Why did Nokia Theatre need an update after only 2½ years?

AEG wanted to make the L.A. Live concert venue more performer friendly in two ways: A curtain now blocks the upper levels so the hall doesn’t look empty when tickets don’t sell out, and the dressing rooms and VIP lounges got upgrades.

Updates to the venue, which opened in October 2007, cost $500,000 and the improved version debuted May 15 for comedian Ricky Gervais.

The new curtain hangs between the orchestra and loge levels of the theater. When in use, it blocks the theater’s two upper levels to limit capacity to 4,300 seats; full capacity is 7,100. It’s a change that Lee Zeidman, Nokia general manager, said will make the venue appear smaller.

“Some artists only want to sell 4,300 seats,” Zeidman said. “This makes it more intimate for the artists and the patrons.”

Zeidman said he hopes the seating flexibility also will give Nokia an edge over its competitors by allowing it to book acts that draw both small and large crowds.

The venue, which schedules about 120 events a year, used the curtain for a concert by rapper Pitbull on May 28 and for “Sesame Street Live” from June 4 to 6.

Updates to the backstage dressing rooms and VIP lounges came in response to negative feedback from performers.

“Some of the comments we received were that there wasn’t enough comfort in the dressing rooms,” Zeidman said.

The backstage features new furniture, carpeting and paint to make the space feel more relaxed.