Georgia McClay Friendship Center

While on my way to meet friends at Zona Rosa the other night, I passed this window at the Pasadena Playhouse. I stopped to gawk at the costumes, the masks hanging from the ceiling and the posters on the wall. The golden light made it all so attractive. I pulled out my camera.

A woman with a beautiful smile spoke as she passed. (I wonder if she's in the show.) "I think the Friendship Center's open," she said. I told her I had a meeting in a few minutes and thanked her for telling me what I was looking at.

I found a bit of info online. The Georgia McClay Friendship Center is a room next to the box office, adjacent to the patio. It's available for rent (lending itself to business events, workshops or parties, says the website).

Who is Georgia McClay? Somebody generous, most likely. If not that, at least she has good taste.

Playhouse Elements

I'm not an insider when it comes to the Pasadena Playhouse or to Elements Kitchen, but I'm charmed by the sight of the Elements tables set up for lunch at the Playhouse Plaza on a hazy day.

The reviewers gush over the food at Elements Kitchen. (A better word might be "slobber.") I haven't eaten there, so I can't give you a personal recommendation, but one of these days I mean to do so (eat there and tell you about it).

I can't tell you what's going on with the Pasadena Playhouse, either. For a while it looked like this grand old institution wasn't going to make it through the recession. But they've got a fall season coming up and it looks interesting. Let's hope the reviewers gush, and use their napkins.

The Theatre at Boston Court

Patrons outside the Theatre at Boston Court before showtime.

With the Pasadena Playhouse struggling and the Pasadena opening of A Noise Within a year away, did you think you'd have to wait to see professional theater in Pasadena?

You don't. You can go to the Theatre at Boston Court right now. Okay, maybe not right now, I don't know what time you're reading this. But between now and August 29th, you can see The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder, a world premiere by Moby Pomerance, directed by John Langs.

The play tells the story of James Murray who, in the 1880s, pretty much drove himself crazy trying to put together the Oxford English Dictionary on a meager budget with very little staff. Murray, his daughter Jane and their coworker Smythic (whom they mostly ignore, to his comic chagrin) work in a drafty garden shed. Brian Sidney Bembridge is credited with scenic and lighting design, both of which are gorgeous.

I'm no reviewer but I do have a 30-year acting career under my belt so I can tell you these roles require the kind of vocal and emotional dexterity you will see only in experienced, well-trained pros. The language itself would be enough to trip up any actor not at the top of his or her game.

It's hard to write about pedantry without being pedantic, but Pomerance doesn't fall into that trap. Director Langs may have done so, seeming to go for one high note for the first act. I would have liked more nuance, more variety of tone. But I would need to see more before I say for sure.

An intern at Boston Court set aside two complimentary tickets for me and asked me to blog about the play. And the full truth is I wasn't able to stay for the whole show. But as my profile says, I'm a lover of words, and The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder is packed with wordplay of the highest order. I was so intrigued by the first half that I'm just going to have to buy a ticket and see the second half.

This much I know: professional theater is thriving in Pasadena in the beautiful, comfortable, state-of-the-art space at the Boston Court.

WriteGirl, BraveGirl

It's easy to say, "If only."

If only things had been different, I would be different. If only I had grown up richer, smarter, more beautiful. If only I'd been more brave.

Susan Kitchens, of 2020Hindsight, tagged me with this prompt: "If I could have met with a mentor on a weekly basis when I was a teenager, I..."

I usually ignore internet tags because they are at best mindless time-wasters. This is the first one I've seen in months that hasn't in most ways resembled a chain letter.

Susan tagged me on this subject because she's passionate about WriteGirl, "a non-profit organization for high school girls centered on the craft of creative writing and empowerment through self-expression." The girls are mentored by professional writers. Today they'll be writing all day at the Pasadena Playhouse for Tonight's big event, PlayWriteGirl.

You can go to PlayWriteGirl and watch celebrities like Christine Lahti, Melora Hardin, Sprague Grayden, Dana Delaney and JoBeth Williams perform the pieces the girls write today. You can also have great food. (Even from Mozza, which--I'm telling you--lunch for two can be $70 bucks and worth it.)

If I could have met with a mentor on a weekly basis when I was a teenager, I would not have been richer, smarter or more beautiful. But I might have been more brave.

The word "empowerment" is overused, but if I let myself think about it for a moment, let it mean something to me, I remember how hard I took things as a girl, how deeply I was shaped by events large and small. How afraid I was. How long and arduous a journey I had to travel to find my power.

Life might be different for any one of us, if only... But "if only" is fantasy. I got what I got. I made of it what I could. But sometimes I didn't know what to make of it. Kindnesses from adults I trusted are jewels I treasure to this day. If I hadn't had the help of those adults, I might have turned out to be someone I wouldn't care to be.

2020 hindsight and life experience tell me even little things can empower these WriteGirls and make them brave: your presence in a seat at the Pasadena Playhouse tonight, for one little thing. For another: your applause.


Other bloggers who've tackled this subject: West Coast Grrlie Blather, Mademoiselle Gramophone, Altadena Hiker and Life Under a Tin Roof Sky. I'll add more as I find them, or you can follow the links to people they've tagged.

More:
Open Mouth, Insert Fork
Plumbing the Deeps

I haven't tagged anyone, but it's a worthy subject to blog about and I don't think it has to be limited to women. How about you? What's your take on the phrase, "If I could have met with a mentor on a weekly basis when I was a teenager, I..." ? Let me know if you blog about it so I can link to you.

Superfluous Detail: Playhouse Alley

They didn't have to do this. They didn't have to put that shield, or whatever it is, on the side of the building. It's in an alley, for heaven's sake. Nobody sees it. But they did it anyway, so it's a superfluous detail, and that's why I love it.

This one's on the Pasadena Playhouse building, the south side, looking out over Playhouse Alley. Those scallops on the lower part are shadow from the building next door. Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see the little lion heads on the soffits. (The soffits are above El Molino Avenue. Just look up!)

All these lovely details were designed for the Playhouse by Pasadena architect Elmer Grey. The 1924 structure has an illustrious history. It has always been a great theatre. May it always remain so.

Happy Birthday, Charles Shaughnessy

How could I have lived in Pasadena all this time and not noticed The White Hut? It's not white but it's teeny, with a lunch counter and a few stools in addition to the tables outside. When I stopped in yesterday the cook was taking a break and was happy to talk. She said the Hut's been at 26 S. Madison Avenue for about 30 years, and was on Green Street near Los Robles for over 15 years before that. The lot it sits on now was purchased about two and a half years ago and is currently up for sale. She doesn't know what will happen next or when, so you'd better go get your burger now. Or your eggs, sunny side up. And hurry—I hear the place gets crowded.

Outside, I met Alice from Texas (left) and Theresa from Colorado (right). They arrived separately in Pasadena yesterday morning, having each made a special trip to see Emmy Award-winning actor Charles Shaughnessy in the Pasadena Playhouse production of "Orson's Shadow." Major Shaughnessy fans. Yes, one could say that.

Alice and Theresa met on Charlie's Myspace page, but this was the first time they'd met in person. They had tickets to the play for both Friday and Saturday nights. I gave them a list of my favorite places in town to check out during the days. (No, I didn't send them to Chuck E. Cheese.)

I will get to bragging about the world-class Pasadena Playhouse soon. For now, there's something more pressing. See, Alice and Theresa know a lot about Charles Shaughnessy. From what they said, he sounds like a great guy. And today's his birthday.

There are at least two die-hard fans in his audience tonight. For such lovely people to travel all that way to see him—well, that's a hell of a nice present. Happy birthday, Charlie!

(click photo to enlarge)