‘Change’ Unchanged for L.A. Run

Recently, simultaneous ads have run in Calendar for separate productions of the musical revue “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”--one at the Laguna Playhouse through Aug. 23, and another one scheduled to open at the Coronet Theatre on Oct. 7.

In fact, the Coronet run will use the same cast, director and set (though the set may be slightly shortened for the smaller Coronet stage) as the Laguna production, according to Barbara Corday, a co-producer for the Coronet version.

Corday, a former TV producer and now a USC film professor, invested in the New York original and then agreed to produce the show in L.A., along with her husband Roger Lowenstein and Michael Filerman. In the meantime, Laguna Playhouse asked for the chance to reprise its successful production of the show from last summer. The rights were granted with the proviso that the two productions could share a set and cast and coordinate efforts.

Is there any possibility that simultaneous ads could divert business from one to the other? Probably not, Corday said--an informal survey of Laguna ticket buyers revealed that only 10% were from L.A. County. The initial four weeks of the Laguna run sold at 94% capacity, but plenty of tickets are available for the rest of the run.

LAGUNA MOVES UP TO LORT: Speaking of the Laguna Playhouse, it has joined the short list of Southland nonprofit theaters that operate on Actors’ Equity’s League of Resident Theatres (LORT) contracts.

“It’s the latest and most significant step in our evolution from a community theater to a professional company,” said executive director Richard Stein.

Although Laguna has already paid actors wages equivalent to the lowest rung of LORT minimums, the main difference will be in how many Equity members must be hired. The LORT contract requires using seven Equity members per show before any non-Equity actors are hired. Laguna has never employed more than five Equity members in any production, Stein said.

Laguna attendance hit 87,000 last season--up 27% from the previous season. The 1998-99 budget is projected at $3.1 million; last season’s was $2.5 million.

Other Southland theaters that use LORT contracts are the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, Old Globe Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse.