Variety Theatre
5253 W. Adams Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90016
5253 W. Adams Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90016
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Club Fais Do-Do’s web site includes a gallery, and I believe the gallery section titled The Ballroom shows the Variety Theatre’s former auditorium.
This opened on January 30th, 1938. 1st listing posted.
The interior was featured on tonight’s episode of NBC’s “This Is Us”, as the club where Kate has her first singing gig. Fais Do Do was in neon on the wall.
And this is interesting too: looking at Google street view of the theater I noticed a hand-made sign reading “David Sukonick Concert Hall.” Sukonick Concert Hall has its own Facebook page, but there haven’t been any posts since February this year, and none earlier than January 11, 2015, and there are only three posts altogether, all of them posted by people appearing at the venue, so whoever actually runs the place obviously hasn’t yet claimed the page. I don’t think we should change the name of the theater’s page based on this scantly information, though.
The only David Sukonick I can find on the Internet is a professional dancer who now designs and builds floors for dance studios through a company called Bolo Productions. Maybe he has something to do with this theater, and maybe he doesn’t. The web site isn’t telling, as far as I can discover.
Also also interesting (to me, at least, though not theater-related) is this interview with David Sukonick at Danse Track, though it might be boring for people who aren’t interested in dance (or construction.)
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this or not (and not that this really matters either), but someone has tagged the Variety Theatre building on Google satellite view with the name Vaud and the Villains, which the Internet tells me is a traveling orchestra and cabaret show (here is their web site.) Aside from the troupe having performed two shows at the Fais Do-Do in 2016, I can’t find any connection between them and the theater. Might they be using it for a rehearsal hall?
Not that it really matters, but the exterior of this theater was used for the scene when Emma Stone performs her one woman show in “La La Land:.
This theater is first listed at this address in the Los Angeles City directory of 1939. It is not listed in the 1938 directory.
Facebook page for the current tenant, Fais Do-Do Cafe. It has some video of the interior in the comments.
https://www.facebook.com/cafeFaisdodo/?hc_location=ufi
I went inside recently – as during the summer it us used as a kids art camp. It seems to be housed like a black box theatre now. Didn’t get a very good look. No doubt though, from the architecture and the cozy, intimate and narrow hallway, it was a small neighborhood house in the 30s and 40s.
It’s confusing – the marquee advertises the acts for Fais-Do-Do, which is the building on the corner, but to the best of my knowledge, no actual club activity goes on in the space where the marquee stands. Perhaps both are owned by the same party, and the actual theatre space is used for private storage or office space?
Anyone have a clue on how to get an original picture of this theatre? I am going to rebuild it and want to keep the marquee close to original. I have done a huge amount of work on it already.
There were also two other theatres in the vicinity that are not listed in the archives.
One was called the Riviera and was located on the south side of adams about two blocks past La Brea. It was built before the variety.It later changed it’s name to Fremont.
On or near tge corner of Adams and Crenshaw was a large more upscale theatre called Bards. I understand it was built by the Bards brothers. They had ushers in uniform.(north side of street}
Anyone familiar with La Cienega elementary school on Adams between Orange and Sycamore?
I grew up a few blocks from the theatre and remember it being built. It replaced a market called blue jay I think. The building on the corner which is a club was a bank called Citizens National Trust and Savings Association. We banked there and attended the variety on Sat. Matinee. There was a candy store next door, On Sat you paid 10 cents and got a candy bar or popcorn or an ice cream cone in adittion to the double feature cartoon and serial.
The Fais-Do-Do website gallery has one black and white photo that shows what may be the remains of the proscenium from the original Variety Theater in the background.
According to the club website, they are open. An event is scheduled today, as a matter of fact.
If the style is not Art Deco, it’s Art something. I’m not too clear on the differences. It would fit the 1934 build date.
The L.A. County assessor’s office gives the building at this address a construction date of 1934, with an effective construction date of 1948.
Here are the photos:
http://tinyurl.com/2lg5t9
http://tinyurl.com/2pxtdd
http://tinyurl.com/38r93w
http://tinyurl.com/3cmxkp
http://tinyurl.com/2ssku6
http://tinyurl.com/2u6d7o
http://tinyurl.com/2gr2md
http://tinyurl.com/28l6yc
I was in front today. No way to get inside, though. I took some pictures.
This theatre is located at 5253 W. Adams Blvd. just west of La Brea. I drove by it last week and it is very closed. There is still a marquee out front. Does anyone know what the condition the theatre is in?
LYNNIE
Wow interesting info, lets look into it more
Upon viewing the club’s web site, not only is the Variety Theatre’s marquee shown, but also there is a floor plan of the facility that suggests the front of the auditorium may have survived.
This is actually the location of Club Cafe Fais-Do-Do in Los Angeles – the Fais-Do-Do Ballroom, to be precise. If you look at http://www.faisdodo.com/ and click on Tour, there are some photographs which clearly display an existing marquee. Chances are that that marquee marks the spot of the Variety (not to be confused with the Variety Arts Centre on Figueroa). I’ll drive by and check what the condition of the space is.