November 9, 2024
La Mirada Theater
When I saw that Jason Alexander was playing Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof, I immediately bought tickets. After a quick scan of the usual sources to see if there were any discounts, I even paid full price. It was slightly disconcerting to see “Full Price” called out on the tickets too. This was my first visit to La Mirada Theater. I’ve had my eye on them for a while – they get national tours. It’s really not that far for me, but being relatively unfamiliar with the area and gun shy about potential traffic has kept me away until now. We attended a Saturday matinée. I left my house after noon and even in stop and go traffic, I was able to get there and park with enough time left to run into the Wendy’s that share’s the theater’s parking lot and grab a bite before the show. There was EVEN enough time to use the restroom and have our pictures taken at the step and stop before the show.
Parking is free, or there is a valet available for $12. The theater is in a shopping center and I didn’t see any signs designating parking so you are free to park wherever you like. The theater is not overly large, but our balcony seats were comfortable with enough leg room that people could get by without us needing to stand. We had some issues with the people sitting in front of us leaning forward in their seats, which blocked our view.
TIP: Theater seating tiers are designed so that if you sit back in your chair, everyone can see. When you lean forward in your seat, you block the line of sight for the person behind you. Please don’t do this!
It was clear that most of the audience was there to see Jason Alexander. When he walked out on stage there was a roar of applause. He was fantastic though. He played the role of Tevye perfectly – the accent, the comedic timing, the singing, the dancing. He was just wonderful. The rest of the production was equally great. Lonny Price directed and included a note in the program basically saying, “You can’t improve on Jerome Robbins, so we didn’t try.” After seeing so many “revivals” and “re-imaginings” that fell flat, it was refreshing to see the original direction and choreography embraced. Yes, there was a bottle dance!
Most of the cast was Equity, which was a happy surprise. Golde was portrayed admirably by Valerie Perri, who has her own long list of impressive credits. She was also wonderful. The dancing was great (and with the original choreography!) The sets were good. I loved the use of the turntable. The orchestra sounded great.
There were a few tech hiccups, but this was only the second day. I expect they will have those ironed out quickly. The only thing that really bothered me was a row of houses that raised and lowered as part of the backdrop. I know it was meant to signify the village, but it just looked like they were floating in the sky awkwardly.
And now to the worst part of this experience (and even the worst part was not terrible), which was getting out of the parking lot. As it was our first visit and we arrived early as instructed in an email I received a few days ago, we parked fairly close to the theater. After pulling into the long line of cars waiting to exit, I noticed a few people who looked like they knew what they were doing. I followed them and was rewarded with a pretty quick exit through the loading area of the shopping center’s larger stores. On the other hand, Julie got stuck in it. The next time I go, I will try parking in the lot on the north side closer to Shabuya. I suspect that will make for a much easier escape.
Overall, I would see this again even at full price.