The Observer
No buzz like it: theater and community

By John Pixley

I was on the waiting list. It was happening already.

Indeed, as I was reminded, there’s no business like show business. At least when it works.

It was working this time. Not only was I on the waiting list, hoping to get a ticket, hoping to get into the show, but the show was going on before the show. There were people coming into the courtyard dressed to the nines with spats and suspenders, silk shirts and gold chains, top hats and long, long coats.

These were not actors. This was not a pre-show. These were people who were here to see the show, strutting around and taking pictures of each other.

And no, this was not a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the local cinema (although that is quite a scene). This was a performance of Zoot Suit at Pomona College.

This, it turned out, was big news. Very big news.

Obviously. After all, I was on the waiting list. And this Saturday evening performance wasn’t the only one with a waiting list. All 10 of the performances over two weeks earlier this month had a waiting list. All ten performances had sold out in 10 days.

As Alma Martinez, the director, excitedly pointed out in comments a few days before, this was the first time that the ground-breaking musical play by Luis Valdez was produced in the Los Angeles area since its premier 30 years ago at the Mark Taper Forum in L.A. Ms. Martinez, who was in the original cast, noted that the Taper was packed for the run and had never gotten such crowds. Clearly, this story of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Zoot Suit riots, a forgotten, shameful chapter of L.A. history when Mexican-Americans were openly beaten and unjustly prosecuted in the 1940's, struck a chord. Clearly, it still does.

The production was a big deal for the 55 students, as well as others, in it. Not only were they a part of history in this revival, Ms. Martinez said they were learning how to dance the rhumba, how to put their hair up in a pompadour and how to walk like a pachuco.

And it certainly was a big deal for the audience members, whether or not they were Zoot suited. I did get in, and I noted that, along with all the outbursts of enthusiastic applause, there was considerable cheering, whooping and shouted responses.

Yes, theater is definitely an unique endeavor. As the colleges discovered this month, it can drive people crazy—or at least bring out their passions.

After seeing this crazy scene at Pomona College, I didn’t feel so crazy about having gone last month to see a production of Godspell in Temecula.

Temecula? Isn’t that 60 miles away? Well, yes, but it isn’t that much farther than going to a play in Santa Monica or even Hollywood, and the drive is much easier, with much less traffic. It took just a bit over an hour to get there.

Besides, I learned a lot on this outing.

Not from the play, which suffered from lazy direction, but from the theater itself.

Who knew?

Who knew there was a theater with a full schedule of events in Temecula? Who knew there was anything in Temecula? Apparently, there are plenty of things and will be more and more things in Temecula. According to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California released a couple weeks ago, the Inland Empire will remain the fastest-growing region in the state. In particular, southwest Riverside County, which includes Temecula, could see its population increase by 150,000, due primarily to cheap housing. Temecula alone has already grown from 27,000 to 100,000.

Okay, so this isn’t exactly the hinterlands, but it was a surprise to see that the Old Town Temecula Community Theater is a bright gem in the Old Town Temecula crown. The old-west-themed Old Town is clearly a source of pride and something to see, even if it’s a bit creepy and Disneyland-like with music piped in on the sidewalks.

Dedicated in 2005, the theater takes up most of a block and features a towering, warmly burnished wood exterior. The interior is attractive and quite serviceable, no doubt designed for high-quality productions. Between the theater and the separate, street-front box office is a pleasant courtyard with a nice water feature that includes a large, old barrel extending the old-west theme. I understand there is a smaller venue—in the box office building?—where jazz performances and other more intimate events are presented.

Just as notable was the abundance of plaques in the courtyard and in the theater with the names of individuals who donated funds to build the complex. This is truly and proudly a community theater, a community effort. Not only was it built and continues to be developed by the community, it serves the community and brings the community together, making the community stronger.

I can’t say I’ll be going out to Temecula much to see theater, but going out there did get me thinking about how Claremont has a good thing going with this community stuff. Even Temecula is doing it.