Theatre in Los Angeles, Bitches...
One of my biggest pet peeves: People who say theatre in Los Angeles sucks.
You know what? YOU suck.
Lately, however, I've been able to chalk it up to a certain naivete on the subject. I mean, how often is it people in this town (or any town, for that matter) will choose the theatre over a night of bar hopping, clubbing or a dinner and a movie. Not very often, in my estimation. Therefore, the times we DO attend are when we absolutely HAVE to... call it an obligation. Whether it's an obligation to attend because of work, a friend that's in the show, or because of a review, that's usually how the seats are filled. Bad reasons to attend? No, not really... but how often is a night at the theatre spurred-on by someone suggesting, out of the blue, or pre-planning when a show comes out?
Very rarely, then, will we have the opportunity to see really good theatre. Think of the last 5 movies you saw in the past 4 weeks. Now, let's say you really enjoyed 3 of the 5, thought 1 was mediocre and the other was horrible. If you went to 1 theatre performance every 4 weeks and it is mediocre or horrible, chances are you wouldn't attend anymore. To judge an entire medium of entertainment in one location (Los Angeles) on the few bad experiences you've had, not because you are going out and seeking great performances, but because of your obligations, is not fair and is downright snobbish.
That being said, a good portion of the theatre in this town is Equity Waiver, a special agreement the theatre company makes with Actor's Equity in which the seats cannot exceed 99 in the house and the actors work for reduced salaries. What a lot of productions have done is used this great contract to make shows that "showcase" their performers, rather than performing the piece for the audience. It's masterbatory and the majority of the time, it sucks shit. Any form of entertainment that is produced purely for selfish reasons and does not allow the audience to interact on some level is a failure. Period. We've all seen it in the movies, on tv, and yes, in the theatre. What I encourage each and every one of us to do (yes, myself included) is to become more aware of what Los Angeles theatre has to offer. The only way we can do that is to be familiar with our surroundings and the people who are leading the charge of good theatre.
We all, for the most part, know about the biggies. I speak, of course, about The Ahmanson, The Geffen, The Hollywood Bowl or the Falcon Theatre. There are alternative theatres that produce just as good of shows for a fraction of the price. When was the last time you saw an award winning performance at The Colony Theatre in downtown Burbank? Or went to see some extremely theatrical pieces at The Actor's Gang in Culver City? Have you visited the piece of art that is the Boston Court? And those theatre experiences couldn't be possible without the visionaries who have staged them including Jessica Kubzansky, Edgar Landa, Tracy Young, Michael Michetti or Garry Marshall.
Yes, I've seen some bad theatre here in LA. But for a city that boasts MORE THEATRE THAN NEW YORK CITY, I guarantee you haven't been looking in the right places if you think theatre here sucks. Do yourself a favor: save up a few extra dollars, skip your friend's "it's a show, but more like a showcase" and take in a REAL performance somewhere else.
LA Stage Alliance is a good resource for finding 1/2 price tickets and what's hot in theatre right now. LaPlayz.com is another good resource for finding cheap seats and good theatre.
And since you've all been such good readers, here are some clips to get you through your Rally of a Day. And yes, that is a picture of me in one of the worst shows to ever come out of Los Angeles. But I got paid out the ying-yang.
posted by TTBitches at 1:00 PM
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