By BRIAN RUDMAN
Of all the missed opportunities of the past summer, the failure to show off the newly renovated Civic Theatre must rank high on any list.
I'd have loved to have shown visiting friends around during the America's Cup regatta and again over the Easter break. But all we could do was peer through the closed glass door into the gloomy interior. These days it's hard to even get to the door to squint through it.
The access is blocked by the tables and chairs of the neighbouring coffee bar, which has taken over the grand Civic entrance as an outdoor extension of its seating space. Talk about tatty.
All and all, it seems a weirdly laidback way to celebrate the $42 million redevelopment of a unique gem of world cinema history.
It's hard to believe there wasn't something in the promotional budget of either the city or the Edge to cover the costs of setting up regular tours of the building.
Particularly when the volunteer Friends of the Civic were apparently more than willing to provide a guiding service at token cost.
The Edge chairman, David Hay, says plans are now afoot to set up a regular tour taking in the Civic, town hall and Aotea Centre.
He's proposing a charge be made to cover costs, with any surplus going towards a heritage fund. Money from that would go towards projects like restoring the town hall organ. All of which sounds very reasonable. But what a shame it's all coming five or six months late.
But Aucklanders will have another chance of looking around the Civic next month when the final round of official openings takes place - more than five months after the fiasco of the first series of ribbon-cuttings and openings that weren't.
Initially planned for March, the new "opening" has been delayed two months while the final decorative touches, including a replica of the original curtain and extensive displays of artificial plants, are completed. On Saturday, May 6, there will be another public open day.
Then on May 28 comes a formal opening in front of around 1200 invited guests - mainly those associated in some way with the project.
After nearly six months of openings, one little detail about the Civic remains unclear. That is, what on earth we are going to use it for.
Redesigned to provide a home for long-run, blockbuster, amplified shows like Les Miserables, the Civic's rebirth has coincided with a dearth -- hopefully, for the Civic's sake, temporary - of these Australia-sourced shows.
The result has been a seemingly desperate mix of bookings, both appropriate and inappropriate, for the Civic, along with long periods of non-use.
Now, as a last resort, The Edge appears to be falling back on the medium the Civic was originally built for: film. Ironically, basic facilities for film, such as a screen and speaker systems, were incorporated into the restoration plans only at the last moment. And that after much jumping up and down by the Friends of the Civic.
Still to be announced is the decision to screen some of the New Zealand Film Festival at the Civic this July. Before that, beginning mid-May, the Edge is hosting "Movie Mania."
We're being offered the chance to "experience some of the greatest movies of all time in the glorious Civic Theatre, Auckland's ultimate picture palace ..."
As an attempt to fill an otherwise empty space and to get Aucklanders reacquainted with the new-old venue, a season of film like this seems as good a gamble as any. Though you do wonder at the mixed bag of movies on offer.
Instead of pulling punters in with a gala season of golden oldies, or one of Cinemascope classics, we're being offered everything from Casablanca, which had its world premiere at the Civic in 1942 thanks to the visiting American troops, through to Stanley Kubrick's 1999 psychological thriller, Eyes Wide Shut.
Still, if it gets the lights glowing and the people flowing through on a regular basis, it can only be for the good.
<i>Rudman's city</i> - Closed doors keep Civic's gems hidden
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