Getting to the Theater on the Early Side

A musical “Frankenstein,” Chekhov, Shakespeare, Lerner and Loewe, postmodern clowns, puppets, dramas set in 1665 London and in post-Civil War Kansas, updates of Greek mythology and Dr. Frank ‘N Furter himself: There’s something for just about everyone, whatever your age, in this year’s second annual, much-expanded “Kids’ Week at the Theatre.”

The program is designed to introduce young people to the pleasures of a live theatergoing experience. Running Monday through Feb. 21 at many theaters throughout Los Angeles County, the event includes the offer of one or two free tickets for young people (under age 18) with the purchase of a full-price adult ticket.

Among the shows participating: “Titantic” at the Ahmanson, “Broadway” at Actors’ Gang, “Flyin’ West” at Pasadena Playhouse, “Macbeth” at the Matrix and the “Rocky Horror Show” at the Tiffany.

In addition, some companies, such as the Fabulous Monsters, are putting on free events and special performances; others, like the Odyssey and Interact theaters, are inviting families to attend open rehearsals and backstage tours.

The ambitious program, which was sparked originally by New York’s “Kids’ Night on Broadway,” has been put together by Theatre L.A., a nonprofit organization representing and promoting L.A. theaters, and by A.S.K. Theater Projects, a nonprofit local and national theater resource.

Why the theater community--not only here but in several cities nationwide--is working so hard to attract young people and their families comes down to a burning concern in the theater world: future audiences.

“One of Theatre L.A.’s mandates is to try to make sure we’re going to have an audience for theater in 10 or 15 years,” said Alisa Fishbach, Theatre L.A.’s kids’ week committee representative. “This event seemed like a natural fit. The reason we designed the program the way we have is that we wanted to encourage theater attendance by families. I think one of the stumbling blocks for getting younger people and families into the theater is that the machinations for doing it are daunting. This way, we’re kind of doing a lot of the legwork for them.

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“We’ve gotten a huge response,” she added. “Parents are excited that somebody has coordinated this and is giving them some guidelines.”

This year’s event has been in the planning stages since June, and the theater community’s response has been enthusiastic, Fishbach said.

“We learned a lot from last year. Last year was kind of, ‘Let’s just dive in’--it was a short-term thing, there was less lead time. The first thing we did afterward was sit down and see what worked and what didn’t and fine-tuned it a little bit.”

Fishbach stresses that, despite what the event is called, it’s aimed as much at teenagers and adults as younger children.

“Although there are some programs geared toward the younger set, like ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ at the Santa Monica Playhouse, almost everything that we’re offering would be offered to an adult audience. It’s a chance for kids to feel this is something they can take part in, too.”

“I think that’s key for kids above 10,” said Kym Eisner, representing A.S.K., “to be able to go to an event that’s not seen as a kids’ thing necessarily.” There are wonderful shows for younger children, she said, but “they start to lose preteens, and I think that’s a real important time for theater to excite them.”

“Here, a 10-year-old can go see Fabulous Monsters at the Helms Bakery Complex on Saturday [in ‘Tales of Marvel’] and then, two hours later, go over to the Gascon, in the same complex, and take a stage combat class.”

“When they see a production of theater,” Fishbach said, “what they’re seeing is the ultimate collaborative process. That’s one of the things that excites me about the idea of backstage tours. It’s not just the curtain going up, and boom, it’s all there. There’s work and energy and creative spirit that go into making it happen.”

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A sampling of other events: L.A Theatre Works’ live radio theater production of George C. Wolfe’s satire “The Colored Museum”; “Guantanamera,” a dark comedy from Cuba at Bilingual Foundation of the Arts; Bob Baker Marionettes at 24th Street Theatre; International City Theatre’s “Frankenstein” at Long Beach’s Center Theatre; “The Merry Wives of Windsor” at the Met Theatre in Hollywood; East West Players’ production of Cherylene Lee’s epic drama, “Carry the Tiger to the Mountain”; “The New Bozena,” clowns at Hudson Theatre in Hollywood; Music Theatre of Southern California’s “My Fair Lady” at San Gabriel Civic Auditorium; and “Thieves Carnival,” Jean Anouilh’s comedy at Theatre West.

A complete schedule of the week’s events, including times, descriptions and age appropriateness, can be obtained through the group’s hotline, (310) 281-1910; at its Web site, www.theatrela.org/; and at all 68 branches of the Los Angeles Public Library, where related reading lists are available.