It is always weird writing about yourself in the third person, but here's an article I wrote recently about my involvement with Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, a non-profit theatre dedicated to preserving classic films and music, and why preservation in general is so important to me.
Lara Scott is a
mom on a mission.
When she walked
into Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, CA, for the very first time, she felt
like she had been transported back in time to the 1920s or 1930s. “I thought
that this was what my grandparents must have meant when they talked about how
going to a movie used to be a glamorous experience, and something powerful
enough to distract them from the fact that they were living through the Great
Depression,” she said.
Lara feels like classic films are so important,
not just because they are great entertainment and have to rely on a compelling
story rather than special effects to hold an audience's attention, but also
because they show us who we are and where we have come from, giving us a
glimpse into a world that has vanished. And they have a personal connection for
her, too. She says, “Some of my earliest memories are of watching old movies
with my dad; I remember being a little kid and watching James Cagney tap dance
down the White House stairs in Yankee Doodle Dandy, and Fred
Astaire and Judy Garland singing together in Easter Parade. When I see
these films now, I feel like it brings me closer to my dad, even though he
lives on the other side of the country.”
The very first movie she saw at Old Town Music Hall was 1923’s The White Sister,
a silent film starring Lillian Gish and Ronald Colman, accompanied live by owner and host
Bill Field on the Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ. Lara was blown away,
saying, “It was incredible. I had always thought silent films were boring, but
watching it on the big screen with the live music and sound effects that Bill
added brought the story to life in a way that had me in tears.”
Lara’s day job
is co-hosting the morning show on local radio station 95.9 The Fish, and
hosting the internationally syndicated World Chart Show. In 2012, she started a
blog called “Old Hollywood, New Glitz” that celebrates her love of classic
film, Art Deco, and the Great American Songbook. She is also working on a
forthcoming book that will spotlight Old Hollywood spots and experiences in
Southern California. While looking online for places to review she stumbled
across Old Town Music Hall.
“I thought that
maybe they hosted a screening or two a month, but was so impressed to look at
the schedule and realize that they are showing classic films every weekend on
the big screen, along with hosting 2-3 concerts a month on Sunday nights. And when
I realized that Bill, along with a small group of dedicated volunteers, had
been doing all of this on his own for years I was even more impressed. He is a
very sweet and incredibly talented man.”
After attending
a few more movies, including Yankee Doodle Dandy and Bittersweet,
she became concerned that not enough people knew about the theater and were
coming out to support it for it to stay open. Lara offered to set up an Old
Town Music Hall Twitter account, and continues to update it daily.
“There is a book
I love called Vintage Los Angeles,” she said, “but there is a list at the back
of the book of historic places that have been demolished. Even some of the
places that the author wrote about in the book as places you could visit had
closed by the time I tried to go see them in the year after the book came out.
I also hear about the great work that the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles and
the LA Conservancy do when it comes to saving places that are in danger of
destruction, and I felt like I had to do something, too. My heart actually
hurts when I hear about a historic building being torn down, because I think of
the beauty and the stories that are lost, things that we will never be able to
get back. Since I’m not able to do a lot of volunteering in person at this
point—I’m usually either at work or with my son—I decided to take my activism
online.”
While visiting Old Town Music Hall in March 2013, Bill Field introduced Lara
to Oscar-winning producer and director James Moll, who has a long history with the theatre. His mom and stepdad
were introduced by Field and his late business partner Bill Coffman in the 1970s,
and James has been coming to see movies and concerts there ever since. When he
attended a movie in December 2012, James realized that Bill needed some help, and stepped in to put together a new movie schedule and make some improvements to the historic 1921 building. When James
invited Lara to join an Old Town Music Hall advisory committee that
he was forming to spread the word about the theater, she eagerly
accepted.
Lara is excited
about the growing buzz surrounding Old Town Music Hall, and is honored to be
playing a small part of its resurgence. She also says that her interest in
helping to save Old Town Music Hall is with an eye on the next generation. “My
son is four, and right now anything starring Thomas the Train is his favorite
movie. But one day, I can’t wait to bring him to Old Town Music Hall and tell
him who Rita Hayworth was, or show him what Los Angeles looked like when W.C.
Fields was filming crazy car chases through the streets, and hopefully create
some memories that will be special to my son when he is my age.”
