It’s easy to forget that on Le Conte Avenue, tucked
between the Ralphs plaza and Burger King is a theatrical beacon and
cultural center of Westwood.
A next-door-neighbor to UCLA and sister center to the School of
Theater, Film and Television, Geffen Playhouse is entering its
seventh season. It has housed starlets such as Annette Bening, and
international icons like Marcel Marceau, yet students consistently
seem to overlook Geffen’s entertainment offerings.
Geffen producing director, former dean and founder of the School
of Theater, Film and Television Gil Cates, kicks off the season as
he directs “Under the Blue Sky,” which is running now
through Oct. 20. This play by 28-year-old British playwright David
Eldridge is something Cates feels UCLA students could really
enjoy.
“This is definitely not a play for kids,” Cates
said. “It deals with universal themes of intimacy and I think
this play should touch any mature adult.”
In addition to “Under the Blue Sky,” Cates is fired
up about Geffen’s lineup for the season, which is comprised
completely of West Coast or world premieres, including Neil
Simon’s brand new play “Rose and Walsh,”
scheduled to premiere Jan. 28.
“It’s a hot season,” Cates said. “We
have a lot of interesting pieces, like Debbie Allen’s
“˜Pearl,’ and Richard Nelson’s play
“˜Franny’s Way’ is terrific, as well as “˜Boy
Gets Girl,’ about a date that goes sour. I think these would
interest students a lot.”
Even though students might potentially be interested in
Geffen’s plays, that doesn’t mean they are going to go
see the shows. With close to 14,000 Geffen season subscribers, very
few are students despite Geffen’s low prices slashed to fit
students’ Top-Ramen budgets. While a season subscription is
available for general subscribers for $130 to $230, Geffen offers a
special season subscription for students at a mere $70. Student
rush tickets are also offered to students for $10 one hour prior to
showtime, subject to availability.
“As someone who loves the university and is part of it …
it’s been somewhat disappointing that more UCLA students
haven’t come to the theater,” Cates said. “One
factor is that UCLA students are very busy. They’re all
preoccupied with their own undergraduate lives.”
But Westwood is full of students looking for ways to quell their
boredom or for a change of pace from the silver screen. Fourth-year
molecular, cell and developmental biology student Diana Libuda, for
example, readily ditches movie theaters to go see live theater
whenever she can.
“There’s something about live acting that’s
better than watching a movie. There’s more power to
it,” Libuda said. “It’s like going to a concert;
there’s more power to it than just listening to a
CD.”
Libuda has taken advantage of Geffen’s student rush
tickets on numerous occasions, but other students like fourth-year
sociology student Will Kang says that he’s never attended one
of Geffen’s plays, not due to lack of interest but lack of
awareness.
“I’ve never seen any of Geffen’s
advertisements, so I just have never had any idea what was going
on, but I’d love to have a night out seeing a play instead of
a movie,” Kang said.
Libuda agreed that most students just aren’t aware of
what’s going on at the theater and said that she only found
out about it through a friend.
“It’s not highly publicized to the student
population, but if students knew more about it, I think
they’d go,” Libuda said.
This year, students will have five opportunities to see five
very unique shows at specially discounted prices, if they pull
themselves out of their books or away from movie theaters long
enough to discover what the Geffen has to offer.
“I used to always see the Geffen walking past Burger King,
and after I finally went into it, I found out that it was
incredible,” Libuda said. “It’s one of the few
hidden wonders of Westwood.”
To find out more, call (310) 208-5454 or visit
www.geffenplayhouse.com.