Los Angeles, CA – Company of Angels (COA) is celebrating this year its 50th Anniversary as Los Angeles’ oldest non profit professional theater now headquartered at the historic Alexandria Hotel in downtown LA.
This exceptional Los Angeles Theater group has not only symbolically become, in its own right, a landmark in the history of Los Angeles’ performing Arts, but as well a part of LA’s patrimony. Co-founded in 1959 by actor Leonard Nimoy, the renowned star of Star Trek television, the Company of Angels has officially taken residency at the Alexandria hotel in the mezzanine above King Edward’s ballroom.
The natural symbiosis between these two mystical entities was not only inevitable but as well organically logical as both icons stand to symbolize the many creative angels that color the City of Angels metaphorically establishing its human presence as a theater company deeply rooted in the community. . As Los Angeles’ oldest non profit theater, the Company of Angels is enjoying the unique opportunity to be part of a history older than its own.
It is as well making its own history celebrating this year its 50th Anniversary – a milestone in the history of Los Angeles Theater – with an upscale black-tie charity gala dinner and auctions this fall that will hallmark the inaugural rebirth of the illustrious Palm Court.
Reflecting and responding to the richness, diversity and complexity that is Los Angeles, the Company of Angels distinguishes itself by its remarkable ongoing engagement to continuously connect with the community through the performing arts while also addressing the issues the city faces.
A theater functioning as a town hall where ideas are shared and differences as well as similarities are celebrated, with the Company of Angels we are truly in the company of Angels!
CoA is readying to celebrate its 50th Anniversary with a prestigious Charity Awards Gala slated for October 17 which will honor actor Leonard Nimoy for his role as a founding member as well as veteran actor Robert Ellenstein .
The award -T he Leonard Nimoy Angel – named after actor Leonard Nimoy, is an award bestowed on individuals and/or organizations that have made significant contributions to theater in Los Angeles, and to Company of Angels, in particular.
“I’m looking forward to celebrating Company of Angels’ 50th Anniversary Award Ceremony and Gala,” said Nimoy. “My congratulations for so many years of good work!”
The higly anticipated Awards Gala will be held at the Alexandria Hotel in the famed Palm Court which will reopen its abandonned doors for the special occasion – marking yet another hallmark moment in the history of COA and LA.
Renown as being Los Angeles’ most prestigious ballroom (100 feet in length and 75 feet in width), the Palm Court back in the early 1920s became the natural meeting place for the burgeoning film industry. Decorated with crystal chandeliers and its famous stained-glass Tiffany skylight, the Palm Court was forever indicted into the City of Angels’ heritage in 1971 when it was formally appointed “Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.” Back in its glorious heyday the Palm Court played host to some of the most prominent names of the era such as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson,Gloria Swanson, Winston Churchill, King Edward VIII, Valentino, Sarah Bernhardt, Enrico Caruso, Jack Dempsey, Mary Miles Minter and Paul Whiteman “the Jazz King.” It was also there that Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks set a historical entertainment industry milestone by announcing the creation of their independent film company, United Artists.
Always dedicated to the exploration of a diversity of perspectives, COA is uniquely multi-cultural with members reflecting the various ethnic groups that make up the City of Angels. As the first repertory company in LA, it was originally incorporated by legendary entertainment attorney Bertram Fields and included actors Richard Chamberlain and Vic Morrow – it also had veteran actor Robert Ellenstein as its first artistic director – a role now held by director/actor Armando Molina. Other notable current members include actress Marlene Forte (JJ Abrams Star Trek) and acclaimed playwright Oliver Mayer (Blade to the Heat).
Along the way, COA has received almost every LA Theatrical award including the Dramalogue, The LA Drama Critics Circle, the LA Weekly Award, and the Ovation Award. During this time the company has been sucessfully sustained solel by its members – a collective of actors, directors, playwrights, designers, etc.
For more information, please call (323) 665-7612, or check out the website www.companyofangels.org.
