This from Patti Onagan at the Pasadena Playhouse:
PASADENA PLAYHOUSE, THE STATE THEATER OF CALIFORNIA EMERGES FROM CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY.
NECESSARY ON-GOING FUNDRAISING EFFORTS BEGIN WITH AN ANONYMOUS $1 MILLION MATCHING PLEDGE CAMPAIGN
PASADENA, CA (July 8, 2010) – Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theater of California, announced that its Plan of Reorganization was approved yesterday by the United States Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles and emerged from Chapter 11 after nearly two months.
Future plans, including a Fall 2010 production, will be announced at a later date.
Future plans, including a Fall 2010 production, will be announced at a later date.
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Support of The Pasadena Playhouse is vital to the cultural scene of California.
Choices for productions that the Playhouse has made are not always ones that I’ve found exciting. How to provide an interesting season and keep the doors open and the curtain going up is certainly a challenge. Part of the problem, as I see it, is mounting very expensive shows when saving a few bucks might be a good idea.
Peter Brook extols the virtues of The Empty Space and many, many years ago, I recall his A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Ahmanson that carried audiences back to Shakespeare with great good humor. If “the play’s the thing,” then finding The Play might be an idea. Recently, Glendale’s A Noise Within remounted an amazing romp, Noises Off! which might easily transfer to the Playhouse. If the reception of sold out houses at ANW is any indication, the Playhouse might want to speak with them about re-opening by mounting their production. Coincidentally, the Glendale theatre company will break ground for a new modern space in Pasadena in a couple of weeks, which may draw more theatre goers to the area when they open in a there in a year or two.
Finding audience pleasing shows and still maintaining some version of a cutting edge in theatre is a challenge. Ron Sossi has kept his Odyssey Theatre going for more than thirty years, seldom settling for easy productions. Of course, he’s on the west side of town which may have something to do with his success. My observation is that The Playhouse has mostly been about getting the seats filled and that means sometimes doing less challenging work. I refer readers to the Canadian television series “Slings and Arrows” for insights. Available on Netfix it asks the question “Can Art and Commerce exist side by side?”
Congratulations to Playhouse director Stephen Eich and the Playhouse team for hanging in and to the anonymous donors who opened their hearts and their wallets to do the right thing. I’m sure that donations to the cause are still welcome, so if you have the means to help, please contact Mr. Eich and make a contribution to our State Theatre of California.
Choices for productions that the Playhouse has made are not always ones that I’ve found exciting. How to provide an interesting season and keep the doors open and the curtain going up is certainly a challenge. Part of the problem, as I see it, is mounting very expensive shows when saving a few bucks might be a good idea.
Peter Brook extols the virtues of The Empty Space and many, many years ago, I recall his A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Ahmanson that carried audiences back to Shakespeare with great good humor. If “the play’s the thing,” then finding The Play might be an idea. Recently, Glendale’s A Noise Within remounted an amazing romp, Noises Off! which might easily transfer to the Playhouse. If the reception of sold out houses at ANW is any indication, the Playhouse might want to speak with them about re-opening by mounting their production. Coincidentally, the Glendale theatre company will break ground for a new modern space in Pasadena in a couple of weeks, which may draw more theatre goers to the area when they open in a there in a year or two.
Finding audience pleasing shows and still maintaining some version of a cutting edge in theatre is a challenge. Ron Sossi has kept his Odyssey Theatre going for more than thirty years, seldom settling for easy productions. Of course, he’s on the west side of town which may have something to do with his success. My observation is that The Playhouse has mostly been about getting the seats filled and that means sometimes doing less challenging work. I refer readers to the Canadian television series “Slings and Arrows” for insights. Available on Netfix it asks the question “Can Art and Commerce exist side by side?”
Congratulations to Playhouse director Stephen Eich and the Playhouse team for hanging in and to the anonymous donors who opened their hearts and their wallets to do the right thing. I’m sure that donations to the cause are still welcome, so if you have the means to help, please contact Mr. Eich and make a contribution to our State Theatre of California.
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