in September, prior to the Royce Hall opening. This
season promises to be an broad mix of contemporary and classical.
"L.A. has changed and the complexion of our city has changed,"
Blachly says. "We wanted to make sure that our program reflected
that." One of the highlights of this season is "Umabatha: the Zulu
Macbeth," a theater company composed of 80 South Africans under the
patronage of Nelson Mandela. "It’s unlike anything we’ve had here
in terms of a theatrical interpretation of Shakespeare’s work,"
Blachly reveals. Also featured in the upcoming season is
world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma in "Tango Impassionado," an evening
of tango music complete with a traditional nine-piece tango band.
"(Yo-Yo Ma’s) virtuosity on the cello and the tango band (will make
it) a very exciting, very eclectic evening," Blachly says. Other
highlighted performers include Bill T. Jones, Wynton Marsalis, the
Met Orchestra and the Chieftains, who are on their 35th anniversary
tour. While many artists are looking forward to walking through the
famed arches of Royce, other artists are lucky enough to have done
just that. Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, the National Symphony
Orchestra, Elton John, Luciano Pavarotti, the Royal Shakespeare
Company, Ian McKellan, The Eagles and Bill Cosby are all UCLA Royce
performance alumni. These artists and many more have all
experienced the size and sound of Royce Hall. "It’s perceived as
one of the best concert halls in the world," Blachly asserts. But
it is not just a concert hall. Royce, the oldest building on
campus, was also used for classes and other educational purposes.
Finished in 1929, Royce was the first building completed of the
four in the quad, which include the Powell Library, Haines and
Kinsey Halls. Royce housed both the first student registration and
the first university assembly. "It started off as the focal point
of just about every student event since it opened in 1929," says
Dennis Bitterlich, a UCLA archivist. Even though Royce has been
closed for years because of reconstruction, its influence stretches
beyond UCLA. For about 68 years, all UCLA press releases and ads
have featured Royce’s twin towers. "It’s probably the best known
building here on campus," Bitterlich says. Inspired by the San
Ambrogio Church in Milan, Royce is a structure full of
architectural grace, history and … ghosts? Bitterlich relates a
story about a maintenance worker who worked in Royce late at night.
The worker reportedly heard footsteps which followed and stopped
according to his steps. Then he heard a woman scream three times.
The mystery went unexplained for days and the rumor that Royce was
haunted spread around campus. However, a faulty boiler and the
echoing of the man’s own footsteps were later found to be the
ghostly culprits. Another Royce myth is the story of Mrs. Royce’s
green ribbon. According to the legend, Josiah Royce’s wife placed a
green ribbon inside one of the Royce Hall towers signifying that it
was a gift from their family. If the ribbon was ever removed,
ownership of Royce Hall would revert to their family. However, some
students are more impressed with Royce’s professional background
than its personal one. Mario Rocha, a senior music and voice
performance student, sang in Royce with the Madrigal choir his
freshman year. He was awed by the acoustics, size and leftover
stardust from some of Royce’s more famous guests. "Luciano
Pavarotti has sung on this stage," Rocha reflects. "(Royce)
inspires me to be a part of that professional history." Rocha has
also attended a performance in Royce Hall, the play "Richard III,"
starring Ian McKellan. He was awed at the actor’s mastery over the
immense space and the way that the location enhanced the play.
"(The play) was such a massive work it couldn’t be done in a
smaller theater," says Rocha. "It was really very impressive." Matt
Cody, a first-year master’s student in music and instrumental
conducting, also credits performing in the hall with inspiring his
own musical aspirations. But he also appreciates the historical
sentiment that Royce brings to the campus. "There’s a part of me
that misses that collegiate feel that you get from an Ivy League
school," Cody says. "I think that Royce (helps) represent that; it
always makes me feel the tradition of the university." Royce will
always be a special place for Cody because of what it helped him
accomplish. "When I (first) came out here, I knew that I was going
to study music, but I didn’t know what that was all going to mean,"
Cody says. Performing four times in Royce helped him make up his
mind, and with the reopening of Royce, it will be just like old
times for Cody. "It’s a nice circle for me because I’ll be able to
conduct in Royce now," Cody reflects. "It’s the place where a lot
of things began." Previous Daily Bruin Stories Orchestras and dance
companies still shaken up by effects of January earthquake, January
17, 1995 Rebuilding Royce Hall, October 5, 1995