Entertainment & Arts

Venues and their vibe: L.A.’s eclectic theater scene

Any playgoing experience has to, at least in part, be colored by the personality, mood, look and feel of the theater in which it is presented. In L.A., a renovated Mark Taper Forum downtown takes its place at the head of the class among the historic, funky, elegant and scrappy spaces that host theater performances. Read more by Times Theater critic Charles McNulty:

Any playgoing experience has to, at least in part, be colored by the personality, mood, look and feel of the theater in which it is presented. In L.A., a renovated Mark Taper Forum downtown takes its place at the head of the class among the historic, funky, elegant and scrappy spaces that host theater performances.

Read more by Times Theater critic Charles McNulty:  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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WEST LOS ANGELES, AUG 21, 2008. The plush seating in the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood on Aug, 21 2008.

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The $30-million remodeling of the 41-year-old, carousel-shaped Taper -- one of the most respected dramatic stages in the country -- includes a plush lounge with a Space Age sensibility.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The technical improvements that spring from the Taper’s renovation are matched with a few creature comforts as well, including newly luxurious bathrooms in the basement area. A circular sink is dressed up but practical with large oval mirrors that can spin.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

A muted but mod color scheme distinguishes the interior of the Taper, which will be christened anew with “The House of Blue Leaves,” John Guare’s 1970 farce.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The REDCAT, a.k.a. the Roy and Edna Disney / CalArts Theater, takes a high-end cue from its host building, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, in downtown L.A.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The REDCAT, a high-tech haven, offers a bounty of amenities for patrons, including a boho lounge and free WiFi.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

Where the REDCAT really rises above is in its commitment to cross-pollinating the arts. An on-site gallery, currently featuring an installation by artist Haegue Yang, brings the visual arts into the world of the performing arts and integrates their sensibilities.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

Urban-esque blacks and grays set the mood inside the REDCAT.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

City Garage has a back-alley persona. Maybe it’s because the theater, in a former police department parking lot, is on an alley behind Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The lobby inside the City Garage is all edge.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

A little elegance in the Garage.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

All ye who enter here, i.e. through the Home Grown Store on Pico Boulevard, know that the Black Dahlia Theatre lies just on the other side.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The audience at the Black Dahlia may feel virtually onstage themselves, treated to an intimacy only a 30-seat venue could bring.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The courtyard entrance to the Black Dahlia Theatre feels right out of “Rear Window.”  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood represents L.A. tradition but with a twist, thanks to its Westside-Hollywood draw and proximity to the UCLA campus. The facility was built in 1929 to house a Masonic clubhouse.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The Geffen’s tiled entry courtyard elegantly reflects the city’s Spanish roots.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The playhouse added a more intimate space -- the 115-seat Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater -- during a 2005 renovation.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

One word describes the main Geffen theater’s persona: plush.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The Matrix Theatre on Melrose.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

More than just decor, images of past productions line the Matrix’s hallways, lending a sense of continuity and putting its work in a larger context.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

Color adds warmth to the simply furnished Matrix lobby.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The streamlined performance space at the Matrix.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

Flags and string lights lend a festive air to the Fountain Theatre, housed in a two-story building on Fountain Avenue in Hollywood.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

Upstairs at the Fountain, it’s cookies and camaraderie as a cafe serves up refreshments and a bonding opportunity for theater-goers.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

Patrons get ready to take their seats at the Fountain.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The Bootleg is barely noticeable as a cultural outpost on Beverly Boulevard.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

What it lacks in terms of budget, the Bootleg more than makes up in cheeky style.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

Occupying a former bra factory, the Bootleg theater’s warehouse-sized space allows plenty of room for flexibility and experimentation.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The Bootleg’s seating may be budget style, but the close proximity to the stage is priceless.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The Pasadena Playhouse is perhaps the grande dame of the L.A. theater scene.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

The Pasadena Playhouse’s landmark Spanish Revival theater, which opened in 1925, and its decades-spanning body of work, fuels an air of confidence not easily attained by newer theaters.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Eclectic venues — nooks, landmarks, weathered warehouses and a revamped Mark Taper — color the landscape of the L.A. playgoing experience.

Ornate and elegant, the Pasadena Playhouse’s classically styled interior can lend an air of authority to what’s appearing onstage.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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