The Paper Wing Theater hopes to work a little Broadway magic in Old Town Salinas.

Photo by Randy Tunnell

For years, Salinas'' Fox Theater has languished unused, or underused, and fallen into disrepair. Though well-intentioned individuals and committees have worked to save and refurbish the fading grande dame of Main Street, none has succeeded. But it looks like the Fox may have a chance against the hounds of time.

The Fox, built in the art deco-loving 1920s as a Vaudeville house, is one of fewer than 4,000 historic theaters left in the United States--an 1,100-seat performing arts center in the heart of Old Town Salinas. Throughout the nineties, organizations and individuals struggled to keep the theater from going under. Now, the Fox has a new champion in the form of Koly McBride-Moore.

McBride-Moore is a transplant from Southern California, where she studied theater in college. After her marriage, she moved to the Salinas area and taught at Watsonville High School, leaving professional theater behind for several years. But she came to miss the boards. One day, McBride-Moore was walking along Main Street and saw the "For Lease" sign on the Fox. She called Tim O''Grady, the theater''s manager at the time, and the Fox became the new home of the Paper Wing Theater.

Well, maybe it wasn''t as easy as that.

When she first got into the building, McBride-Moore realized that she was not going to be able to rehearse, much less perform, in the space until she''d done some work on it. Since moving in, she''s been cleaning, painting, even fixing toilets.

During the theater''s first season, in 1999, Paper Wing presented three plays. McBride-Moore is going full steam ahead this year, the theater''s third season. In fact, she is now taking on a second role: leading the drive to save the Fox.

"This is the most beautiful theater I''ve ever had the privilege to work in," she says. "I feel so passionately about this restoration--if I won the lottery tomorrow, this would be no problem."

McBride-Moore estimates the renovation will cost between $500,000 and $600,000, not including the purchase price of the building itself. (The Fox was last appraised in 1995 at $650,000.) So far, the "Save the Fox" campaign hasn''t raised any of that money--they''re starting from scratch.

Mayor Anna Caballero is supportive of McBride-Moore''s efforts. Many downtown merchants are also gung ho, believing that the production company has been an asset to the area already. A dinner-and-theater package Paper Wing has created with Hullaballoo Restaurant has proven popular.

Paper Wing''s next production, Nunsense, opens January 31. McBride-Moore enjoys picking shows with tongue-in-cheek humor, shows that are fun for the audience. "I''m an average person," she explains, "and I think what I like, others will."

"The coastal areas are saturated with theaters," she says, "but Salinas isn''t." She feels audiences need more than the two venues of The Western Stage and Ariel Theatrical. While she applauds both of them for the work they do, she feels Paper Wing has a unique place in Salinas. "We''re a working community theater," she says. Actors pitch in to build sets and generally help to create a production. "It''s like a summer stock company, because people learn a lot."

Live theater is not her only dream for the Fox. In addition to raising funds for the refurbishment, McBride-Moore plans to find financial support for theater and dance classes, and for an extensive program for at-risk youth.

"People are willing to help with all this, they just don''t know how," she says. She says the company needs enthusiastic individuals willing to sit on the board of directors and help with fund-raising. People knowledgeable in grant-writing would be a real boon. Other theater, dance or music companies are welcome to rent the facility.

"We need anyone who will book the theater, even for just two weekends a month," McBride-Moore says. This will help keep the lights on, she says.

"People are just now tapping in to the idea that Old Town Salinas could be a really interesting, eclectic place," she says. "It could be like downtown Pacific Grove or Santa Cruz." She believes the unique and beautiful Fox Theater, fully refurbished and running at full capacity, could be the gem at the heart of a new cultural hub. And she says she is determined to make it happen: "I''m a tireless ball of energy."