The Theater: This is also a school for acting & screenwriting. They have classrooms upstairs…read more The theater itself is small & intimate. Every seat is a good seat. The lobby area has seating. The Show: Top Banana Comedy on Saturday. The Parking: Street metered parking, after 6pm free.

Certainly, a very unique venue for seeing theatre productions. I thought the seats were comfortable…read moreand seating was well laid out with respect to the audience. They had a nice snack bar with various soft drinks, wines and beers. Parking was easily accessible on the street. I look forward to returning to see other productions.

Came here last night for the Screen Actors Guild screening for the movie "Maria"…read more It was a very lovely theater, well organized to get in and the seats were comfortable. Stayed after for the Q&A with Academy award winner Angelina Jolie.

I enjoyed many cool screenings here, at the Oscar's residence in Beverly Hills. The theater is…read morebeautiful, decorated in dark red velvet, glamouros statuetes around. It is a big theater, nice, clean, luxurious. Great projection here, decent ticket prices. We came to many nice screenings here, saw George Romero speaking, Ellen Burstyn, William Friedkin. Collin Farrell just passed by me once, my husband was getting a bit concerned since I have a crush on him. But it was all fun and good. I know they will have a few more screenings soon and I hope they will continue to do so in the future. Parking around, never had an issue, decent restrooms. I have been to the new Academy Museum but I prefer this location! It's more old Hollywood glam!

OPC was the premier casting facility on the Westside. 7 professionally outfitted studios with…read moreviewing rooms, a very cool client lounge and all the tech support one could ask for. Sadly, OPC is no more. High rent, lower production budgets and just about everyone looking for a deal finally made the business unsustainable. It was a great place with a great vibe.

Facilities are large, clean, and not stuffy. Restrooms are located outside; you need to use the…read morekeys they have to open the doors. At least 6 rooms available to host castings.

Pretty good. My companion & I liked it/enjoyed it. Picnicked on the grass area with good view of…read morethe stage all around. Ample free street parking. No admission charge. Only donation at the end. What more could you ask for? Love outdoor events like this especially on a nice summer night :) Yes, I do recommend it. Also, remember to bring blanket and/or low chairs.

My family and I had a great time at the inaugural production of Sierra Madre's Shakespeare…read moreFestival. The production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was fantastic. Perfect Shakespeare piece for an outdoor venue. The show was fun, funny and the talented professional cast made it extremely accessible. We hung out on blankets and lawn chairs, eating, drinking and laughing. Free to the public, but be sure to show support when the basket is passed at the end of the show.

A little gem of a theater found in the arts district. It is small hosting maybe 50 people tops…read more I went there to see my friend perform on Friday night. Although not posted, it seems to have several troupe of entertainers going all evening. Seats are old and springy but the audio is fantastic. Entertaining!

In our continuous search for different Saturday night diversions, we went tonight to the Raven…read morePlayhouse on Lankershim. Currently, they are showing "Marital Blissters," an evening of three one-act comedies. The first was "cute" (a deliberately condescending term of my choosing), the second quite awful (too much screaming and over-acting), but the third actually good enough to redeem the experience. I know that the small theaters in this vicinity are meant to be historic, but the physical structure of this place seemed to be from the Ark. We are both small people, but we found the rows to be very cramped and the individual seats with minimal padding. Thank goodness for the 15-minute intermission to get the circulation flowing in the lower extremities! The Vagabond Players Theater Company solicited subscribers -- ranging from the "Cherub" level ($25 - $99) to the "Titan" tier ($5,000+). I'm wondering if any funds could be raised to refurbish the interior of the theater. The well-worn red velvet of the backs of the seats were very obviously mended with red strips of adhesive tape. How sad.

Really nice theater in a good location. Street parking nearby, great staff. Nice place to see a…read moreshow.

The Road is a small, nicely maintained theatre. The play we saw last year ("Scintilla") was…read moreall-around excellent: great acting, set design, and direction. Tickets were priced fairly for the quality of the show. They have wine and snacks for sale before the show, encouraging patrons to mingle in the lobby before the doors open. Free street parking is within a couple blocks' walk down Riverton Avenue.

I worked as a volunteer last year and apparently the volunteer management just gets worse and worse…read morefor the youth volunteers. I have younger friends who currently volunteer for CalPhil and it's just horrible for them. The music and the ambience is GREAT , so if you're up for a concert or anything...CalPhil is the place for you. Maestro Victor Vener does a good job introducing each song with some sort of anecdote , personal experience or what not. He's a great guy. The orchestra itself is pretty good too. Music/Concerts = 5 of 5 Volunteer Experience = -1 (I vowed to never come back after my first year...it is beyond disorganized)

There's something intimidating or out-dated about orchestras. Or maybe it's because there's so…read moremany other things to experience here in Southern California that I forget their existence? Perhaps it's just me, but going to a see something in the classical music category is not the first inspiration that leaps to mind... However, I'm really glad I did. I mean, I've been to the Hollywood Bowl, but not for classical stuff. And the H-Bowl has such a bigger reputation that I wasn't even aware of Cal Phil...until my boyfriend's mother decided to celebrate her wedding anniversary with one of their Festival on the Green concerts. Firstly, since I am totally 100% adverse to traffic congestion and paying for parking, the parking situation for Festival on the Green (its last year at the Arboretum) was delightfully within my budget: FREE. I parked off one of the adjacent streets (watch out for free-range peacocks!), and (dangerously) jay-walked across Baldwin Avenue, under the watchful but non-ticketing gaze of a motorcycle cop (phew!). There, I met my party, and we sauntered off to wait in line for the gate to open. With us, we'd brought appropriate picnic gear: fold-out chairs, blankets, bags of supplies, drink, and food. Every other party in line also sported the same items. Suddenly, I got really excited by the prospect of picnicking in the warm twilight, consuming large amounts of food at a leisurely rate, and being surrounded by nature and live music. All of a sudden, it dawned on me that I ought to do this MORE OFTEN! Due to the large Asian population in the San Gabriel area, every volunteer was a local Asian teenager. That amused me for no real reason, other than the fact that I too am Asian. As soon as the gates opened, people flooded in to the lawn. Being light on my feet and competitive, I scouted ahead of my party and staked us a place right smack in the middle with a good view. There we set up camp, as the jazz trio warmed the crowd up with their opening act. The sun was still out, and it was fun to see what other's had brought for food. I set about eating a gigantic tofu salad that took me all of 90 minutes to consume. I can honestly say this grazing was really, really enjoyable. We had a little time before Cal Phil got started, and legged it to the porta-potties (very clean and non-smelly!), as well as explored the food booths (bought a huge slice of delicious carrot cake to be consumed in the dark). What was most engaging to me was Maestro Victor Vener: even though he was binoculars-away, his manner and voice was so warm and personal, it felt like he was speaking to you, the crowd, directly. He made it comfortable to enjoy the music...it was not something obtuse or esoteric. I even found myself swaying along to the music, recalling pieces from my childhood, and absolutely being riveted by those well-known, beloved orchestral pieces. I left feeling like I wanted to skip and twirl from the ambience and music! OK, so maybe I'm just easily moved, but I don't care...I definitely want to return for more enjoyable summer evenings on the Green! Thanks Cal Phil!!!

I stumble upon this casual space after buying a ticket on Goldstar for the show Best Man, 1960 a…read moreGore Vidal play, on a Sunday afternoon. This corner building itself hosts two small theatres in a small art complex on Santa Monica Blvd. Open the red door and through a tunnel lands you in the check-in table! The lounge in the back has a raised stage with an immersive set design. The first-come-first-serve seats are comfortable with just enough legroom, and there wasn't any obstructed seat. The show itself was a joy to see a diversity in age among the cast, yet every one brought quirks and personality to their characters. This political play with its insightful take on the role of morality in politics is ever more relevant - what a great choice for a revival run. There was a 10-minute intermission, quick enough to wait for the one-stall restroom and even grab a $5 beer you are going to need for the second act! For parking, street spaces were available if you give yourself a few minutes around the blocks, but make sure to check the signs for enforced LA residential permit zones.

(Attended 11/13/16 SU @ 7:00pm): There was a bit of "lounginess" to this theatre...but I wouldn't…read moreget too comfortable or you'd miss the show! Thanks to the discount entertainment service, Goldstar, I spun the bottle and treated a friend to the final world premiere showing of "Siamese Sex Show" at The Lounge Theatres. Located along famous "Theatre Row Hollywood" at the intesection of Santa Monica Blvd. and El Centro St., would this playhouse and show get us all hot and bothered and ask for more!?: Refreshments (n/a) - We grabbed a pre-show meal elsewhere since we had no idea of the food situation. However, they offered minimal smattering of drinks and snacks that ranged from $2.00-$5.00 with a $5.00 minimum credit card charge. Seats (FREE + $6.50 service fee ea.; regularly priced between $15.00-$30.00) - General seating first-come first-serve. All sightlines were unobstructed. However, each creaky cushioned non-cup holder seat was rather small, cramped, and certainly no sufficient passing room in front of each row of seats so you were required to stand up. Since the theatre was tiny, you were figuratively and almost literally on the stage with the performers if not at least part of the set design! The Show (10/08/16-11/13/16) - [Provided synopsis] "Siamese Sex Show" is the world premiere hip-hop musical that smartly blends Lady Gaga-esque popstar theatricality with Blade Runner's dark comic vision. In a future so near that you can taste it, the mysterious conglomerate Monocorp fabricates an epidemic condemning intimacy to profit from its "safe" new pseudo-sex product called the "Love Light". Meanwhile, at an underground "intimacy" speakeasy called "The Siamese Sex Show", four fallen popstars gather in collusion to plan their revenge against Monocorp's devious CEO. As the world teeters on the brink of destruction, can these unlikely heroes overcome their differences in time to stop Monocorp's evil agenda? Helmed by award-winning director Kiff Scholl... The musical includes rap lyrics from hip-hop legend Kool Keith, Mistah Fab, and J Diggs. Here were additional tidbits: 1. The set design consisted of risers, stairs, steps, a wall with projected images, private curtained rooms, a catwalk, and "red-light district" lights to represent a seedy speakeasy club. They certainly utilized the lack of space provided. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=xmUtOyfC1VybfITH0otkYQ&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw 2. Costume design was contemporary, inventive, sexy, and relatable to the current dance club scene with some flair. 3. The script was decent but the musical numbers with its creative lyrics kept me tapping my toes. 4. Each member of this ensemble cast was energetic and hilarious. Those who stood out were Erin Rye (the luscious "robotic" sex kitten Cherry ["Your pleasure is my pleasure!"]), and Eddie Gutierrez (the naïve marketing genius). The four women who represented "The Board" had me "rising" in my seat! Service - The easy-peasy play-by-play: we walked up to a young woman at a counter inside the lobby, provided my name, scored our tickets (our FootLights program https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=PFMVNQ92FhKOZeQCCykb0w&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw), waited a bit as they prepared the theatre, and finally allowed into the theatre. Parking (Varies; FREE this instance) - No private lots, there was plenty metered parking (2-hour limit enforced daily 8am-6:00pm excluding Sundays) along the main drag of Santa Monica Blvd. (where we parked for a short walk) and all surrounding streets. Atmosphere, décor, ambience - Two stages were housed in a non-descript corner concrete exterior building while a simple marquee adorned the façade https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=zvvptaY6dI4eqHYO6MIg0g&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw. The ticket counter was located inside a cramped lobby with a few chairs and couches. No natural lighting whatsoever, so electric ceiling lights filled the area. Finally, you walked into the 69-seat Lounge 1 Theatre (Lounge 2 held 46 seats) which was equipped with snug cushioned seats. The basic sound system was fine for this facility. There were no stage monitors or background music. Attire - As I've always said, "it's the performing arts in a theatre so show respect for the craft and medium and dress at minimum business casual." Sorry, no t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops this time around. Overall, I will probably find myself at The Lounge Theatres. I found deficiencies regarding theatre size and parking options, but places to drink or eat were within waling distance. I was still happy for the fact of another place to get my theatre on! I found fairly good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience was $13.00; no tip required). I'd be satisfied to pay a percentage of the asking price, but the nearly 90 minutes with no intermission was an enjoyable evening. And, my credit card of choice was accepted...AMEX! 3.5 STARS