Kite has the La Mirada Theatre flying high. file photo

It also didn’t hurt that the critics were very kind to La Mirada, “With the awards, and all the great reviews in the papers, our entire profile (in the theatre profession) really has been outstanding including nationally. We must be doing something right,” Kite said, “but we are not resting on our success, we are going to continue to try to get better.”

Pan and Saigon received Ovation Recommended ratings by judges from LA Stage Alliance and Miss Saigon was named a Critic’s Choice by the Los Angeles Times.

The nostalgic-ridden theatre originally featured a single screen and debuted as the Stanley Warner La Mirada Theatre on December 20, 1962. It was a very popular for families, especially teens in the 60's and early 70’s. It was transformed in 1977 from a neighborhood movie house to a world-class performing arts center, and is owned and operated by the city.

“La Mirada Theatre has the highest cost recovery ratio of any city department with upwards of 90 percent of its total budget being recovered through ticket sales and other revenues,” said City Manager Tom Robinson. “La Mirada residents can be very proud of the theatre’s box office success, which is directly related to the excellent artistic quality of its productions.”

The stage at the La Mirada Theatre is also being set for another outstanding season in 2012-13 that begins in early September with Jekyll & Hyde. The new season is currently experiencing strong preseason ticket sales and “is on a pace to beat last season’s record,” said Kite.

The new 2012-13 lineup of shows by MRE includes: Jekyll & Hyde, September 7 through 30; Winter Wonderettes, December 7 through 30; Boeing Boeing, January 18 through February 10; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, April 12 through May 5; and Next to Normal, May 31 through June 23. In addition, two performances of An Evening with Shirley MacLaine will be held on May 18.

Kite, who officially took over as Theatre Director in 2008, said he is pleased that some of his goals appear to be coming to fruition.

“We wanted to build an audience by appealing to our longtime supporters, and also to a new set of people. We wanted to make some changes. People would tell us that La Mirada Theatre was a little too folksy. They want to see the Broadway world and they want to see it in La Mirada, which I think we have achieved.”

Subscriptions are available by calling 562 944-9801 or 714 994-6310 or by visiting www.lamiradatheatre.com.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts is owned and operated by the City of La Mirada. La Mirada Theatre has received the Henry Reining Award for Outstanding Public Service in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area from the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.