Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1998 - 11

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June to September. There are 1,241 seats, yet no
audience member is seated more than ninety-six
feet from t:le stage. There are picnic areas on the
grounds to acconullodate ol'er 200 patrons. The
facili~; whjch is in a Los Angeles County Regional
Park, is O\\l1ed and operated by the County of Los
Angeles.
Another outdoor Uleatre, Ule Greek Theatre opened in 1930. It was constlUcted in a
natural canyon using funds \\ilIed to Ule city of
Los Angeles by Gliffiul J. Gliffiul, a poor Lmnugrant from SOUUl Wales who made Ius fortune. in
Ule U.S. In Ule 1950s, Los Angeles showman
James Doolittle redesigned Ule Greek TIleatre,
changing Ule house and backstage equipment so
it could compete \\~Ul oUler 1950s Uleatres. ill
1975, management of Ule Greek passed over to
Ule James M. Nederlander CompaIues. TIle
i\'ederlaIlders repaired, renovated aIld rejuvenated Ule UleaU'e \\~Ul Uleir philosophy of "providing someuung for everyone." ill 1983, Ule
\ederlanders expanded Ule seating c.1paci~' to
6.18 . A1995 eaI"!hquake retrofit brought Ule capaci~' to its present 6,162. TIle Greek TIleatre has
made a great inlpact on Angelenos hosting legendary music.ll pel{0Il11ances too numerous to
mention.
TIle world-faIll0US Hollywood Bowl is Ule
laI'gest nan,,-aJ aIllp]uUleater in Ule world \\~Ul a
CUITent seating capaci~' of 17,965. Since its
opening in 1922, it has been Ule sunUller home
of Ule Los Angeles PlillllaI1110lUC. The Bowl,
wluch has prO\~ded a showcase for Ule world's
greatest musiciaI1S, regularly presents S)l11phOIUC
concel1s, fully staged operas, ballets, jazz aIld
classic music festivals, aIld concel1S feanlring evel)' kind of music lUld petformer. TIle lUllphiUleater \\~th its signanlre lli'ched proscenium is

b) Donna Ruzika
knO\\11 \I'orld\\ide and its plli'k-like grounds lli'e
open yeal'round for ~sitors to enjoy free of
chaI'ge.
TIle opelUng of Ule Hollywood Pantages
in 1930, was Ule most glamorous mO\~e palace
opening in Hollywood's lustory. Its Grand Lobby\
Ule llli'gest el'er built in Los Angeles, was c.1pped
\\~Ul an inlpressive ceiling decorated \\~Ul shades
of gold and henna and lit by Uu'ee huge modeIl1
frosted-glass chandeliers haIlging from uu'ee staI'
shaped domes. TIle vast auditOlium seated 2,812.
The stage was Ule laI'gest in Los Angeles except
for Ule Shrine Auditolium. Today Ule magJUficent
PaIlIages Theau'e is O\\1led aIld operated by Ule
NederlaIlders and is Ule home base for Broadway
touring shows. OUler mo~e palaces wluch embody Ule glaIll0Ur of Hollywood lli'e Ule fabulous
EI Capitan Theatre, where live Disney entel'
tainment is staged before Ule feanlre Disney
mO\~e; TIle MaIm (folmerly GralullaIl'S) Chinese Theatre \ViUl its world-faIllOUS foot aIld
haIld prints left in cement by Hollywood StaI'S;
aIld Ule soon to be renol'ated Egyptian Theatre.
Twen~'-six nilles across Ule sea, TIle
Avalon Theatre and Ballroom on Ule islaIld of
Catalina opened in 1929. TIle sumpnlOus 1,250
seat Uleatre is decorated \\iUl nine sea-inspired
panels by muralist Jolm Gabliel BeckIllaIl aIld a
copy of Botticellj's 8ir/b of Vel/liS reigns over Ule
prosceluum aITh. TIle acoustics lli'e so fine in Ule
Uleatre Ulat Ule engineel'S of Radio City Music Hall
snldied it in 1931. Today, movies bling in Ule
crO\l'ds evel)' evelUng in summer aIld most nights
the remainder of the Yeal·.
There lli'e many oUler wonderful lustoric
Uleatres, but let's move on before you tlunk Ule
only Uleatres in SouUlern California were built in
Ule 1920s aIld 30s. A\~sit to just a few of Ule ex-

quisite state-of-tlle-lli1 PetfoIl1Ung Arts Facilities
wluch grace our local conm1Unities should convince you OUleI'\~se.
Located in Ule heal"! of do\\l1towl1 Los Angeles Ule Music Center complex is made up of Ule
DoroU1Y Chandler Pamon, tlJe Mark Taper Fo111m, Ule Ahmanson TIleatre and Ule future Walt
Disney Concel1 Hall. The Dorothy Chandler
Pavilion opened in 1964. TIle 3,19 seat auditolium hosts opera, dance, music, Uleatre and is
Ule sometime home to the Academy AWlli"ds.
Ahmanson Theatre and Ule Mark Taper Forum boul opened in 196 . Managed by tile Center TIleatre Group, Ule AlUl1anson TIleaU"e
Oliginally hOllsed 2,071 seats, but \\~tll recent
renovation it has Vlliiable seating ranging from
1,300 to 2,000.
Since its opening in September 1986, Ule
Orange County Performillg Arts Center located in Costa Mesa, has established itself as one
of Ule world's leading pel{0Il11anCe facilities.
OCPAC is renO\\1led for its stunning asyl1U11euic.1l
arclutecnlre, adl'anced acoustical desigJl and excellent sighilines. TIus monumental venue has
more Ulan 650,000 people attending events in Ule
3,000-seat Segel'Strom Hall and 300-seat
Foundel'S HaJJ each Yeal'.
In 1994, Ule Cerritos Perfonning Arts
Center was hailed by SlIT as "Ule most soplusticated project we're seen in telms of lliTlutecture, teclmology and urbaIl desigJl." TIle Center is
one 6,000 squlli"e foot auditolium \~Ul stage
floor, ceiling lUld seats Ulat C.1I1 be realTanged to
create a number of configurations (in eight hOlll'S
or less). While balcony seating remains fixed,
floor seating is adjustable on wagons \\~Ul air
castel'S, enabling Ulem to be raised, lowered or
removed. TIle stlge CaIl be transfoIl1Jed into variTD&T

WINTER

1998

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1998