Theater takeoff announcement

ALONG with the standard plea to turn off their cellphones and unwrap those Gummi Bears, California performing arts patrons may have started noticing an extra pre-show announcement lately: “Please take a moment to look around for the nearest emergency exit.”

Don’t be alarmed: The announcement does not mean there’s a bomb in the theater (for that information, continue to consult the reviews). Nor does it suggest a need to tackle the fellow in the next seat on his way to the restroom because “I dunno, he just had this crazy look in his eyes.... “

In fact, the admonition is the result not of imminent danger but the new Emergency Exit Announcement Bill. Signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger in October, the bill, effective as of Jan. 1, requires that the announcement be made at any “ticketed event for live entertainment” at a facility with an “occupancy load of less than 1,000 persons and a legitimate stage for the gathering together of 50 or more persons.”

At least at the Music Center, patrons are remaining preternaturally calm in the face of possible exit, according to Leticia Buckley, director of marketing and communications. “No reaction, no response, nothing -- that was a surprise,” she says.

-- Diane Haithman