on broadway

Last night I went with my buddy Alan to see 'The Sting' in one of LA's surviving downtown movie palaces, The Orpheum. Its part of a series held by the LA Conservancy for 23 years called "Last Remaining Seats." I always mean to get tickets for this every year but always forget to before it starts, and by then its sold out; so I was glad when Alan brought it up a few months ago when tickets went on sale. We were treated to pre-show music on the 1928 Wurlitzer, the last remaining organ on Broadway, while I wandered around checking out the different parts of the theatre - they even had the projection room open. That was followed by some question/answer with the film's producer and director from Charles Phoenix and then of course the movie itself - which I had never seen. The Orpheum only closed in 2001 after a renovation that started in 1989. It is the most restored of LA's movie palaces (though it originally opened as a Vaudeville theatre) and still hosts special events and concerts along with being a site for lots of filming and television tapings.