An Evening Made for ‘Real Theater Animals’

The Scene: Reopening night of Stephen Sondheim’s controversial 1991 musical comedy “Assassins”--about infamous killers and attempted killers of American Presidents--at the Los Angeles Theatre Center on Friday night with a reception afterward. The evening was a benefit for the Los Angeles County Bar Barristers’ Domestic Violence Project.

Who Was There: “Real theater animals,” as one guest put it, including four former Sondheim leading ladies--Angela Lansbury, Glynis Johns, Joanna Gleason and Donna Murphy--as well as Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti; Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher Darden; Lou, Juditha, Tanya and Dominique Brown; Joel Wachs; Gloria Allred; Warren Beatty and Annette Bening; Lee Grant; James Doolittle; Louis Nye; Dom DeLuise; Henry Jaglom; Mariette Harley; Hector Elizondo; Dina Merrill; Donna Mills, and Patrick Cassidy and the rest of the cast.

Who Wasn’t There: Sondheim was said to be back in New York dealing with a recent fire in his Turtle Bay apartment.

You Should Know: Without including names or initials, Garcetti’s remarks to the audience about domestic violence not getting much notice “until nine months ago” were perfectly understood. “Now we have people’s attention,” he said.

Quoted: “Last July our calls took a big jump and now we’re still at an increased level. We have as many as 30 women a day seeking restraining orders in the Downtown court,” said Patricia Andreani, directing attorney of the Domestic Violence Project.

Audience Review: Comments ran the gamut from “strange entertainment,” to Andrea Marcovicci’s rhapsodic critique, “It’s one of Sondheim’s most melodic musicals, and being someone who lives for melody I found it so surprising.”

Chow: A low-key spread of cheese and crackers, baked goods, fruit, red and white wines, and Sparkletts water.

Mutual Admiration Society: “I told her she knocked me out in ‘Passion,’ ” said Gleason, who starred in “Into the Woods,” of her meeting with Murphy. “And I said, ‘Coming back at you,’ ” Murphy said.