Quake Didn’t Keep ‘Em Away Over Weekend

Although quake-shattered nerves undoubtedly kept some patrons away from local arts and entertainment venues late last week, it was virtually business as usual at live performances over the weekend. However, movie attendance was down substantially because many movie theaters were closed.

A spokesman for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard,” which was not performed last Tuesday while damage to Century City’s Shubert Theatre was assessed, said there were about 100 no-shows for Wednesday’s and Thursday’s previously sold-out performances, but that the Friday through Sunday the performances “were sold out--period.”

The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center reported more cancellations than usual since Wednesday night’s gala opening of the opera “El Gato Montes,” starring Placido Domingo. Spokesman Tom Jacobs said patrons have been calling in rather than simply not showing up, so that tickets have been resold. Although no figures were available, he said cancellations were highest for Wednesday’s performance.

The Ahmanson at the Doolittle Theatre in Hollywood resumed performances of “Fool Moon” Friday, after postponing Thursday’s planned opening. Doolittle spokesman Tony Sherwood said that the 500-seat balcony has been closed pending cosmetic repairs but that balcony ticket holders are being relocated downstairs.

Weekend performances at UCLA’s Royce Hall were moved to the Wadsworth Theater because of structural damage. Friday’s Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra performance, which drew 800 patrons to the 1450-seat theater, started 30 minutes late to allow patrons time to make the switch. Saturday night’s performance by the King’s Singers drew a crowd of 1,000.

Many of the large movie theater complexes in Los Angeles County, particularly those in the San Fernando Valley, remained closed for most of the weekend. One source estimated that the closures caused a 40% drop in business from a typical weekend.

John Krier, of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co., said any estimate of how many theaters were closed and of how much was lost would be difficult to measure. But, he added, “whatever the loss was, there was substantial drop-off in overall business.”

In the San Fernando Valley, business was reported off 25% for Brazilian singer-songwriter Dori Caymmi at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks, but off only slightly at the Palomino in North Hollywood for the Blazers on Friday and Dread Zeppelin on Saturday.

Crowds for Pharoah Sanders at Catalina’s in Hollywood were described as “excellent.” The Alligator Lounge in Santa Monica reported business as “average” on Friday and Saturday and “very good” on Sunday.

Hollywood’s most popular comedy clubs experienced a busy weekend after a post-quake week of light business; Budd Friedman’s Improv had overflow crowds at both Friday and Saturday shows, but many clubs in the Valley were closed because of quake damage.

Owners and managers of home-video stores reported that business was up moderately over the weekend. The biggest increase in business seemed to be from areas hardest hit by the earthquake. The manager of the Wherehouse in Encino said she received a lot of weekend business from customers of the chain’s store in Northridge, which was closed because of damage.

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Times staff writers Daniel Cerone, Dennis Hunt and David Fox and free-lancer Chuck Crisafulli contributed to this story.