Ivar Theater
1605 Ivar Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
1605 Ivar Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Functions: Educational
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Ivar Theatre, New Ivar Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
323.466.4652
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Sep 24, 2012 — Camera Night at the Ivar
Built by restaurant owner Yegishe Harout in 1951, the Ivar Theatre presented stage plays until 1971. Plays produced here include, “The Barrett’s of Wimpole Street”, “The Glass Menagerie”, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “The Pajama Game”. From 1971 it began showing adult films along with burlesque performances. Seating was provided for 350 in orchestra and balcony levels.
The theatre was home to the California Youth Theatre from late-2000 through the middle part of the decade, but that group has moved to another venue. The Ivar Theatre then presented stage plays and live music as the New Ivar Theatre. In 2012, the Ivar Theater is operated by the Los Angeles Film School as an active classroom space. It is currently not used or rented out as a theatre space.
At the rear section of the building, behind the stage, was a club named ‘The Sewers of Paris’, later by 1977 it was a gay bar named ‘Gaslight’, and in 1996 it was renamed ‘The Opium Den’. It became used as a green room for the theatre and for receptions.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre, Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
My friend Rowby and I appeared at the Ivar Theater in two children’s shows. It was in the early sixties. We were still in high school and took the bus to the theater. We performed every week-end for a crazy couple who were the producers…Roma and Rick. My favorite was “Hansel and Gretel” which Rowby and I still laugh about today. “Under the Yum Yum Tree” with Bill Bixby was playing at night while we were the afternoon children’s theater. I still have photos….I loved the Ivar.
I was House Manager for “Dames at Sea,” produced by Chuck Barris, at the Ivar, 1970. Shortly before or after “Victory Canteen,” there was a successful stage production of “The Boys in the Band,” at the Ivar. At the time, the theatre was surrounded by bars favored by homosexual hustlers.
The musical Godspell had a run here in December 1971. Highest tix were $10.00
Water & Power Associates website with multiple vintage photos.
https://waterandpower.org/Museum2/Ivar_Theatre.html?fbclid=IwAR2rETuSNJvX0DlkoIeKew5MKc6FT1iFtfREKz1V9pUw8kikMiE1kjNoFmA
In 1961, my girlfriend’s Dad took us and her 3 sisters to Ivar to watch a play. I don’t remember the name of the play, but it was about people in the Army. At one point, a really obese guy came walking onstage in a sergeant’s uniform, and everyone laughed because he was obese. Doesn’t seem like something to laugh at now. I always remembered the name of the place, and in 1985 I drove with a friend in my new red Corvette to Hollywood, looking for clubs to go to. Driving around, I saw the Ivar and remembered it. So we parked and went in. The guy in the parking lot said Bill Bixby had a car just like mine. Anyway, the theatre was a strip club by then, and not a very good one. We didn’t stay for very long.
During the theatre’s burlesque years, early 70’s exploitation/adult film star Rene Bond utilized the Ivar as the “home base” for her live act. Frequently chaperoned by her parents, Ms. Bond’s show consisted of singing (she was known for bringing her father on stage during her rendition of “My heart belongs to daddy”), dancing, and a striptease conclusion. Afterwards, she sold autographed pictures and fan club memberships in the lobby with her mother. In the late 70’s, adult actress/Gong Show hostess Carol Connors undertook a similar long term residency (minus the parents) and served as the inspiration for the exterior bikini girl mural.
“The Glass Menagerie”, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, and “The Pajama Game” were never produced at The Ivar Theatre !
http://ivartheatrehistory.com
Wow, what a great list. So many iconic names trod the boards of the Ivar. Thanks so much for sharing it!
mOOse1111: Had you ever been to any shows there ?
I have not. My trips to Hollywood have not been as much as I’d like, but love old Hollywood and the theatres and reading some of those names ( yes I’m old enough to know the majority) makes me wish I could have been.
Thank you.