No doubt everyone in Los Angeles has been personally affected by the devastating wildfires surrounding us, either personally or through family and friends. It’s been a very tough week in the City of the Angels with so many losing so much. As such, I am dedicating my column this week to the loss of the Pierson Playhouse, home of Theatre Palisades, that burned down during the Palisades fire. But please remember the heart of a community theater group does not live within the walls of a building. Instead, it beats within the dedicated spirit of its members who work as a team on theatrical endeavors for the sake of art, not profit. Certainly, many mementoes were lost, but heartfelt memories and lifelong friendships made inside the Pierson Playhouse will remain with those involved both on its stage and in the audience.
That is what sets a community theater group, such as Theatre Palisades, apart from most professional theaters who often rent out their space to productions created by others rather than focusing on presenting their own work for their appreciative audiences. And the members of Theatre Palisades are some of the most dedicated in our city, who, though they unfortunately have lost their theatrical home, want everyone to remember that the heart and soul of Theatre Palisades has not been destroyed, and its members are dedicated to working together to make sure a new theater home will rise from the ashes.
I have seen more productions than I can count inside the Pierson Playhouse, and have shared information, reviews, and photos from their shows in this column. Last Friday, I was scheduled to attend the opening night of Jest a Second, James Sherman’s comedy about the Goldman Family, a sequel to his play Beau Jest which Theatre Palisades staged in January/February 2024. But after a rehearsal at the theater just days prior to its opening, everything for the show was destroyed overnight. But not the play’s cast nor production team members.
I first spoke with Lou Saliba, a cast member who portrayed the Goldman family patriarch in both those plays, about his experience being in the shows. “There wasn’t a more perfect place to perform these shows than Theatre Palisades, a place that was all about family.” I was really looking forward to seeing him inhabit the character again. But alas, it was not to be… at least for now.
In an interview with ABC News, Cynthia Wright-Banks, Vice President of Operations for Theatre Palisades, shared her dedication to the group. “I have been volunteering with them since 1965. I watched the Pierson Playhouse burn on television, which was shocking and heartbreaking since I was one of the first people to work on building it back in 1976. We continued to perform our shows in Rustic Canyon Park and Palisades Park until 1988 when the mortgage on the building was paid off. And prior to the fire, along with producing five stage productions, each with 18 performances, and two TP Youth shows every year at the Pierson Playhouse, we also hosted AA meetings and welcomed thousands of Pacific Palisades residents in our audiences.”
Philip Bartolf, President of the Theatre Palisades Board of Directors, shared, “I first auditioned at Theatre Palisades for the 2010 season’s Chapter Two. When my time came to work the very opening scene with another actor, we entered the auditorium and I stopped short. I was looking at the set for the then-current show, Things We Do For Love, and I thought I had just entered a (professional) Broadway theater. That play began my relationship with Theatre Palisades, and it is has always been an outstanding place to work and very welcoming to people of all ages who wanted to discover or rediscover live theater.”
And speaking of the professional sets gracing the Pierson Playhouse stage, for the past 23 years almost every one of them has been designed and built by Sherman Wayne, who first auditioned to direct a play there. “I was not selected but I shared a photo of the set I would design for it and was hired immediately. Each year since, I have directed one play and designed 5 sets for each of Theatre Palisades’ productions.” And while his nearby home miraculously survived the flames, Sherman has no idea of the condition of the building since he cannot access the area yet. “But I know for sure it is not habitable since there is no electricity, gas, or water in the area. And since the entire Pacific Palisades area is a disaster zone, we have lost a major portion of our audience. So how can we rebuild there and be assured our audience will return?” I guess only time will tell.
While their physical home at the Pierson Playhouse was lost, the fire will not be the death knell for Theatre Palisades since so many members are willing to do what it takes to bring local theatrical productions to appreciative audiences. And personally, as part of the greater Los Angeles theatre scene, I can assure you that conversations are being held with other theaters across the city to find a way for Theatre Palisades to present Jest a Second as soon as possible in another location. And I encourage readers interested in supporting the Theatre Palisades rebuilding fund to please donate what you can at https://theatrepalisades.org/