sha in LA

Danny & The Deep Blue Sea

Having some time off from the theatre these past few weeks has been a refreshing change of pace. One that I’m beginning to like a lot the more and more I’m away from the booth. So it’s only natural then that last Saturday night, a night that I wasn’t required to be at the theatre working, I went to see some theatre. You know…be a patron of the Arts.

My car automatically led me to my regular theatre home base, the Elephant Lab to be exact, located on a stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard just west of Vine. I was there to see Danny & the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley, a show that I’ve heard some buzz about recently. And rightly so, I’m very glad I left the comfy confines of my apartment that evening as this piece of theatre stayed with me long past the final scene.

On all accounts this show was top notch. From the moment I walked in to the dimly lit theatre I was fully immersed in the seedy New York bar where an unlikely love story would eventually unfold between 2 very colorful characters. We eventually are left wondering if they will ever find true happiness, one obviously doubts that these 2 could ever sustain a healthy relationship however sometimes 2 negatives cancel each other out to make a positive….right? Obviously I’m no scientist but the optimist that I am believes in Danny & Roberta.

Danny & The Deep Blue Sea runs Friday and Saturday at 8pm and has been extended through September 1st at the Elephant Lab, 1078 Lillian Way (corner of Santa Monica and Lillian) – directly between Cahuenga and Vine on the SOUTH side of Santa Monica Blvd.

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the men of (blog)downtown

[Dave Bullock, Eric Richardson, Ed Fuentes]

These 3 men have individually brought their own spin on Downtown related items to the Blog-LA-Sphere for a while now. Increasingly over the past few months it seems they have run into each other at various events in Downtown. From new business openings to community meetings to an early morning fire, they have similar interests. All of them have mad photo skills and entice us with pretty visuals, all of them care about, and dare I say love, the community of Downtown.

So on Saturday night when Eric Richardson announced like a giddy kid on Christmas Eve the impending collaboration of the 3 on blogdowntown, it kinda didn't really come as a surprise.

In under 3 weeks time they organized a picnic in the Fields of Elysian which prompted this lover of all things Los Angeles to open her eyes and say "I had no idea about this section of the park!"

Congratulations guys. You rock.

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mind your P's and Q's

I shall commence fasting at sundown this evening in preparation for the upcoming holiday weekend. All told, I will be visiting one picnic and 2 BBQ's this weekend. I think that's a record. Some years there's nary a peep of a gathering however people must be in the festive spirit this year.

Eric, Ed and Dave are co-hosting the Downtown Picnic on Sunday at 2 and all are invited. Bring food and drinks (non-alcoholic) and meet some new people. The picnic takes place in Elysian Park and apparently the view of Downtown is pretty sweet. Come one, come all! There's plenty of room for ya'!

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it's enough to make your head spin...

I began giving walking tours of Downtown in 1998, nearly 10 years ago, and my how things have changed. Back then Title Guarantee & Trust on the corner of 5th and Hill was still home to La Opinion, Metro 417 was only known as the Subway Terminal Building and sat unoccupied, the old Broadway Department Store on 4th between Broadway and Hill sat empty and in major disrepair, the Pan American Lofts building was simply known as the Giant Penny building, the Victor Clothing Company still sold clothes and 4th and Main was a sleepy corner being eyed by Tom Gilmore.

Today all of those buildings and many more in between have been converted for alternate use. Most of them converted (or in the process of being converted) to residential which has infused a large amount of diversity into the street scene both day and night. Just go Downtown on any given Saturday or Sunday and it’s a veritable melting pot.

Along with the residential core, an influx of bars, restaurants and a host of other business services have come to the area. Keeping up with the change that occurs on what seems to be a daily basis is impossible….or nearly impossible. Thanks to the Downtown News, on a quarterly basis we, the readers, get to bypass all the dirty work and read about the current happenings in the way of Residential Sales, Rentals, Mixed Use Projects, Bars/Restaurants, Schools, Civic and Community Projects. For those who just like to look at pretty pictures instead, there's a great map produced by Cartifact which shows all the projects in said Downtown News Development issue.

The amount of projects being tracked has increased on a yearly basis with the current issue topping out at just over 170 projects. Damn! I remember when I could sit down and read the update in like under a half hour. Now I need a good 2 hours and flow charts galore just to keep track of which projects each developer is doing.

Back in 2000 I used to tell my tour-goers, "come back in 2005 and you will see a drastically different Downtown than you see today." Today I tell them the same thing however I use 2010 as a reference marker.

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2 x 7 grand equals...

Seven Grand. Downtown Los Angeles' newest destination for whiskey, scotch-whiskey and the such. 2 times in one week. That makes me 14 grand richer, yes? No, actually it makes me a few 20's poorer. Oh well, it was fun nonetheless. Just try not to go late on a weekend night unless you're into hoochie-mama type girlies....then by all means that's when you want to go.

Me? I'll take a Wednesday night crowd vs. the weekenders anytime. I find it oddly curious that an establishment can have a vastly different clientele from hour to hour on any given night. Maybe that's what makes Downtown so unique.

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** photo courtesy of Eric Lynxwiler, upon original installation of sign

slap & tickle

SLAP & TICKLE COMEDY SHOW

Tuesday May 22 & Wednesday May 23
8pm

with Alex Alexander, Sarah Allan, Steve Altman, Steven Amato, Mark Carnessale, Jerry Clarke, Larry Clarke, Kenneth Dolin, Tony Forsyth, Brian Groh, Jay Huguley, Scott Kreamer, Jeff Lewis, Valerie Long, Jayden Lund, Stefani Relles, Todd Rorbacher, Amy Scribner, Stephanie Venditto, Liz Warner, Stefane Zamorano

$15 (includes complimentary wine, beer, soft drinks and snacks)

The Lillian Theatre
1076 Lillian Way
SOUTH of Santa Monica Blvd
between Cahuenga & Vine
FREE STREET PARKING

Doors open 7:30
Reservations: 323-960-2082
or write: [email protected]

No really, this is the last thing I'm doing at the theatre....until July.

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walkin' and rockin' my way through Saturday

Ever have one of those days where life is just good? This past Saturday was chock full of so much positive energy that I felt that high all weekend long.

I started out waking up far too early for a Saturday at 6:45. But it was necessary as I participated in the Revlon Run/Walk 5K that morning with fellow members from The Elephant Theatre Company.

We started out on Figueroa near USC with the finishing line being 'round about near the 50 yard line on the field of the Coliseum. That alone was worth the trip but things got even better when a blast from my past, Pat Benatar, entertained the masses of women. Yes, I am such a geek as well as a teenager of the 80's and seeing her rock out with her husband of 25 years was quite honestly very awesome.

Afterwards I stopped by my local Fire Station (#35) to give the Firemen some love as it was Fireman Appreciation Day, or something along those lines. I was able to get a mini-tour of the station and learned that #35 is nicknamed the "Dukes" after the Dodgers former Triple-A farm team. People from all over the community stopped by with homemade desserts, fruit, pasta salad and heartfelt thanks.

Later on I enjoyed a lovely night at the ballpark watching the boys in blue beat the men in red, Cincinnati. I experienced the game from a luxury box which is, in and of itself, a vastly different perspective than every other place I've sat in the stadium. If offered tickets again, I definitely wouldn't turn them down, that's for sure. It was a great way to end a wonderful day.

Additional documentation can be found here.

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a number of ways to say thank you to the LAFD

There are a number of ways to say thank you to the men and women of the LAFD, not just for their efforts of the past few days but for all their hard work year round.

You could put a sign up in your front yard:

Or you could stop by your local Fire Department this Saturday between 10am and 4pm for the Fire Service Recognition Day, Open House.

I'll be doing the Revlon Run/Walk 5K in the morning but I'll be sure to stop by my local station afterwards.

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camera phone pics of fire

Two more camera phone pics:

[that's not a lovely SoCal sunset, it's the fire]

[view from Aberdeen at around 6:15am]

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good morning

5:00am. I count 3 helicopters that have moved in and parked over my apartment to hover and assess the damage I guess.

5:25 am. Just went outside, I stand corrected...4 helicopters. All roads north of Franklin where I am are closed including the one I'm parked on so I suspect Los Feliz is closed too...One would assume the entire length of Los Feliz.

No flames can be seen but there is smoke behind and to the left of the Observatory.

I think I'm gonna go for an early morning walk now. Definitely can't get back to sleep.

Sounds like helicopters are moving east slowly.

6:40 UPDATE: The 1st outing (why didn't I bring my camera?) I saw fire trucks from Ventura, Riverside, Corona, Pechanga and Murietta roll in. Looks like there was a flare up on a ridge just east and to the rear of Griffith Observatory. Came back to my apartment then went to go grab a few pics:

At first there was black smoke where there is now white smoke...that's a positive sign right?

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