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Show Egyptian is for sale but PCP is holding tight by Christopher Smart The Egyptian Theatre is up for sale but the resident community theater group, Park City Performances, Performan-ces, is negotiating a new agreement with Silver Mill of Park City that will allow the show to go on. The news that the historic building is for sale comes on the heels of a successful PCP fundraising auction which raised more than $25,000 so the debt-ridden group could continue. conti-nue. PCP, almost three years old, has called the Egyptian home since its inception. The sale of the Egyptian is "imminent," said Steve Nipkow of The Fields Investment Group. However, he said, "We're trying to negotiate a deal with PCP that will help them and also help us." Currently there are no buyers for the theater. Randy Fields is the major investor in Silver Mill of Park City, which owns the theater. Nipkow said he doesn't foresee selling the building to interests that would use it for purposes other than local theater. Nipkow said Silver Mill and Fields Investment are trying to attract interest in the theater from Los Angeles. Among those names mentioned was Lee Majors of "Six Million Dollar Man" fame. During the past year, PCP has made great strides financially, Nipkow said, largely due to the efforts of Ann MacQuoid, president of PCP. The theater group's fund-raising successes have made it easier for Fields to work out another agreement with them, he said. In October, 1983, PCP reached ' rental agreement with Fields and Silver Mill which allowed the group to use the Egyptian through June 30, 1984. That agreement did not ask PCP to pay rent or utilities for the theater. Fields Investment did, however, receive an undisclosed percentage of the gate from performances. According to MacQuoid, the new rental arrangement requires PCP to pay utilities and some rent. The monthly rental fee is being negotiated, nego-tiated, she said. "Mr. Fields and Silver Mill of Park City have been exceptionally generous over the last three years in virtually giving PCP the use of the Egyptian," MacQuoid said. Last October PCP was $60,000 in debt, according to MacQuoid. While she would not disclose the group's current indebtedness, MacQuoid said PCP should break into the black by March, 1985. "We have a payment schedule for all of our creditors." Even though PCP is climbing out of the hole, it isn't easy to for a community theater to make money, MacQuoid said. Each show costs thousands of dollars to put on, she said. For example, MacQuoid said non-profit Park City Performances will apply for state and federal grants it has not sought to date. She said that grant applications are not accepted by performing arts groups until they have been in existence for three years. Park City Performances will also investigate the possibility of grant funding from the municipality, MacQuoid said. And while the group may ask the city for funding, the municipality has shown no interest in buying the historic theater as was suggested by Fields during last October's negotiations negoti-ations with PCP. He said then that city ownership could be a workable alternative to private ownership. "It's too expensive expen-sive for a private developer to run the theater at a $140,000 loss annually," he said. The Egyptian is said to be worth between $900,000 and $1 million. |