Furious co-founder is smiling now

The Pasadena Playhouse is acquiring a new venue in its own building -- the 99-seat Balcony Theatre overlooking the main auditorium’s Spanish revival courtyard -- and is aiming to earn some instant street credibility by turning the space over to a troupe of young, edgy boarders.

The Furious Theatre Company, for its part, is getting a proven theatrical venue to resume its rise, which was interrupted last year when it was forced to evacuate its rent-free playing space in a curtained-off corner of a vast warehouse owned by the city of Pasadena. While Furious, launched in 2002, spent a year looking for a new home, the Playhouse was negotiating to lease the Balcony from the landlord who owns the entire complex. Outside producers had used the space since 1992; the Playhouse, which gave it up for financial reasons, will regain control after a three-year run of “Late Nite Catechism” ends next Sunday.

“This is huge for us,” says Brad Price, one of the Furious founders.

The nonprofit company will do some light remodeling of the Balcony on its own dime and will cover all production costs. First on its schedule, on Oct. 22, is “Scenes From the Big Picture” by Northern Irish playwright Owen McCafferty. Three other productions will be announced next week.