The Heart & Rhythm of
Santa Barbara for 150 Years.

Giuseppe (Jose) Lobero’s Theatre has its official opening. Lobero’s Theatre is only the second opera house in California, and for more than a decade is the envy of Los Angeles.

In the late 1800’s, interest in Spiritualism is all the rage in America and the opera house is the ideal venue for performances catering both to believers
as well as skeptics.

After the Civil War, jubilee minstrel troupes made up of ex-slaves are popular performers at opera houses across America.

As roller skating was all the rage, the Lobero removed theater chairs to provide a large rink for skaters to move in accompaniment to the sounds of a brass band.

The world’s first sports superstar boxer tries his hand at acting, appearing in the melodrama Honest Hearts and Willing Hands to a standingroom-
only Lobero crowd.

Thomas Wiggins, born a slave on a Georgia plantation, has become a piano touring sensation, playing both classical works and popular songs on stages worldwide.

From the 1890’s – 1910’s, the Lobero Opera House is an important venue for the women’s suffrage movement and all seats are filled when this famous women’s rights activist comes to speak.

A young W.C. Fields was considered the comedy juggler of his generation and visits the Lobero as part of the Great Orpheum Road Show – billed as the “eccentric tramp juggler.”

After the lights are turned off at the Lobero Opera House, the new Lobero Theatre, designed by George Washington Smith and Lutah Maria Riggs, premieres with the social satire Beggar on Horseback.

Will Morrissey’s Music Hall Revue comes to town – with pianist Al Rinker and the talented 23-year-old jazz crooner, Crosby – who specialize in interesting jazz rhythms and tricky harmonies.

25-year-old Clark Gable appears at the Lobero, alongside veteran headliner Pauline Frederick, in the drama Lucky Sam Carver.

The Russian composer, conductor and virtuoso pianist performs at the Lobero as part of the Community Arts Music Association’s (CAMA) 10th season.

Two years before he stars in the world-famous horror film, Bela Lugosi takes the stage as the blood-sucking vampire, Dracula.

A standing-room-only audience fills the Lobero to hear the singer unleash his rich timbered, bass-baritone voice in a program that ranges from classical arias to southern spirituals.

The play The Mad Hopes, a comedy starring Billie Burke and featuring a young Bogart, previews at the Lobero.

Graham – considered by many to be the 20th century’s most important dancer and the mother of modern dance – first performs at the Lobero, which she soon considers her second home.

The American singer, known for her warm and modest personality, enthralls the audience with her extraordinary contralto voice.

Opening night of Eugene O’Neill’s play Anna Christie, starring Ingrid Bergman, with Hollywood luminaries such as Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Lana Turner, Olivia de Havilland, and more in the audience.

The 27-year-old violin prodigy steps onto the stage with his 1733 “Prince Khevenhuller” Stradivarius and mesmerizes the audience with his flamboyant virtuosity.

The 30-year-old director of Citizen Kane previews his speech on fascism, entitled “The Nature of the Enemy,” at the Lobero before traveling to deliver
it in New York.

On New Year’s Eve, the comic whirlwind takes to the Lobero stage in the ambitious comedy-fantasy, Dream Girl.

This is the year America falls in love with classical flamenco dance, when the José Greco Company brings their riveting showmanship to the Lobero for 4 performances.

The legendary American jazz pianist and composer performs at the Lobero and, in the following decades, the theater helps popularize a new style of jazz known as “west coast” or “cool jazz.”

The well-known comedian brings his raw, unfiltered act to the Lobero and the sold-out, tightly-packed audience roars with laughter – sometimes nervously.

The gravelly voiced singer/songwriter performs two evening shows billed as “A Very Special Turkey for Thanksgiving.”

The composer and saxophone great graces the Lobero for the first time with his innovative and transcendent jazz.

The French mime artist and “master of silence” delights a Lobero audience with his brilliant pantomime.

The jazz trumpet virtuoso performs as part of the illustrious “Jazz at the Lobero” series.

The dance legend performs for 5 consecutive solo shows at the Lobero – the smallest, most intimate stage he has appeared on in 20 years.

The comedic genius teams up with fellow Santa Barbara resident John Cleese in the tender, tragi-comedy Love Letters.

Jeff Bridges joins T-Bone Burnett for an evening of country and American roots music.

Neil Young & Promise of the Real rock the Lobero for three nights.