Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra—February 5, 2019—CAMA's International Series at The Granada Theatre—Centennial Season

CAMA’s Board of Directors and Centennial Celebration Committee
thank the many who made this work possible—the first ever
book-length authoritative treatment of CAMA's history.
We thank Sara Miller McCune, Founder and Executive Chairman
of SAGE Publishing, for supporting the book from concept to
creation and for championing the project in every way.
We thank SAGE Publishing’s President and CEO Blaise R. Simqu for
generously donating many production expenses and generally ennobling
the project through the involvement of many publications professionals.
Our unending thanks to historical researcher and author Hattie
Beresford, whose eye, hand, and pen revealed and expressed
CAMA’s history with compelling story and voice.
We are grateful to publisher Cathy Feldman/Blue Point Books
for thorough attention to so many aspects of editing and
layout, with support from graphic artist Kristin Jackson.
The original lobby of the Granada Theatre included Spanish features and details. Courtesy Santa Barbara
Center for the Performing Arts
Under the direction of California Theater Company president Edward A. Johnson, the Granada’s opening
program included a wide variety of performances. Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum
that it had nearly 2,000 seats, though the
number was actually a bit less than 1,700.
The appointments and décor of the interior
emulated the Spanish motif. The foyer, which
resembled a baronial entry hall, had a richly
decorated beam ceiling of Mudéjar design.
Above a large fireplace, a saint-like statue
stood in a niche, an intricate wrought-iron
fixture hung from somber walls highlighted
with gold and silver, and a fountain bubbled
with colored water. Richly carpeted grand
stairways and large Spanish mirrors completed
the castillo-like effect.
Johnson chose his opening program
to include the wide variety of acts that
could be shown at the Granada. The
“Great Sarli” (Antonio P. Sarli) conducted
the new Granada Grand Orchestra in a
mixed program of classical, popular, and
syncopated jazz music. One of the first threedimensional
movies, Plastigrams, had the
audience donning blue and red colored
lenses as giant turtles flew toward them from
the screen. Several cartoons and novelty
reels were followed by the world premiere
of Mae Murray (the Girl with the Bee-Kissed
Lips) in Mademoiselle Midnight, and the ballet
company of motion picture star and director
Theodore Kosloff danced “A Legend of Old
Spain,” which he had created especially for the
occasion.
In 1925, the Granada Theatre earned
another nickname when it survived the
June 29 Earthquake, that of “Santa Barbara’s
Gibraltar.” (Although the theater survived
structurally, decorative cast plaster décor
and organ chamber grilles were damaged.)
Johnson didn’t hold on to his theater for very
long, however, selling it to Warner Bros. in
1931 shortly after the opening of the Arlington
Theatre and the beginning of the Depression.
In 1955, the Granada was sold again, this time
to Metropolitan Theatres Corporation for
nearly one million dollars.
18 CENTENNIAL SEASON CELEBRATION CAMA AT THE GRANADA THEATRE - PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE ORCHESTRA 19