LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� The day after her house burned down, Lara Ganz sent a group message to the youth theater troupe she runs: They would not let the stop their upcoming show.
鈥淪o many of our castmates have lost everything,鈥� wrote Ganz, the director of youth theater at a beloved playhouse in the Pacific Palisades. 鈥淲e will continue with rehearsals. I am confident we will find a stage.鈥�
The devastating gutted every inch of the 125-seat Pierson Playhouse, from the basement to the roof, leaving behind only a mangled steel skeleton. Many of the young actors watched it burn on live TV. About half of the show鈥檚 45 cast members, aged 8 to 17, lost their homes or can鈥檛 yet return because of severe damage. Many also to the fire.
But the show did go on. A two-week run of the musical 鈥淐razy for You鈥� opened last weekend, in a nearby school auditorium, marking a triumphant return to the stage for a community determined to see its theater rise from the ashes. are scheduled for this weekend.
The experience lifted the young performers of from an unfathomable low point, teaching them the healing power of art in the face of disaster.
鈥淭he first time I felt happy after the fire was when I walked into that first rehearsal,鈥� said Callum Ganz, 17, the director鈥檚 son, who plays a tap-dancing cowboy in the show. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 singing or dancing, I forget about everything else. I don鈥檛 think about the fire. All I feel is happiness.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 always a shock,鈥� he said, 鈥渨hen it comes back to me and I remember, 鈥極h, right. My house is gone.'鈥�
More than 6,800 homes and other structures were flattened in the . Places of worship, shops and schools were destroyed, along with favorite student hangouts downtown 鈥� the local skate shop, a pizza place, the Yogurt Shoppe, where the young performers would walk after shows for a celebratory treat.
The idea of rebuilding is still a distant dream. The fire destroyed the theater's performance space and everything else 鈥� hundreds of costumes and shoes in the downstairs wardrobe department, vintage and new props, their piano and other musical instruments, lights and sound equipment.
Parents took to social media, posting pleas for donations. They were met with an outpouring of generosity from the artistic community, stretching from Hollywood to Broadway.
Emmy-award winning hairstylist Joy Zapata saw one of the posts, emailed the mother who wrote it to make sure it wasn鈥檛 a scam, and then put out a call to friends in the business.
鈥淚 have done horror films with 100 extras running down the Pacific Coast Highway. But this time, the story was real, and it blew me away,鈥� Zapata said. She held a tutorial for the cast during dress rehearsals and then returned for opening night with a team of seven Hollywood hair and makeup artists.
鈥淚 wanted these kids to walk away feeling beautiful,鈥� Zapata said, as she curled and sprayed the hair of showgirls into upswept buns. Cowgirls got braided pigtails.
A few weeks earlier, Broadway actress Kerry Butler, a Tony-nominated star of 鈥淏eetlejuice,鈥� had invited the kids to sing with her during a concert in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. Then, she spent a day leading them in a master class on character development and vocal technique.
鈥淚 will never forget my time with them,鈥� Butler wrote on Instagram. 鈥淚 met people who lost their homes, schools. But they told me when they heard the theatre was gone 鈥� that was when they felt the deepest loss.鈥�
The group also received wireless mics from Guitar Center and costumes from neighboring schools. The Paul Revere Charter Middle School, for now, has become the troupe鈥檚 home.
鈥淗ome鈥� is a charged word in a community where so many have lost theirs. Yet for these young actors and their families, it fits.
鈥淚鈥檓 learning that a home is not a physical thing. It鈥檚 the people,鈥� said Scarlett Shelton, a 16-year-old from nearby Culver City who has been part of the theater since middle school.
It鈥檚 the type of small-town playhouse that no longer exists in many parts of the country. Kids join young and stay until high school, often leaving with dreams of Broadway. About half of the kids in the cast lived nearby in Pacific Palisades, and the rest come from all over the Los Angeles area.
On opening night in a new venue, much of the pre-show jitters and rituals felt the same. The big kids helped calm the nerves of 鈥渢he littles,鈥� as the young actors are affectionately called. Before the show, the entire cast circled up behind the curtain and took turns giving inspirational pep talks. 鈥淜nock their socks off!鈥� said one child. Another stepped up to say: 鈥淓veryone, dance the night away!鈥�
Putting on the show was not the primary goal when Ganz sent out her group text, as her own family evacuated and then learned their home was gone.
鈥淭hat day of the fires, her whole life was destroyed in a few hours. But it wasn鈥檛, 鈥榃oe is me, I lost everything,鈥欌�� said choreographer Rebecca Barragan. 鈥淪he said: 鈥榃e need to have rehearsal right away and get these kids back on their feet. And let them know that life isn鈥檛 over.鈥欌��
The original cast of 58 kids dwindled to 45, as families scattered to new homes. Many are mired in a post-wildfire bureaucracy of insurance and government assistance and still figuring out where to go next.
鈥淭o be with the other kids and create something and have a purpose has been the most healing thing for all of us,鈥� said Wendy Levine, whose sixth grader, Tyler, is in the show.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a light in the darkness,鈥� said her husband, Eric Levine. The family had just finished remodeling their home and was unpacking boxes mid-morning Jan. 7, when they were ordered to evacuate. They learned that night the home was gone.
Ironically, 鈥淐razy for You鈥� is about a small-town theater struggling to survive, set to the music of George and Ira Gershwin. As the story goes, the townsfolk are energized by coming together to create a show after their hometown is hit with hard times.
That鈥檚 what real life felt like these past few weeks, said Sebastian Florido, 14, who plays the lead character and loved getting to perform one number in particular 鈥� 鈥淚 Can鈥檛 Be Bothered Now,鈥� which is about the power of song and dance to chase away bad news.
鈥淥ne of the lines is, 鈥業鈥檓 dancing and I can鈥檛 be bothered now,鈥欌�� the teen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really relatable. All this bad stuff was happening, but I鈥檓 tap dancing with my best friends. It was like a getaway to a little paradise.鈥�
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Jocelyn Gecker, The Associated Press
