Douglas offers freedom to change

Center Theatre Group’s new Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City “gives us the flexibility and capability to make changes even after the ‘opening’ in our short runs,” wrote artistic director Gordon Davidson in his program note for “The Paris Letter” -- the venue’s second production, which closes today.

Davidson’s note described this as perhaps the most important difference between the Douglas and its larger sister theater, the Mark Taper Forum.

Elaborating last week, Davidson said tinkering at the Douglas would cost much less. The more bare-bones Douglas sets cost about $25,000, compared with $100,000 for Taper sets. The Taper uses union stagehands; the Douglas doesn’t.

Douglas plays are “works along the way, in a phase of development that may turn out to be the final phase or may provide a crucial moment of rethinking,” Davidson said.

Despite all that, no post-opening changes were made in “The Paris Letter” or its predecessor, “A Perfect Wedding.”