Los Angelenos are often pictured as cultural lightweights, obsessed with TV and the movies, but as in any multicultural metropolis, there is a diverse and thriving cultural scene that encompasses music, theater, dance and opera. The city's leading light is the
Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County otherwise known as
Music Center, 135 North Grand Avenue (tel: (213) 972 7211; website:
www.musiccenter.org). In the heart of Downtown, Music Center is made up of four separate venues: the
Dorothy Chandler
Pavilion (host for many years to the Oscars ceremony), the
Mark Taper Forum,
Ahmanson Theater and the
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 South Grand Avenue (tel: (323) 850 2000; website:
www.laphil.com).
The best source of up-to-date information on cultural events is
Discover Los Angeles (tel: (213) 624 7300;
www.discoverlosangeles.com). Tickets can be purchased from
Ticketmaster (tel: (213) 480 3232; website:
www.ticketmaster.com). Other agencies that handle concert, sport and theater tickets include
Musical Chairs (tel: (310) 207 7070
or 1 800 659 1702; website:
www.musicalchairstickets.com),
Al Brooks Theater Ticket Agency (tel: (213) 626 5863
or 1 800 341 2766; website:
www.albrooks.com) and
VIP Tickets (tel: 1 800 328 4253; website:
www.viptickets.com).
Music: The
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (website:
www.laphil.org) is one of the best in the world and performs at the
Walt Disney Concert Hall (see above), as does the
Los Angeles Master Chorale (tel: (213) 972 7282; website:
www.lamc.org). The
Los Angeles Opera (tel: (213) 972 8001; website:
www.losangelesopera.com) performs at the
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (see above). Chamber music and performances by distinguished alumni can be heard at the
Zipper Concert Hall at the
Colburn School of Performing Arts, 200 South Grand Avenue (tel: (213) 621 2200; website:
www.colburnschool.edu). The classic summer venue to hear music outdoors is the
Hollywood Bowl, 2301 Highland Avenue (tel: (323) 850 2000; website:
www.hollywoodbowl.com), with concerts by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as jazz and pop artists.
Theater: The
Ahmanson Theater (see above) stages large classical productions. Smaller and more adventurous productions take place in the
Mark Taper Forum, a theater-in-the-half-round, also at Music Center.
The
Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue (tel: (310) 208 5454; website:
www.geffenplayhouse.com) stages classical and contemporary plays in a historic building in Westwood Village. The
Pantages Theater, 6233 Hollywood Boulevard (tel: (323) 468 1770; website:
www.broadwayla.org) is an outstanding art deco theater that hosts Broadway musicals and concerts, while the
Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South El Molino Avenue (tel: (626) 356 7529/PLAY; website:
www.pasadenaplayhouse.org) is an incredible 1925 Spanish Colonial Revival building. The
Ford Amphitheater, 2580 Cahuenga Boulevard (tel: (323) 461 3673; website:
www.fordamphitheater.org) is a 1200-seat outdoor space, where works by contemporary playwrights, as well as music, dance and film events take place.
LA Stage Alliance, 644 South Figueroa Street (tel: (213) 614 0556; website:
www.theaterla.org), is an association of some 150 theaters; services include
LAStageTIX, a half-price day-of-the-show ticket outlet.
Dance: The
Joffrey Ballet Company (tel: (312) 739 0120; website:
www.joffrey.com) has its main west-coast season in the spring at Music Center (see above). The
UCLA Center for the Arts, 4405 North Hillgard, Westwood (tel: (310) 825 2101; website:
www.uclalive.org), is the venue for touring dance troupes, as well as the
UCLA Dance Company.
Film: The historic
Grauman's Chinese Theater, 6925 Hollywood Boulevard (tel: (323) 464 8111; website:
www.manntheaters.com/chinese), presents first-run movies.
El Capitan Theater, 6838 Hollywood Boulevard (tel: (323) 467 7674
or 1 800 347 6396; website:
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/el_capitan), also screens first-run films.
The Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard (tel: (323) 461 2020; website:
www.egyptiantheater.com), shows foreign films and documentaries in Hollywood's oldest restored cinema. Only in Hollywood would you find
The Silent Theater, 611 North Fairfax Avenue
(tel: (323) 655 2520; website:
www.silentmovietheater.com) screening only movies from the pre-talkie era. The
Pacific Theaters Cinerama Dome, 6360 West Sunset Boulevard (between Vine and Ivar Streets, with DeLongpre to the south) (tel: (323) 464 4226; website:
www.arclightcinemas.com), has been refurbished in keeping with its late 1950s architecture and turned into the centerpiece of a three-level entertainment and retail center, with 15 screens and shops and restaurants.
As for films that are shot in the city, it would be easier to compile a list of those that weren't. Films that capture various different moods of LA include Billy Wilder's
Sunset Boulevard (1950), starring Gloria Swanson, and more recently
Swingers (1996),
LA Confidential (1997) and
Colors (1998).
Literary Notes: Los Angeles has inspired many writers and served as the setting for their books and novels. Nathanael West (1903-1940) lived in Hollywood from 1933; his novel
The Day of the Locust (1939) is considered one of the best about Los Angeles.
The Loved One (1948) by Evelyn Waugh and
After Many a Summer Dies the Swan (1938) by Aldous Huxley were both set in LA. F Scott Fitzgerald's
The Last Tycoon (1941-), his final unfinished masterpiece, was also set in LA.
LA has attracted many detective writers over the years. Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) lived in LA, and his most famous character, Philip Marlowe, explores the dark side of the city, in such novels as
The Big Sleep (1939) and
Farewell My Lovely (1940).
Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles by Elizabeth Ward and Alain Silver is an enlightening look at the author's relationship with the city. Another detective writer James Ellroy was born in LA in 1948 and the city inspired his
LA Quartet of novels -
Clandestine (1982),
Black Dahlia (1987),
LA Confidential (1990) and
White Jazz (1992). William Harrington created another LA detective, Columbo (not from TV). Some novels in the series include
The Helter Skelter Murders (1994),
The Hoffa Connection (1995) and
The Game Show Killers (1996).
Other novels about LA include Joan Didion's
Play It As It Lays (1970), Alison Lurie's
The Nowhere City (1965), Walter Mosley's
Black Betty (1994) and William Penn's
The Absence of Angels (1995).
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