I was three years old living in New York City with my mother, an English major, teacher, writer, book and theater lover; my father who was a writer and aspiring political activist working with Oscar Hammerstein; and my godfather, Norman Cousins, and others at the United World Federalists.
My mother took me to see Willson and Lacey’s The Music Man on Broadway and I remember the rag-tag band marching in, the children learning to play invisible musical instruments and the charismatic Robert Preston. It was a big show for a three-year-old. What I didn’t realize, until years later, was that my mother strategically had us leave at intermission before I got too restless but I was hooked on theater. We saw other shows during the golden age of Rogers and Hammerstein, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and so many others on Broadway and, of course, we had all the soundtrack albums.
When we moved back to L.A. my sister and I spent our early years playing those albums over and over, singing along with the characters and dreaming of being on stage singing and dancing. Years later, my mother took us to the theater-in-the-round Valley Music Theater on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills. It was there that I finally saw Act 2 of The Music Man and got to witness the band in full regalia, playing real instruments, marching down the aisles. The stage rotated, the actors were close enough to touch and we were suddenly in a small town in the early 1900s.
No matter how tight our budget was, my mother always made books and theater priorities. We saw children’s theater, Bob Baker’s Marionettes, went to The Music Center and to local college productions. When I became a mother, I followed in her footsteps. We went to ballet performances, local theater and to regional theater as often as I could manage it. My daughters caught the theater bug beginning with Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella and found a comfortable place throughout high school and college in the theater, music and dance departments.
What once seemed like a luxury has now become a necessary part of our lives.
Theater gives us messages delivered through song, dance, pantomime and amazing acting. We are taught the value of relationships, of compassion and understanding. We are exposed to humanity with its flaws and the horrors humans are capable of both imposing on others and enduring.
Theater teaches the love of language through eloquent soliloquies, intimate conversations and powerful speeches. We appreciate the nuances of melodies and experience live orchestras, pit bands and musicians performing on the stage with the actors. We see dancers performing amazing leaps, tapping rhythmically, jumping in unison and partnering intimately. We glimpse into others’ psyches, relationships and families, walking away with our heads filled and our hearts swelling. It is two or three hours in a theater and we are transported to another world.
Children can find joy in live performances that takes residence in their souls and influences the kind of people they become.
Children who grow up with theater are lucky, but luck should not determine who goes to theater. Theater is all around us, especially in Los Angeles, where it can be a part of all children’s experiences.
Topanga: Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum (http://theatricum.com/)—is an outdoor amphitheater nestled in the magical Santa Monica Mountains. Their summer season of plays always including Shakespeare as well as contemporary plays and musical concerts. The Theatricum also offers special children’s programs, summer camps for youth and acting classes for children through adults.
Malibu: Pepperdine University Theater Arts (arts.pepperdine.edu/events/family-performances)—The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts offers Family Performances and Art Days with performances geared to young children with reasonable ticket prices.
Woodland Hills: Pierce College (piercecollege.edu/departments/performing_arts)—is a Community College that offers a theater arts department. There is a variety of musicals and plays offered throughout the year and the intimate venue is great for an introduction to theater.
Northridge: California State University Northridge, Valley Performing Arts Center (valleyperformingartscenter.org)—is a relatively new state-of-the-art theater offering a comprehensive program of music, theater, dance and live performances. Performers range from students to professionals.
Thousand Oaks: Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza: (civicartsplaza.com)—is a complex with two theaters, the Fred Kavli Theatre (1800 seats) and Scherr Forum (394 seats). Their events include music, dance, theater, storytelling and a speaker series. They are home to the Cabrillo Music Theater (cabrillomusictheatre.com), which presents local musical theater throughout the year.
Hollywood: The Hollywood Pantages Theater (hollywoodpantages.com)—was built in 1930 and is a beautiful, restored Hollywood landmark. It is a treat to see a production in this historical theater and their season has continuous productions with some appropriate for children throughout the year.
Los Angeles: The Center Theater Group (centertheatregroup.org/visit/ahmanson-theatre)—includes The Ahmanson Theater, Mark Taper Forum and the Kirk Douglas Theater presenting an ongoing variety of performances of plays and musicals. The Ahmanson Theater showcases plays and musicals including pre-Broadway runs, as well as the best of Broadway and London’s West End. The Mark Taper Forum produces plays that provoke thoughtful conversation and the Kirk Douglas Theater, located in Culver City; produces world premier plays.
Los Angeles: Bob Baker Marionettes (bobbakermarionettetheater.com)—is a Historic-Cultural Landmark (#958) (since 1963) marionette theater located in Los Angeles. It is a long drive, but the magic is worth it! I still remember having a birthday party there when I was a little girl. It is an intimate space allowing the audience to have close-up experiences with the puppets.
There are many other venues in our area including local high schools, which are great and affordable introductions to theater with young performers and reasonable ticket prices. Exploring local theater is a way to light the imagination of children and a fun way to share an experience and create fond memories.
