An Upstairs Tenant for the Coronet

An upstairs space at the Coronet Theatre is about to open. Called, simply enough, Upstairs at the Coronet, it has been approved by the fire department for a maximum capacity of 168. But there probably will be about 150 seats for the opening show on Dec. 3, “Late Nite Catechism.”

Theatergoers who usually turn left when they enter the Coronet courtyard--in order to reach the lobby next to the main 284-seat theater--will turn right and climb stairs to reach “Catechism.” Previously used for classes, recitals and showcases but not for public performances, the space is over the lobby. There is no elevator.

Earlier this year, “Catechism” played the Henry Fonda Theatre, where it used--but seldom came close to filling--a 542-seat configuration. As a solo show with audience interaction, it might be more at home in a smaller space. “I hope this stays here for years,” said the Coronet’s executive director, Ted Rawlins.

Rawlins disputes any notion that the upstairs could attract some tenants away from the downstairs theater. Downstairs business will increase, he predicted: “Each space will feed the other in terms of sales.” Unfortunately for that theory, nothing is currently booked downstairs, but he’s working on it.

The opening of Upstairs at the Coronet follows the recent reopening of the similarly sized Playhouse Balcony Theatre, over the restaurant next to the Pasadena Playhouse. But unlike the Playhouse Balcony, the upstairs Coronet space doesn’t have a stamp of approval from Actors’ Equity, which would be necessary for it to become a full-range addition to the ranks of the city’s mid-size theaters. The creator and performer of “Catechism,” Maripat Donovan, is not a member of Equity, so no approval was required for her show.

BRING YOUR STUDENT I.D.: Speaking of the Henry Fonda Theatre, its current tenant, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” which is using only 499 seats, is filling about two-thirds of capacity, compared to about half during previews, said the show’s co-producer, Joan Stein. But even if it’s no sellout yet, “Hedwig” attracts a younger crowd than most productions, Stein said. Nearly half of the sales so far are at the lowest ticket price, $22. Apart from the first two rows, which are sold for $22 at each performance, the only tickets available at this price are those sold to students. So students, presumably younger than the average audience member, make up a big proportion of the audience.

“In my 10 years of producing here, I’ve never seen so many young, cool, cute, hip kids,” Stein said.

Not that “Hedwig” is for actual kids. Stein doesn’t recommend it for anyone under 14. “A 6-year-old might not understand that a story about a East German transsexual’s botched sex-change operation is a metaphor for what you have to give up for freedom,” Stein said.

A DELAYED REPRISE!: The next season of Reprise! won’t start for nearly 10 months. “Call Me Madam” will play the Freud Playhouse on Sept. 13-24 and “Mack and Mabel” next November, with the popular To Be Announced opening in February 2001. Why the delay?

“We’ve grown so fast, we’re way ahead of ourselves in terms of our capacity to manage,” said producing artistic director Marcia Seligson. “We need six months to catch up, to increase staff and board, to apply for grants, to think about goals, to breathe a bit.”

Reprise! just won its first Ovation Award, for Carolee Carmello in “Bells Are Ringing.” In its early days the company didn’t present enough performances to qualify for Ovations.