The auditorium of the Mark Taper Forum will be named the Amelia Taper Auditorium when the theatre re-opens in the fall of 2008, as a result of a $2 million gift from the S. Mark Taper Foundation it was announced today by the Music Center and Center Theatre Group. The Taper, which is currently undergoing a major interior renovation, will have its auditorium named for the wife of philanthropist and business leader S. Mark Taper whose gift in 1962 made the acclaimed 745-seat Music Center theatre possible and for whom the landmark theatre is named. Stephen D. Rountree, President of the Music Center said, "We are grateful to the S. Mark Taper Foundation whose $2 million gift will name the auditorium. It is fitting that the building that has carried Mark Taper's name on its exterior for 40 years will now carry his wife Amelia's name on the auditorium.

"We know that this is very meaningful to Amelia's daughter, Janice Taper Lazarof, president of the S. Mark Taper Foundation, and to the grandchildren of Mark and Amelia Taper. We at the Music Center are appreciative of the continuing support and involvement of the S. Mark Taper Foundation and the Taper family."

"My mother was a devoted patron of the arts, particularly the theatre," said Janice Taper Lazarof. "She would have been honored to have the auditorium at the Mark Taper Forum named after her."

The renovated auditorium will retain its unique intimacy, while enjoying exciting improvements, including new seating, plush upholstery, carpeting and improved acoustics. The side walls of the performance space will be animated with unique design elements and a less cluttered ceiling will provide a more open and friendly ambience.

"Center Theatre Group patrons will soon be rewarded with a new Mark Taper Forum," said Michael Ritchie, CTG Artistic Director. "The theatre has always had style, thanks to Welton Becket's exterior design which is a landmark of New Formalism, but next fall patrons will experience a 21stcentury interior and a state-of-the-art auditorium, the Amelia Taper Auditorium. All of Los Angeles appreciates the family of S. Mark Taper and the Foundation for all they have contributed to this community. On behalf of performing art lovers, the Music Center and Center Theatre Group, I want to say thank you for what the Tapers have done for us, twice."

S. Mark Taper began his business career in England in retail and real estate. When he retired in the late 1930's he moved his family to Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles Times (12-17-1994) the Tapers devoted some of their wealth to transporting hundreds of Catholic and Jewish children out of Nazi Germany. After the war, Taper began to develop real estate projects and founded the First Charter Financial Corporation of Beverly Hills, where he served as president and chairman. Amelia Taper died in 1958, and the first modern art gallery at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art was named in her honor with a gift from her husband, who died in 1994. The S. Mark Taper Foundation was established in 1989 as a family foundation.