Los Angeles Theatres: Variety / New Esquire / Café-Club Fais Do-Do

5253 W. Adams Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016 | map |

Opened: Sometime around 1937 as a neighborhood second run house. Its first city directory appearance is in the 1937 edition as the Variety Theatre with J.C. Quinn Ray and David Robbins listed as proprietors. It was evidently a remodel as the building dates from 1934. The location is 5 1/2 blocks west of La Brea Ave. on the north side of the street. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

Phone: 310-323-4636 Website: www.faisdodo.com

Seating: 662 at one time.

The January 30, 1938 ad in the Times, perhaps the first in that paper. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org

1949 listings in the Times that included the Variety. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for adding this as a comment to his thread about the theatre on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.

A 1951 item located by Ken McIntyre.

The theatre was running as a film house at least until the mid 1950s. It reopened in 1964 as the New Esquire Theatre under the management of Jeff Eccleston.

A 1964 article about the reopening in the California Eagle. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.

A 1964 ad located by Ken McIntyre in the California Eagle. Thanks, Ken!

Since 1994 it has been used as part of Café-Club Fais Do-Do, a nightclub and events space. The theatre, referred to as The Ballroom, has a leveled floor and no fixed seating. The complex started in 1991 in the adjacent building on the corner that was built as a bank and and later had other uses including as a chiropractor's office and a bar. Either that corner space or the theatre can be used by the club depending on the nature of the booking.

A classy undated look toward the Variety's proscenium from the Club Fais Do-Do website. The site says "Fais Do-Do is a gumbo of eclectic music and diverse people coming together to build a stronger community by offering exposure to new cultures, sounds, and philosophies."

Status: Fais Do-Do continues to do events in the the theatre space. But if an interesting tenant came along to lease it, it might just be available. The broker, a friend of the management, is Floyd Fouquette at 310-202-1280. Thanks to Steve Yablok, the venue's proprietor, for his hospitality in showing off the building.

A 2018 Loopnet listing offered it for $24.75/s.f./year. The listing noted that the lot size is 7,013 s.f. with about 8,000 s.f. of space in the building. The mezzanine area includes restrooms, a steam room and a shower room.

Interior views:

The boxoffice just to the right as you come in the front door. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

A look to the left into a space that was perhaps part lobby, part a storefront west of the theatre entrance. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

The view up inside the marquee from the former lobby space. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

Down the entrance hall to the auditorium. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

Another detour to a dressing room at the back of the auditorium. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

Another dressing room view. The room appears in "La La Land" and other films and TV shows. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

A proscenium view. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

A detail of the house right side of the proscenium. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

A look across the big stage from stage left. All of about 5' deep. Built as a film house, not for vaudeville. Note the concrete blocks filling an opening on the back wall. There's a protrusion on the back of the building. For speakers? As a boiler room? Unknown. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

The rear of the auditorium. It's a photo from the Club Fais Do-Dodo website.

Another look to the rear. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

The alcove at the rear of the house left side of the auditorium. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

An office and lounge space upstairs on the house right side of the booth. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

More exterior views:

Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality for this 1955 photo from his collection. It's on his Noirish post # 42929. This is the only vintage view of the theatre to have surfaced so far.

A detail from the 1955 photo.

A perhaps 90s photo from the theatre's Loopnet listing.

Looking east on W. Adams. It's a 2016 Google photo.

The theatre from across the street. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

Looking east. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

The back end of the building from the east. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018

A look from the west. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018.

The Variety Theatre and the Club Fais Do-Do in the Movies:

The club space on the corner, adjacent to the theatre, is seen as the Houston venue where Ethan Hawke's band plays in "Reality Bites" (Universal, 1994). The film also stars Winona Ryder, Ben Stiller, Steve Zahn and Janeane Garofolo. Stiller also directed.

A corner exterior shot from "Reality Bites." That's the Variety Theatre's marquee on the right, hiding behind the telephone pole. Thanks to Lindsay, author of the blog I Am Not a Stalker, for her article about the Variety Theatre/Club Fais Do-Do and the research she's done on the many films and TV shows that have used the two buildings. She credits Lon Haber for figuring out this location.

In "Never Been Kissed" (20th Century Fox, 1999) Drew Barrymore is seen coming down the stairs in front of the projection booth. The film is set in Chicago and she's a reporter for the Sun-Times. On the quest of a big undercover story she goes back to high school. The Variety is used as a dance club where she gets stoned. The film also features David Arquette, Michael Vartan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Octavia Spencer and Leelee Sobieski. Raja Gosnell directed. The cinematography was by Alex Nepomniaschy. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for two more Variety shots as well as views of the El Monte Drive-In.

The Variety appears as the Club Bayou in New Orleans in "Crossroads" (Paramount, 2002). The film features Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana, Taryn Manning, Anson Mount and Dan Aykroyd. Shonda Rhimes wrote the script and Tamra Davis directed. Thanks to Lindsay and her blog I Am Not a Stalker for identifying the location. She was in the shoot. Kudos to Jonathan Raines for spotting Stalker article. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more shots at the Variety as well as a couple outside Grauman's Chinese and views inside the Belasco from an audition scene at the end of the film.

Dreya Weber and Addie Yungmee are up in the air in the Variety's auditorium to learn aerial gymnastics from Allison Mackie in "The Gymnast" (Red Road/Wolfe Releasing 2007). Ned Farr wrote and directed. The cinematography was by Marco Fargnoli. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for ten additional shots from the film.

The club space on the corner was used in "Reign Over Me" (Columbia, 2007) starring Adam Sandler, Jada Pinkett Smith and Don Cheadle. We're supposedly in Chicago and that's Sandler on drums at a venue called Webster Hall. We get an exterior view before coming in but it's certainly not this building on West Adams.

Cheadle and Sandler at the Club Fais Do-Do bar in "Reign Over Me." Mike Binder directed the film.

The Variety plays a club in Modesto used for a party following a mis-managed concert in "The Janky Promoters" (Dimension Films, 2009). The eponymous promoters are Ice Cube and Mike Epps. Also featured are Jeezy, Lahmard J. Tate, Darris Love, Lil J.J., Juanita Jennings and Aloma Wright. Ice wrote the screenplay. Marcus Raboy directed. The cinematography was by Tom Priestly Jr. The Warner Grand in San Pedro subs for the concert venue. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for two more Variety Theatre shots plus sixteen views of the action at the Warner.

Paul Rudd stages a Graham Parker concert at the Club Fais Do-Do in Judd Apatow's "This Is 40" (Universal, 2012). That's the marquee of the Variety on the right. For interior shots they only used the club space on the corner. The film also stars Leslie Mann, Iris and Maude Apatow, Jason Segel, Megan Fox, John Lithgow, Albert Brooks and Charlyne Yi. The cinematography was by Phedon Papamichael. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots of a later Graham Parker concert at the Belasco.

The Variety's exterior is seen as the theatre where Mia (Emma Stone) stages her one-woman play in Damien Chazelle's "La La Land" (Lionsgate, 2016). Interiors were shot at the Hayworth. See the Theatres in Movies post for another Variety shot as well as views of other theatres seen in the film including the Rialto in South Pasadena, the El Rey on Wilshire, and the Magnolia in Burbank.

The Variety and the corner club space on TV and Video: The interior of the theatre was featured in an October 2017 episode of "This Is Us."

The theatre appears as the Boom Boom, a Tijuana area club, in a season one episode of "The O.C." titled "The Escape." The club area is also used as a bar. Thanks to Lindsay for the screenshot, one of eight from this episode she included in her I Am Not a Stalker article about the venue.

The exterior of the club and interior of both the theatre and the club appeared in the season two episode of "Arrested Development" titled "Queen for a Day." Thanks to Lindsay for the screenshot. See her I Am Not a Stalker article for fifteen more from the episode. She credits Geoff of the site 90210 Locations for spotting this one.

The club was seen in a season two episode of "Entourage" titled "The Abyss." Again thanks to Lindsay for the screenshot. Her article has three more from the episode.

The club space was used for the Jane's Addiction music video "Underground." The club also appears in the Destiny’s Child "No, No, No, Part 1" video. See Lindsay's I Am Not a Stalker article for screenshots from both videos.

Variety / New Esquire / Café-Club Fais Do-Do

1 comment: