Still recovering from COVID-19 shutdown, San Jose theater hit with burglary

The last thing arts groups like City Lights Theater Company needs is thieves ransacking concessions and stealing props.

When COVID-19 forced Bay Area theaters to shut their doors and cancel their seasons, many predicted they would have the hardest road back from the pandemic. They weren’t wrong. Performing arts groups juggled with masking protocols, schedule changes caused by illness, costs for safety equipment and audiences that needed to be cajoled to return.

Burglaries are the last thing they need, but that’s happening, too.

City Lights Theater Company in downtown San Jose was the latest victim, as their downtown theater and offices were broken into over the weekend. Thieves ransacked the concessions area and took props — including tablets and other equipment — set to be used for the upcoming production of “King Liz,” which is going into tech rehearsals this week. A pile of power tools was left behind — possibly, Executive Artistic Director Lisa Mallette suspects, because they were too heavy to haul away before police responded to the alarm.

That’s what counts as a silver lining to this sorry tale. Mallette told me a police report was filed and the thieves were captured on security cameras, but they’re not identifiable and she has little hope they’ll be caught.

This isn’t City Lights’ first burglary, and they’re far from alone. In 2021, San Jose Dance Theater discovered thieves had made off with nearly 100 handmade costumes — a few were later recovered at a San Jose park. In 2022, San Jose Playhouse’s fun production of “Xanadu” on its parking garage rooftop was curtailed after thieves bypassed security measures, vandalizing sets and making off with equipment. Undoubtedly, many more theater burglary stories have happened in between.

City Lights will fix things as best it can and do whatever it needs to in order to open “King Liz” as planned March 21. Mallette certainly hopes that donors are generous at the company’s Black and White Time Warp Ball fundraiser at the Westin San Jose on April 27. Until then, think about filling some seats at City Lights, San Jose Stage, San Jose Playhouse and other local theaters. Big audiences are the best way to get everyone back on their feet.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES: Of course, it’s hard to get audiences back to arts events in downtown San Jose if they don’t know about them. That’s why the San Jose Downtown Association, in partnership with the Knight Foundation and the city’s Department of Transportation, is offering $100,000 in arts marketing grants to organizations that serve downtown San Jose. A total of 20 grants of $5,000 each will be made available, and the application deadline is March 29 at 5 p.m.

San Jose Downtown Association CEO Alex Stettinski said the organization is thrilled to support the arts community with these grants. “Through these funds, we aim to promote cultural experiences, enhance downtown vitality, and contribute to the overall vibrancy of our city,” he said.

WINDOW TO THE SOUL?: Bellarmine College Prep’s annual Golden Bell auction is one event that does seem to have come back. More than 400 supporters of the Jesuit boys school in San Jose partied in the gym last Saturday night. They were entertained by the music of the Speakeasies (led by vocalist Jackie Gage) and contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars for the school’s tuition assistance fund in the live and silent auctions.

When it comes to unique auction items, the Bells will be tough to beat this year. The items included a stained-glass window featuring St. Alphonsus Rodriguez that had adorned the Jesuits’ personal chapel at Wade Hall from 1960 until this year. It was one of eight that were removed before the building’s demolition and restored. Six have been installed in a new chapel at the at the Bellarmine Jesuit Community and the seventh will be installed in another campus building. The remaining window was auctioned for $5,000.