Curtain up on proposals to improve L.A. theater
Regarding Charles McNulty’s essay “Our Local Theater Lacks Direction, Leadership” [Oct. 20]: Los Angeles has excellent theater, but unlike New York it does not have a theater district. A Noise Within and La Mirada and the Garry Marshall are nowhere near each other.
Another problem is the Pantages — a barn no more fit for a theatrical production than the Coliseum would be for a hockey game. Even the 2,000-seat Ahmanson is too big, absurdly so for one-man shows. The 700-seat Taper is too small for many productions.
Perhaps a solution would be to build a theater district downtown. As part of a revitalization plan, start with the Music Center and Disney and build out. We could build 1,200-seat venues on Grand Avenue — state-of-the-art structures with the relative intimacy we associate with New York.
We should have shows like “Almost Famous” open in Los Angeles — and stay here, where it belongs. Robert Sheahen, Los Angeles
I have been discussing this very issue [about] the L.A. theater scene for years. It is disappointing to see [the problem] so pervasive at Center Theatre Group when they have so much potential with so many resources at their disposal. Lucas Gust Los Angeles
Thank you for voicing a clear and precise assessment of CTG. As my wife said when she resisted my request to leave at the intermission of “Happy Days” along with half the audience, “It can only get better.”
Let’s hope. Lance Ito
Pasadena
McNulty’s opinion piece regarding the state of Center Theatre Group did not mention one important mission that CTG has been failing to accomplish. A major regional theater should be actively developing shows for a possible future Broadway run. In comparison, CTG’s neighbor to the South, the La Jolla Playhouse, has sent several shows to Broadway in the last few years such as “Diana,” “Summer” and “Escape to Margaritaville.” L.A. audiences deserve better theater than just a set of touring productions, N.Y./Chicago imports and vanity projects. Michael LandmanKarny
Anaheim
I could have written your piece 20 years ago. The glory of Gordon Davidson was well in the past when I became a regular subscriber in the early ’90s. That his replacement was sold as in the same mold was a disappointment to me. But here we have it, very little exciting theater in a city with so much new and quality work being made.
I am careful about which shows I attend now and still walk out of many (especially those with no intermission) or barely make it through many of the others. Harlan Levinson Los Angeles