Over 11 years and 570 episodes, John Rabe and Team Off-Ramp scoured SoCal for the people, places, and ideas whose stories needed to be told, and the show became a love-letter to Los Angeles. Now, John is sharing selections from the Off-Ramp vault to help you explore this imperfect paradise.
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The curtain’s falling at the Pasadena Playhouse, possibly for good. The problem: no money.
The theater’s executive director told the Los Angeles Times that the Playhouse owes its creditors $2 million dollars with no way to pay. Thirty seven employees, he said, will be out of work after the musical “Camelot” ends its run this Sunday.
In a statement, theater administrators said they’re starting a financial reorganization and possibly a bankruptcy filing. That’s because the theater hasn’t attracted a big donor to name the auditorium, corporate donations have dwindled, and the economy’s soured.
The Pasadena Playhouse has tightened its belt before through staff and budget cuts. It’s staging the usually opulent “Camelot” in a stripped-down version with eight actors.
The Playhouse building is a historic landmark. Many notable actors, including Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, trod the boards there early in their careers.
(Audio: KPCC's Alex Cohen spoke with Stephen Eich, executive director of the Pasadena Playhouse)