Hayworth Theatre

Hayworth Theatre
	Marquee of the Hayworth Theatre in 2021
Formation	1926
Location	2511 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California;
Owner	Jenji Kohan
Artistic Directors	Vanessa Ragland & Jamie Flam
Website	dynastytypewriter.com

The Hayworth Theatre is a theater and performing arts venue at 2511 Wilshire Boulevard located in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.^[1]

History

The building that houses the Hayworth is significant due to its association with Stiles O. Clements of the architectural firm Morgan, Walls & Clements, who designed many other Los Angeles theatres as well as many of the buildings in the Wilshire historical district. The structure is in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, also called the ornate Churrigueresque style.^[2]

It originally opened in 1926 as The Masque Theatre, a Vaudeville House.

Vagabond Theatre

On May 26, 1950, it was converted into a movie theater, and rebranded as the Vagabond Theatre. Architect Dwight Gibbs, who is widely recognized as the designer of the renowned Carthay Circle Theatre, was responsible for the transformation. The interior walls of the theatre were once adorned with murals depicting scenes from silent films. The building also housed a restaurant called Vagabond's House, which was possibly Los Angeles' first Tiki bar.^[3]

During its peak, it was one of the city's most popular revival houses, but the advent of video almost led to its downfall in the late 1980s. Despite this, the theater managed to remain open into the 1990s, showing classic 3-D films like "Kiss Me Kate" and "Dial M for Murder."^[4]

The Hayworth Theatre Company became resident in 2006.The theatre housed award-winning theater company The New American Theatre from 2006 to 2011. Artistic Director and actor Jack Stehlin performed there, as well as other notable actors such as Alfred Molina, Katie Lowes, Jill Gascoine, and Robert Cicchini.

TV writer Jenji Kohan purchased the building in November 2013. Her husband and business partner, Christopher Noxon, indicated that she is planning on using the second floor as production offices for writers and editors on her TV shows.^[5] In 2015 the building was renovated by architect Linda Brettler and associate Lydia Dubois-Wetherwax to become production and writing offices maintaining the historical elements of the original building. Two years later they renovated the theater space.

In 2017, former Hollywood Improv booker and artistic director Jamie Flam launched a Kickstarter campaign to reopen the venue under the name Dynasty Typewriter. Operating as a hub for comedy, variety, screenings, and more,^[6] the new venue launched in January 2018 and has since hosted a multitude of shows and events, including notable performances by comedians Hannah Gadsby, Adam Sandler, Ilana Glazer, Patton Oswalt, and Margaret Cho.

Film location

Throughout its history, the venue has been used as a location for a number of significant film + television productions:

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, 1988 comedy starring Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley.
The Formula, 1980 mystery starring George C. Scott and Marlon Brando.
La La Land, 2016 musical comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
Too Late, 2021 comedy starring Ron Lynch and Fred Armisen.

Comedy specials and notable events

Under the Dynasty Typewriter tenure, the venue has been utilized as a filming location for a significant number of comedy specials from various production companies and networks, Netflix, Comedy Central, HBO, Peacock and more.