For three decades, the Shubert has been delighting L.A. theater-goers. As the venue heads into its final months, critics perhaps remember it best
When the glitzy new Shubert Theatre opened in the summer of 1972, top tickets to see Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies” were selling for $12.50. And the well-heeled residents on the Westside were marveling that their neighborhood finally had a major venue for big-stage musicals, plays and other productions that would rival any theater in downtown L.A.
Ironically, the plot to “Follies” ended up portending the Shubert’s future. The musical is about former Follies dancers reuniting on the eve of their old theater’s demise to make way for a parking lot.
Like the Follies’ theater, the 1,800-seat Shubert will be torn down next year. Plays are scheduled to appear in the nearly 30-year-old theater until Sept. 30, 2002, when the Shubert will be razed to make way for two new high-rise office buildings.
L.A.’s critics share their memories of the theater that rose from the fields that used to be the back lot of 20th Century Fox Studio.
Ed Kaufman
Theater critic
Hollywood Reporter
On the theater’s first night, the air was electric. Kaufman recalled that theatergoers were ecstatic that the original Broadway cast of “Follies,” including Alexis Smith, Gene Nelson and Dorothy Collins, was appearing in the theater’s first production.
“It was festive. It was quite a wonderful show I remember the Shubert when they were trying to do straight theater, like plays by Edward Albee. Rex Harrison played there in Luigi Pirandello’s ‘Emperor Henry IV.’ They didn’t work because the stage was too big. So they went back to musicals. I will indeed miss the place. I like it a lot, and they did good productions.”
Tom Hatten
Theater critic
KNX radio
In addition to being a theater critic, Hatten played the part of Teddy Roosevelt in the musical “Annie,” which ran at the Shubert for more than a year in the late 1970s. Hatten said the cast fell in love with the theater that had many accoutrements that many of the older theaters in the West did not.
“The actors who were from New York were crazy about the Shubert because it was a perfect house built just for musicals. Backstage it was beautiful. We became spoiled. We had been playing ‘Annie’ in the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, an old-fashioned theater, which had a wonderful stage but the dressing rooms? Forget about it.
“When we got down to the Shubert, the dressing rooms were unbelievably lavish. Everyone knew we were going to be there for a while, so they brought in TV sets and bars. Backstage was heaven.”
Evan Henerson
Theater critic
Los Angeles Daily News
Henerson grew up in the Los Angeles area and has always equated the Shubert with special occasions. At 11, he saw one of his first plays there, “Evita,” which opened in January 1980.
“When you go there you feel like you’re puttin’ on the dog,” he said. “Candy costs $5 and parking is $9.”
Henerson remembers when he moved to Hanford, Calif. to work for the Hanford Sentinel, he and his wife drove 200 miles to see the opening of “Sunset Blvd.” with actress Glenn Close.
“While it was not the greatest show I’ve seen, scenically it was amazing, opulent, grand, that kind of thing. “Unfortunately we don’t have enough big event theaters in town with that kind of seating and stage. Plus I like going to Century City. It feels more Westside, more elegant.”
Charles Champlin
Former arts editor and critic
Los Angeles Times
“It was a splendid venue,” Champlin recalled. “It was probably too large to be economically viable .’Chorus Line’ was one of the high points because it was a marvelous piece of creation and choreography, but I was absolutely immune to the charm of ‘Cats.’
“Maybe the lesson for a viewer or a critic to member is that theaters do not themselves make a hit. Because the Shubert was so large, it could be a bit sterile.”
Phil Gallo
Associate editor
Daily Variety
“It had a real air of being someplace special. It almost felt mysterious .My exposure in my early years was through community theater, such as the Conejo Valley Theatre in the middle of nowhere. It fit into my impression that theaters were off the beaten path.
“Sadly the play I remember the most is ‘Sunset Blvd.’ I wasn’t a big fan of it. The repetitive nature of the second act. But then ‘Ragtime’ came in there and the opening scene was spactacular. It’s the beginning of the 20th century, immigrants’ lives are coming together. It set the stage for all the stories are unfolded later. ‘Ragtime’ showed that the Shubert could retain the luster it once had. But ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Chorus Line’ felt like they were there forever. And in the most recent production of ‘Kiss Me, Kate,’ the second act opening is unbelievable.”
Jackie Hyman
Former theater critic
Associated Press, Los Angeles
Hyman, who reviewed theater for AP from 1980 to 1999, remembers the theater as a large venue suitable for musicals. “The production that stands out in my mind is ‘Les Miserables.’ It was an extremely emotional show. The whole audience was in tears. I don’t remember seeing that anywhere else. My husband and I were both in tears. That kind of production shows you that theater has the capacity to be so special.”
