South Coast Repertory officials were working Thursday to assess the fallout from a storage warehouse roof collapse that damaged costumes and sets in a setback they don’t expect to affect the upcoming theatrical season.
The large portion of the roof collapsed about 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Costa Mesa theater’s warehouse at 2615 N. Oak St. in Santa Ana, said Suzanne Appel, managing director of South Coast Repertory.
About 4,500 square feet of the roof over the 18,000-square-foot warehouse caved in, leaving the building look like a half-opened can of sardines, Appel said.
It is unknown what caused the cave-in to the roof, which was upgraded in 2020, Appel said. The heavy winds and rain left about four inches of water in the warehouse, Appel said.
“The good news is nobody was in the building when it happened,” Appel said. `We’re very grateful none of our artisans or staff were in the building at the time.”
The warehouse “houses thousands of costumes and sets for our productions,” she said.
“This is going to be a major rebuild for the organization,” Appel said.
A firm has been hired to assess the damage and work with the theater company’s insurers, Appel said.
“We’re not anticipating we’ll have to rearrange our production schedule,” Appel said.
For now, the two upcoming productions are “relatively smaller shows” and sets can be painted at the theater in Costa Mesa, Appel said.
But beyond that South Coast Repertory will need to find another site where sets can be painted and constructed, she said.
“I’m also really worried about the costumes and prop pieces in the facility,” Appel said. “With the ceiling ripped open to the elements there’s been quite a lot of water damage.”
The costumes from “The Importance of Being Earnest,” for instance, are “in a Victorian style and those costumes are priceless.”
She added, “I know we lost some beautiful vintage felt hats” as well.
The exposure to the storm didn’t affect the sets and costumes for South Coast Repertory’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol.” .
The damage has to amount to at least “six figures,” Appel said.
South Coast Repertory acquired the building in 1994 and did “significant repairs” of the roof in 2020, she said.