Valley Music Theatre

20600 Ventura Blvd. Woodland Hills, CA  | map |  

Opened: July 6, 1964 with a production of "The Sound of Music" starring Janet Blair and John Myhers.  It was on the south side of the street between Winnetka Ave and Canoga Ave. It was a project of Nick Mayo, Randolph Hale, and Cy Warner. Among the backers for the venture were Bob Hope, Art Linkletter, Ginger Rogers, John Raitt and Jane Powell. The latter three also performed during the first season. Andrew Mayo comments: 

"My dad's concept, part owner, got his investors, hired the architect, helped design every aspect, and ran it as head honcho until for some reason (?), it failed only 3 or 4 years later. My mom [Janet Blair] opened the theater where she starred in 'Sound Of Music.' Later she also starred in 'Peter Pan' and 'South Pacific.' It was her home court. Great musical acts like The Doors, Sonny and Cher, Buffalo Springfield, Iron Butterfly, The Birds, The Animals, Ray Charles, B.B. King etc, etc. played there. Fond memories."

Seating: 2,865 seats -- in the round. The seats were designed to be removable to give the venue more flexibility. It was originally envisioned as a 3/4 round but the final design went for the full 360.

Stage: It was a revolve.

Architects: Richard George Wheeler and Associates were involved in the planning. The final design was by Thomas Wayne Lindsey of the firm of Hawkins and Lindsey.

 

 

An early rendering for the project from the collection of Cal State Northridge that appears with "The Short Happy Life of the Valley Music Theatre, " a 2015 article from the CSUN Library.  

 

A shot by Bob Martin of the Valley Times with the team out advertising upcoming shows in an American Legion parade. It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

See a "Sound of Music" photo in the LAPL collection. The second show in the house, in July 1964, was "Oklahoma!" starring John Raitt. See outside photo. A shot onstage. Juliet Prowse and John Avery were in an August run of "Damn Yankees." See photo. Jane Powell starred in "My Fair Lady" in September. See photo.

 

Gisele MacKenzie starred in "Gypsy" in October 1964. See photo. Gypsy Rose Lee dropped in one afternoon for a photo. Vic Damone, Marilyn Maxwell, Eileen Christy and Jack DeLon were in "Guys and Dolls" in October. See photo. Eve Arden appeared in "Wonderful Town" in November. See photo. Vincent Price and Janet Blair were in "Peter Pan" in December. See photo. The first season played to 82% of capacity and included eighteen musicals, three comedies, a drama and various concerts. 

 

A December 1964 L.A. Times ad. 

Second season shows included a March run of William Inge's "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Mimsy Farmer. See photo. In March and April Eddie Bracken, Roger Smith and Tsu Kobyashi were in a two week run of "Teahouse of the August Moon. See photo. There was a three-week run in May and June of "Irma La Douce" with Juliet Prowse. See photo. 

Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan and Barbara Perry were the stars of "Paint Your Wagon" in June 1965. See photo. A "Summer-A-Go-Go" show was also offered in June featured Desi Arnaz and Dino Martin. See photo. "Hansel and Gretel" had a limited run in July. See photo. Also in July was a production of "Camelot" starring John Myhers. See photo. There was also a production of "Pajama Game." But attendance dwindled and at the end of 1966 Valley Music Theatre, Inc. closed the doors and declared bankruptcy. Limited parking was another problem.

The venue continued in operation. In February 1967 the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Doors appeared in a concert together. 

 

A 1969 ad from the collection of the Valley Relics Museum.

In 1972 Marquee Enterprises, Inc. took over the management. Among the partners were Sammy Davis Jr. and lawyer Joseph Borenstein. There was less legit and more concerts. Performers their first year included Woody Allen, Don Rickles, Ike and Tina Turner, Pearl Bailey, Ray Charles, and B. B. King. There were also boxing matches. 

 

Woody Allen in 1972. Thanks to Linda Keyser Kane for locating this.

Closing as a theatre: 1979. In 1980 the building was sold to the Jehovah's Witness organization. It was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake but continued in use as a church.

Status: The church sold the property in 2004. It was demolished in the fall of 2006 for a condo project.  

 

Interior views:

Framing going in for the revolving stage and the seating risers. It's a photo from the Nick and Faye Mayo Valley Music Theatre, Inc. collection that appears with "The Short Happy Life of the Valley Music Theatre," a 2015 article from the Cal State Northridge Library. 

A 1960s look down one of the aisles from the Valley Relics Museum Facebook page. It's a photo from their archives.  

 

A 1965 photo by Dean Gordon for the Valley Times that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The caption that ran with the photo: "The Valley Symphony's huge orchestra fills stage at Valley Music Theater as musical director James Swift, center, conducts and Steve Allen plays piano at rehearsal for nation's first theater-in-round concert tomorrow night." 

 

The interior as a church. Thanks to Marty McFly for locating the photo for "Back To The Future Series #2: Valley Music Theatre (60s-70s), Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall (80s - 2004)," his 2014 story on the San Fernando Valley Blog.  

 

The stripped out theatre in 2006. It's a photo that appeared on the now-vanished site Abandoned But Not Forgotten. Thanks to Marty McFly for including four shots from that site with his "Valley Music Theatre...," article on the San Fernando Valley Blog.

Exterior views:

1963 - The site of the theatre. It's a photo by Alan Hyde from the Valley Times collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. It originally appeared on May 30. Part of the accompanying text: 

"That's the Valley Symphony orchestra sedately assembled in the weeds back there with a formally attired Johnny Green wielding the baton. At center stage is the musical comedy star Janet Blair, thesping away in costume with two dancers just like they really are 'at center stage.' And there's a couple leaving their car in the 'parking lot' to join the audience assembled in the foreground. And off to the right? Two couples enjoying a leisurely dinner in the 'restaurant' before an evening of theater. 

" A bunch of nuts, you say? Wading out into the tules for a quick game of 'Let's Pretend?' A group of dedicated theater-lovers would be more accurate, people sincerely interested in the future of the San Fernando Valley, people wanting so much to see the proposed Valley Music Theater become a reality. Here, on the south side of Ventura Blvd. between Winnetka and Canoga Aves., in Woodland Hills, is where the $1,000,000 theater-in-the-round will be built -- in time, it's hoped, for a 1964 start for the 20-week summer season of musical comedies with such already-committed stars as Miss Blair, Gordon and Sheila MacRae and John Raitt."

1963 - Building the dirt mound. It's a photo that appears with "The Short Happy Life of the Valley Music Theatre," a 2015 article from the Cal State Northridge Library.  

In a post of the photo on the Lost Angeles Facebook page Roban Poirer commented: 

"They perfectly built the domed mass of dirt, and graded it super precision, then installed all the steel rebar and steel to reinforce the structure, they then poured concrete over the entire mass with door openings and exits all formed out, and when the concrete shell cured completely, they excavated out all the dirt mound, and were left with a PERFECT interior shell, with no columns or support beams anywhere. Truly, GENIUS."  

 

Phillip Marks added:  

 

"The Romans used that method of construction and buried coins so the locals would remove the soil" 

 

 

1963 - Adding rebar to the dome. It's a photo from the Nick and Faye Mayo Valley Music Theatre, Inc. collection that appears with "The Short Happy Life of the Valley Music Theatre," the article from the Cal State Northridge Library.  

 

 

1963 - A construction collage from Cal State University Northridge. Click on the image for a larger view. 

 

1964 - Nearing completion. It's a photo by Dean Gordon taken for the Valley Times that's now in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Jack Feldman also has it on his W&PMA Early San Fernando Valley Views page

 

1964 - Buster Keaton with Melody Holland before the opening. It's a photo taken by Steve Young for the Valley Times that's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.  In a post of the photo on the San Fernando Valley Historical Society Facebook page they noted that Mr. Keaton's last home was in Woodland Hills at 22612 Sylvan Street. The shot appeared in the paper July 1 with this caption:  

"This is no old-time movie still from a Shirley Temple movie. Sure, that's Buster Keaton, Woodland Hills honorary mayor, hitching an imaginary ride to somewhere in front of the Valley Music Theater in Woodland Hills, but the tot resembling Miss Temple is Melody Holland, youngest stockholder and daughter of David Holland, director of the theater's public relations. The message the two are trying to put over is that all roads lead to the theater Tuesday when Janet Blair opens in 'Sound of Music.'" 

 

1964 - Opening night as the sun sets. It's a Valley Times photo by George Brich that's now in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

1960s - An aerial view from an unknown source that Charles Okonski shared on a now-vanished Facebook post. Thanks to Martin Pal for locating the photo for his Noirish Los Angeles post 33831. The building to the rear housed a catering kitchen and banquet space.

 

 

1960s- A postcard that appeared with the 2011 Tarzana-Encino Patch story "A Valley Venue For the Doors and Mickey Rooney." 

 

 

 

2004 - The building still in use as a church. This image by Scott Mayoral that appears with "Back To The Future Series #2: Valley Music Theatre (60s-70s), Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall (80s - 2004 ," the story by Marty McFly on the San Fernando Valley Blog. The shot was from a now vanished website called The Gear Page. 

 

 

2006 - A photo by Larry Underhill, taken as part of a project by the Los Angeles Conservancy to document the building before its demolition. It's one of 46 photos in the Valley Music Theatre Photograph Collection at Cal State University Northridge.   

 

 

2006 - Another view of the front from the vanished site Abandoned But Not Forgotten. Thanks to Marty McFly for including it, along with three other shots from that site with "Valley Music Theatre...," his story on the San Fernando Valley Blog.

 

 

2006 - Out in back. Photo: Abandoned But Not Forgotten

 

 

2006 - Looking out from the rear of the dome. Photo: Abandoned But Not Forgotten 

 

The Valley Music Theatre in the Movies:

The theatre is used as a music venue about an hour into in "The Cool Ones" (Warner Bros., 1967). The scene opens with a shot of the marquee advertising "Cliff and Hallie," the latest pop duo played by Gil Peterson and Debbie Watson. Also featured in this very dated "uncool" rock and roll rom-com are Roddy McDowall, Phil Harris, Nita Talbot, Robert Coote, George Furth, Mrs. Miller, Glen Campbell, The Leaves and T.J. and The Fourmations.

Well, we don't see anything of the auditorium. They cut from this shot to closeups of Gil and Debbie singing with a montage behind them of scenes we've seen earlier. But we do get some nice shots on the entrance ramps. Gene Nelson directed. The cinematography was by Floyd Crosby. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for seven more images from the scene at the theatre. 

The theatre on TV: The building is seen in "Inquisition," a 1968 episode of the TV series "The Invaders."  

More information: See the finding aid to the Nick and Faye Mayo Valley Music Theatre collection on the site Online Archive of California. Also see the listing for the CSUN Valley Music Theatre Photograph Collection. 

The site Rock and Roll Roadmap lists some of the acts that played the venue. Many photos can be seen on a section about the theatre of Jack Feldman's Water and Power Associates Museum Page Early San Fernando Valley. Also see the Wikipedia page about the theatre.

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