With all the celebrity appeal associated with L.A., some of the most enticing off-site venues are the theaters, old and new.
The city's downtown theater district at one time was the West Coast's equivalent to Broadway. The Broadway Corridor is home to 12 historic theaters, most built in the '20s and '30s, and boasts the largest concentration of historic theaters and movie palaces in the nation. Many screen vintage movies during the annual Last Remaining Seats program, produced by the Los Angeles Conservancy (www.laconservancy.org), and are popular for Hollywood movie shoots, live performances and special events.
Historic theaters include the Arcade Theatre (originally The Pantages) and the Cameo Theatre, both of which opened in October 1910, and the Downtown Palace Theatre (originally the Orpheum), which opened in 1911.
The Downtown Palace Theatre (www.losangelestheatre.com) is available for events of up to 1,100 people in its auditorium and 100 in its sky-lit loft. The Los Angeles Theatre (www.losangelestheatre.com), L.A.'s last and most ornate movie palace, seats 2,000 in its auditorium and can accommodate another 2,000 in its six-story Grand Lobby, glass-ceilinged ballroom and restaurant.
"At the Los Angeles Theatre, only 40 percent of the building is auditorium, the rest is hospitality space," says Nick Latimer, general manager of the Los Angeles Theatre.
Latimer is also general manager of the Broadway Theater Group, which represents the Los Angeles, Downtown Palace and State theaters.
"The Los Angeles Theatre is the crown jewel of the group," he says.
In Hollywood, the Kodak Theatre (www.kodaktheatre.com) has been dubbed the crown jewel of the Hollywood & Highland Center. The 3,332-seat theater opened in 2001 and is the first permanent home of the Academy Awards. It is also now the home to the new resident Cirque du Soleil show, IRIS, A Journey through the World of Cinema. When not in performance, the theater can be used by groups.
Former home of the Academy Awards, Hollywood's Pantages Theatre (www.broadwayla.org), which opened in 1930, has become a Hollywood landmark. Today, the Pantages presents Broadway shows, and like many of L.A.'s old theaters, it is used for filming movies and television shows. It also offers group space.
Located in Pasadena's Playhouse District, the Pasadena Playhouse (www.pasadenaplayhouse.org), built in 1917, serves as the official state theater for California. A number of its original productions later moved to Broadway, and the 686-seat theater is where myriad stars, including Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, got their start, according to Janet Zaldua, director of tourism and communications for the Pasadena CVB.
"Event space can be rented, and groups can host parties in the plaza area outdoors," Zaldua says.
Also in the Playhouse District, the 99-seat main stage at the Boston Court Performing Arts Center (www.bostoncourt.com) offers a more intimate group setting. The center presents everything from jazz concerts to classic Shakespearean plays and is available for group receptions, luncheons and film screenings.
Production company A Noise Within is building a new 300-seat theater on Pasadena's east side, close to the Metro Gold Line. The completion date is slated for fall.
"It's one of the few companies in the country working in the repertory tradition," Zaldua says, noting the space will be open to groups.
The NoHo Arts District in the San Fernando Valley features 21 theaters, all available for group rental.
"We are mostly known for our new work, but we do some classics and California premiers," says Nancy Bianconi, president and CEO of NoHo Communications Group. "Some people call us a bohemian enclave for urban underground theater."
The largest of the group is the El Portal Theatre (www.elportaltheatre.com), built in 1924 as a vaudeville house, and since restored several times. El Portal offers a 350-seat theater and 99-seat theater and space for receptions or its stage for dinners.
In Glendale, the Alex Theatre (www.alextheatre.org), which opened as a vaudeville house in 1925, offers its 1,381-seat auditorium and outdoor forecourt to groups.
