The Wilshire Theatre...or whatever it's called

The news out of Beverly Hills is that the Wilshire Theatre _ recent home to the “Dynasty� reunion vehicle “Legends� -- is under newmanagement, has its own programming and now wants to be refered to by
the unwieldy title “The Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills.�

As opposed to what, The Wilshire Theatre Pacoima?

As a theatrical venue, the Wilshire is a bit hit and miss. The acoustics are frequently God awful (particularly for musicals).The parking stinks. It’s neither an especially comfortable nor historic venue.

But it’s got the seats and the location, location, location to do some flashy stuff. Billy Crystal’s �700 Sundays� parked at the Wilshire, as did many of the Broadway/LA season shows while the Pantages was tied up with long running hits like “The Lion King,� �The Producers,� etc.

Well, now the Pantages is going to be off the market again, what with “Wicked� about to start an indefinite run (I’m guessing two years). So if The Wilshire Theatre Turlock…sorry, Beverly Hills is now doing its own booking (of people like Kenny G, James Taylor and the Chinese ballet “The Butterfly Lovers,� where exactly does that leave “Phantom of the Opera,� “Mamma Mia� and all those other national tours that
come in for a week or so?

Wadsworth? Brentwood? All of the above, says Martin Wiviott GM of The Pantages Theatre. As well as UCLA's Royce Hall, and, yes, the Wilshire.

"Even though the Wilshire Theatre is under new ownership, we are still able to schedule our presentations with them if schedules permi," Wiviott said. "As you know, when Lion King was at the Pantages for 2 1/2 years, the Broadway/LA subscription continued at various theatres throughout the city. The same will be true during the WICKED engagement."

The Wilshire will be getting “Chita Rivera: the Dancer’s Life,� a show which I was not crestfallen to see dropped from the Ahmanson’s season a couple years back.

To check out the rest of their lineup, www.wilshiretheatrebeverlyhills.com