Venerable theater ready for final act

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers CURTAIN CALL—A man exits the Stage Door Theatre in Agoura.

Gale Trumbeaux and Michael Monteleone have been operating the Stage Door Theatre in Agoura Hills for 28 years, but on Sat., Aug. 16 the husbandandwife team was ordered to vacate the popular Agoura Road playhouse.

Trumbeaux and Monteleone were notified in a letter by new property owner Diane Salerno to leave the premises "as soon as possible."

Salerno inherited the property from longtime owner Jerry Gaither after he died in 2007. She said she would lease the 90yearold building to other tenants who will continue to operate the theater. Salerno didn't say who the prospective tenants are.

Monteleone said he and Trumbeaux offered to match what the new tenant would pay but their offer was ignored. The rent that the couple were willing to pay for the 1,200-square-foot building wasn't disclosed.

Salerno claims Monteleone and Trumbeaux were the ones who scuttled the deal.

"I felt they haven't dealt with me in good faith," Salerno said.

Monteleone said Salerno was "adamant" about getting higher rent.

Monteleone called Gaither a "good friend" who had allowed them to operate the theater at a reasonable rate because the venue was integral to the community. He said they had a "handshake" deal to continue the theater at the same rent until 2010.

In real estate, a handshake or verbal agreement is not a legally binding contract.

Gaither's affection for the theater and its operators apparently didn't move Salerno. Monteleone said he and Trumbeaux appealed to the new owner a year ago but to no avail.

"She didn't care," he said. "She plans to make money."

Down memory lane

Located at 28311 Agoura Road, the Stage Door property is considered one of the city's historically significant properties. Built in the early 1920s, the building initially served as a grocery store and gas station. Original gas tanks are still buried on the property, Monteleone said.

"Agoura Road used to be Ventura Boulevard," Monteleone said. "It was the main drag between the Valley and Ventura."

Trumbeaux said the name of the grocery store was Fitzgerald's Market, and at the time it was the only place in town with a telephone.

The Harold Neale family purchased the store in the 1940s and changed the name to Agoura Market.

By 1978 the building stood vacant, but by 1980 Gaither had purchased the property and leased it to Trumbeaux for the purpose of opening a community theater.

"At about this time I heard the Shrine Auditorium was selling their old seats," Trumbeaux said. "I didn't have any money, and Art Whizin (the original owner of Whizin's Center) kindly gave me $250 to buy 50 seats.

"It was really tough in the beginning," Trumbeaux said. "We didn't have many people out here. We had a sign in the dressing room that said, 'If two people show up, we do a show. . . . If one person shows up, we take him out for a drink.'

"Jerry Gaither was very generous, because many months I didn't have the money for the rent."

Trumbeaux started the Agoura Children's Theatre at the venue.

"So many wonderful kids were in the program," she said. "Now they come by to show their kids where they spent their summers."

The rustic building still pays homage to the past. The lounge is decorated with historical photos of the theater and the city.

The theater has other significance. Monteleone said he and Trumbeaux met at the theater in 1985 and married in 1991.

Sally Schneider, a planner for the city, said Trumbeaux and Monteleone were not required to bring the old building up to code since they were grandfathered in under old city ordinances. But if changes are proposed, the new tenant will be required to make extensive upgrades to the property, including the installation of handicap access and new parking spaces, Schneider said. The buried gasoline tanks will have to be removed for safety reasons.

Final act

"Forty Carats" will be the final show for Trumbeaux and Monteleone and will close on Sept. 13. "We will then begin the sad task of packing up," the couple said in a statement.

"For 28 years, it has been our pleasure to bring entertainment to the community," the couple said. "We would like to thank all the actors, directors, high school students who volunteered their time, the Agoura Children's Theatre and of course our many, many loyal patrons. Without you, it would not have been possible. We thank you, one and all."

Because Monteleone is 74 and Trumbeaux 70, they doubt they will start a new theater elsewhere.

"The way real estate is going it's going to be tough," Monteleone said.

Trumbeaux can't bear the thought of leaving her beloved theater.

"We have no plans to go anywhere else," she said. "For me, the old building and the theater were one."