Celebrity Theatre
This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (May 2010) |
Theater in the round | |
Capacity | 2,650 |
---|---|
Construction | |
Opened | 1963 |
Architect | Perry Neuschatz |
Structural engineer | T. Y. Lin International |
General contractor | E. L. Farmer Construction Company |
Website | |
www |
Celebrity Theatre is a
Construction and features
Beverly Hills architect Perry Neuschatz designed the 196 foot-diameter building as a multipurpose conference center. He received the 1964 top award from the Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) for his outstanding design. Gary Call was the associate architect. T. Y. Lin International was the structural engineer and E. L. Farmer Construction Company was general contractor.[1] Owners planned to use Celebrity Theatre as a concert venue during the winter. It was further renovated significantly in 1995. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
The stage is 30 feet in diameter and completely round, exposed to the audience on all sides. An unusual feature of the theater is that the entire stage can turn through a complete revolution at a speed of up to 0.5 revolutions per hour, thus allowing everyone in the audience to see every part of the stage at some point during a two hour performance. None of the 2650 seats in the theater are more than 70 feet from the stage. The theater is equipped with an orchestra pit and can be reconfigured as a proscenium stage if necessary, although this reduces the seating capacity by 25% to 50% depending on configuration.
Notable performances
The theatre opened on January 13, 1964 with the musical "South Pacific" starring
Mexican artist Yuridia performed here on September 5, 2009. She returned for her "6 Tour" on November 5, 2016.
George Carlin filmed his second HBO special, George Carlin: Again!, here in 1978. It was considered the first stand-up comedy routine done "in the round".[2]
During a March 16, 1993, performance, Phish covered Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion".[3]
In 2012 Lil' Kim performed as a part of her Return of the Queen Tour to mark her musical comeback.[citation needed]
In February 2013,
In September 2022, Nate Bargatze filmed his special, Hello World, released in January 2023 on Amazon Prime Video.
See also
- Theater in the round
References
- ^ "24 Apr 1963, Page 46 - Arizona Republic at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ISBN 978-1-250-05825-6.
- ^ "Sweet Emotion History - Phish.net". phish.net. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ Willmore, Alison (2013-03-08). "Watch: Louis C.K. Goes Meta in the Trailer for His New HBO Comedy Special 'Louis C.K.: Oh My God'". IndieWire. Retrieved 2022-07-13.