Theatre in Historic Places: OKTOBERFEST THE MUSICAL at the Crest Theatre

Theatre in Historic Places is a series by Los Angeles editor Ellen Dostal featuring theatre, music, and other arts performances in historic venues around Southern California.

Frances Seymour Fonda, actor Henry Fonda's second wife, was only 32 years old when the theater she commissioned architect Arthur W. Hawes to build opened in December of 1940. Originally known as the Westwood Theater, it was designed to be a performance space for live productions and for a short time it did fulfill that mission. Across town, movie musicals like Busby Berkeley's Strike Up the Band and Down Argentine Way were becoming box office hits as Tinseltown capitalized on the popularity of established young stars such as Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and soon-to-be stars like pin-up girl Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda.

We don't know exactly what kind of shows the Westwood presented at that time but it would typically have been a place for locals to converge for an evening of conversation, refreshment, and some type of musical, variety, or other popular entertainment of the day. That would soon change as the country became more and more involved in World War II. As the need for news of the war grew, the Crest would be reinvented as a movie palace solely used to show newsreels to keep the public abreast of overseas affairs.

Since then, the theater has had a number of different owners and names. It's been known as the Crest Theatre, the UCLAN (for its close proximity to UCLA), Metro Theatre, Pacific Crest, Majestic Crest, and even Bigfoot Crest, based on who owned it at the time. After WWII, its focus shifted to foreign films and then to avant-garde movies. It went through a total transformation in 1987 when its original Moderne structure was redone in a more glamorous Art Deco style by set designer Joseph Musil (financed by Disney).

Embellishments included the addition of an intricate sunburst light fixture, etched-glass lobby doors, and a beautiful panoramic Hollywood mural that still covers the interior walls. According to a 2008 LA Times article by Martha Groves, "Bill Anderson, a scenic artist, executed them with fluorescent paints that glow under black lights. Among the landmarks depicted are the Pantages Theater, the Brown Derby restaurant and the Hollywood sign." In 2008 it was named a historic-cultural monument by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission.

Today the Crest has returned to its roots and the sound of music fills its hall once again, this time as the immersive theatre venue for OKTOBERFEST THE MUSICAL - An Almost True Story. The theater has been completely transformed into a traditional German beer hall for the fun-filled new musical comedy, complete with a raised stage, Hofbräu-style tables and benches, and booths with ledges for your beer.

That's right. It wouldn't be Oktoberfest without beer and you'll find plenty on tap served up in heavy glass beer mugs to make sure you have a great time. Feel free to bring the kids though. There are non-alcoholic drinks for them and show is family-friendly. It's written by screenwriter Philip LaZebnik whose long list of credits includes Disney's Pocahontas, Mulan, The Prince of Egypt and many more films and television episodes. Music is by Grammy Award-winning German composer Harold Faltermeyer, best known for his film scores for Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop. Together they have created a frothy evening of lighthearted entertainment with a few ominous surprises to add a little mischief.

The real Oktoberfest first took place in 1810 as a celebration to honor the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (who would later become King Ludwig I) and Princess Theresa von Saxon-Hildburghausen. But for OKTOBERFEST THE MUSICAL's Valerie (Natalie Masini), that isn't all there is to the story. As the producer of this show within a show, she envisions a dramatic production that tells the whole tale, ghosts and all, but while she is away her Emcee (Andrew James) has rewritten her dream show as a big, bouncy musical comedy. Needless to say, when she returns to find the actors singing and dancing in an opening number she's never seen before, she's not at all pleased.

Thus begins the tug of war between the two as they clash over which story to tell. And whether the love story, the scandal, or the legend of the white lady wins in the end, they still have to contend with dissent over an increase in the price of beer, a petulant Napoleon Bonaparte, and a multitude of other obstacles.

The interactive show directed by Madeleine Dahm contains fifteen original musical numbers including two rousing drinking songs, "The Beer Song" and "Ein Prosit" and a beautiful romantic duet entitled "Could You Still Love Me". Masini, in particular, has a lovely wistful singing voice that makes the ballad soar, and the friendly, personable ensemble - which also includes Nick Bruno, Hannah Celeste, Sonia Gascon, Kersten Haile, and Noah James - attacks their numbers with gusto.

Musical director and orchestrator Thomas Griep leads a terrific 7-piece oom-pah band, complete with tuba, that seals the deal on an authentic Oktoberfest experience. Dahm's spirited choreography is eternally boisterous, occasionally sexy, and always fun. Perhaps this is the kind of lively theatrical event Mrs. Fonda envisioned for the Crest's neighborhood so long ago. Raise your glass now through Nov. 27 at the Crest Theatre in Westwood.

OKTOBERFEST THE MUSICAL - An Almost True Story
Through Nov. 27, 2016
The Crest Theatre
1262 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tickets: OktoberfesttheMusical.com

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