Bay Area Theaters Plan to Dim their Lights in Honor of Carol Channing

Bay Area theaters are planning to dim their lights for one minute at 7:45pm Friday in honor of the late Broadway legend Carol Channing.

The Curran Theater and American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and Berkeley's Shotgun Players are among those involved in the tribute to Channing, who died Tuesday at the age of 97 in Rancho Mirage, California.

Brad Erickson, executive director of the performing arts service organization Theatre Bay Area, said Bay Area theaters will also be participating in a concurrent social media campaign, sending out a shared message expressing their esteem for Channing.

Erickson said Channing had close ties to the local theater scene. She cut her teeth on stage while a student at Lowell High School, went on to play professional roles on San Francisco stages, like Hello Dolly! at the Curran in 1978, and provided arts scholarships to students.

"She fell in love with the theater here in San Francisco," Erickson said. "She’s one of us and we want to honor that memory."

Channing's passing has ushered an outpouring of memories and emotions from around the Bay Area arts community.

"A light as bright as Carol Channing’s does not go out," said Anne Marie Ullman, a drama teacher at Lowell High School, where there's a theater named after Channing. "Her talent, generosity, advocacy and passion for arts education will continue serve as a beacon for Lowell students."

"She absolutely lived for the theater," said Carole Shoreinstein Hays, Broadway producer and owner of the Curran. "Her talents as a performer have been well documented, but what is less known is that she was as consummate a pro as they come—off-stage as well. She would go into the box office to find out how the business was, and if there were seats left to sell, she’d go out and do more publicity!"

In a 2014 interview, Channing said she hoped San Francisco would be her final resting place.

"I want to be be buried between the Curran Theater and the Geary Theater," she told interviewer Ken Kleiber of the YouTube channel That's Kentertainment.

A spokesperson for the Curran said it's not yet clear whether Channing's wish will be fulfilled.