{"id":150773,"date":"2026-01-27T00:29:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T00:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/150773\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T00:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T00:29:17","slug":"anaheim-highs-historic-cook-auditorium-stage-filled-again-after-6-years-of-renovations-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/150773\/","title":{"rendered":"Anaheim High\u2019s historic Cook Auditorium stage filled again after 6 years of renovations \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time for any of these students, the historic Cook Auditorium lights shone as they performed center stage.<\/p>\n

Thousands upon thousands of Anaheim<\/a> Union High School District alumni have experienced performing for audiences in the theater, but for today\u2019s students, it has been a work zone their entire high school career. Until now.<\/p>\n

\"Parents<\/p>\n

Parents and students line up to enter the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026, for the reopening ceremony of the historic building, which has been closed since 2019. The newly reopened stage debuts state-of-the-art theatrical systems, including advanced lighting, audio, and video, as well as a fully motorized rigging system. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Walker Junior High School Legacy performs \u201cJapanese Snow Song\u201d during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Members<\/p>\n

Members of the Cypress High School High Voltage, Hailey Martinez, 16, left, and Farah Aqmal, 17, rehearse in the balcony before the start of the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Kennedy High School Executive Order performs \u201cLive-Love-Dream: A Cinderella Prologue\u201d during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Oxford Academy Show Choir performs to the song, \u201cGood Morning,\u201d during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Josephine<\/p>\n

Josephine Beltran, 17, with the Cypress High School High Voltage checks her makeup before the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"U.S.<\/p>\n

U.S. Representative Lou Correa and Jessica Guerrero, Board President of the Anaheim Union High School District, center, celebrate with members of the AUHSD, city council members, and others after cutting the ribbon to launch the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Oxford Academy JV Show Choir performs \u201cSOS\u201d during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Hope School Singers perform \u201cTime After Time\u201d during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Visual<\/p>\n

Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator for the Anaheim Union High School District Brian Belski, on stage, speaks during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Cypress High School High Voltage performs to the song, \u201cDissonance,\u201d during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Dale Junior High School Lancer Choir performs during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The combined AUHSD Choirs gather on and around the stage to perform the Grand Finale song, \u201cThank You for the Music,\u201d to close the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Kaitlyn<\/p>\n

Kaitlyn Givens sings \u201cStandUp\u201d with the Western High School Pioneer Choir during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A parent in the auditorium records the Walker Junior High School Legacy performing during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Hope School Singers sign the word, forever, after performing \u201cTime After Time\u201d during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 16<\/p>\n

Parents and students line up to enter the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026, for the reopening ceremony of the historic building, which has been closed since 2019. The newly reopened stage debuts state-of-the-art theatrical systems, including advanced lighting, audio, and video, as well as a fully motorized rigging system. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

The school district completed a $7 million renovation to the 90-year-old performance center at Anaheim High just in time for the annual all-school choral showcase. So, on Friday night, hundreds of students took the stage as the top choir from each campus performed in the districtwide concert. For the finale, more than 700 students sang in unison \u2014 a \u201cstress test\u201d of the new acoustics, said Brian Belski, the district\u2019s director of arts education.<\/p>\n

Belski said he is also looking forward to the first theatrical performance in the renovated Cook Auditorium, which is the \u201cpremier auditorium in the district.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not had theatrical performances in a building that is purposely designed for that,\u201d he said of the years since the theater renovations started. \u201cI look forward to students not having to compensate for the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cook Auditorium was opened in 1935 \u2014 replacing the high school\u2019s original Greek Revival\u2013style auditorium that had been severely damaged in the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake \u2014 and closed in 2019 for renovations to address safety concerns with the now decades-old rigging system.<\/p>\n

It reopened with technology that can be found on many a Broadway stage, including motorized stage rigging to replace the old manual system, 40 channels of digital LED lighting and 20,000 watts of audio power. Movable acoustic drapes and sound-absorbing panels will let the theater be calibrated to the best sound for various styles of performances.<\/p>\n

The district received a $2 million federal grant secured by Rep. Lou Correa, Anaheim High Class of 1976<\/a>, with the remainder funded by Measure K, the $496 million school board measure voters approved in 2024<\/a>, and other construction funds, Belski said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time for any of these students, the historic Cook Auditorium lights shone as they performed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,179,15,100,611,1997,136],"class_list":["post-150773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-community","tag-education","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-schools","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}