This has been a year where a sense of loss has permeated us all: loved ones, friends, jobs, livelihoods and careers. Perhaps it seems a little crazy to write a requiem for a business. But in the case of Rockwell Table and Stage, I’ll risk being a little crazy.
For those who have lived in Los Angeles as long as I have, you probably know that before it was Rockwell the restaurant was called Vermont. And before that it was Sarno’s Caffe Dell’Opera.
From Sarno’s through to Rockwell, entertainment has been a key component of the business plan. Alberto Sarno created a space for fans of opera and singers hoping for a career in opera would come together for food, drink and performance.
Vermont was originally just a restaurant. Until they opened Barre at Vermont and For the Record shows began in what was a very tight shoebox space. When the For the Record series exploded, changes were made, walls came down and Rockwell Table and Stage was born.
What great shows they had on that stage! Rockwell became the cabaret venue this city has always deserved.
Broadway and cabaret stars such as Laura Benanti (She Loves Me), David Burnham (The Light in the Piazza), Charles Busch (Die! Mommie Die!), Sutton Foster (Anything Goes), Aaron Lazar (A Little Night Music), Frances Ruffelle (Les Misérables), The Skivvies and Terri White (Finian’s Rainbow) are just some of the artists I saw there.
I remember being at one event and Lin-Manuel Miranda got up on stage and performed a song from a little project he was working on called the Hamilton Mix-Tape. This was well before the musical ever opened at The Public Theater.
Jeff Goldblum held court there on a regular basis with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. Recording artist Spencer Day was often a resident artist.
Musicals with their eyes on Broadway had try-out runs at Rockwell. New composers and new musicals had a monthly opportunity to be heard.
For the Record celebrated the works of Paul Thomas Anderson, The Cohen Brothers, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino (who saw the show several times) and more. The performances were regularly extended, often sold-out and audiences loved every second of them.
Many of the participants in the For the Record series have gone on to Broadway. Amongst them are Joanna A. Jones (Hamilton), Derek Klena (a Tony Award nominee this year for his performance in Jagged Little Pill), Ruby Lewis (Cirque du Soleil: Paramour), Kristolyn Lloyd (original cast of Dear Evan Hansen), Nicole Parker (The People in the Picture) and Jessica Kennan Wynn (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical).
Performers also branched out into other art forms: Jason Paige is best known to audiences as the voice of the English version of the theme song to Pokémon. Ty Taylor and his band Vintage Trouble have toured the world and have opened for The Rolling Stones. (By the way, Taylor made one hell of a Frank ‘n’ Furter in a concert performance of The Rocky Horror Show at Barre at Vermont.)
After For the Record moved on to greener pastures, the Unauthorized Musical Parody of series took over with comedic takes on films like The Devil Wears Prada (featuring Drew Droege as Miranda Priestly) and Clueless.
Since the stage was placed next to the big windows that looked out to Vermont, I always took particular pleasure in watching passersby check out what was going on on stage.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I also produced a concert there in 2013 celebrating the work of lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg. He’s best known for writing the lyrics for the songs in The Wizard of Oz.
I guess what I’m trying to say is for many of us – both performers and audiences – Rockwell Table and Stage was home. There was absolutely a family that was created there; a family of singers, actors, waiters, bartenders, owners, patrons, producers and directors.
During the pandemic I’ve missed all the many nights I’d spend seeing live performances. And I’ve missed the exceedingly talented people who became my friends through Rockwell Table and Stage.
It’s sad when a venue you loved is no more. I’m sure many residents of Los Angeles said the same thing when Sarno’s closed. That space was reborn and reborn again after that happened.
One can only hope that another enterprising entrepreneur will set his or her sights on the now empty space in Los Feliz with dreams of creating their own home for performers. I’m sure if they put their ears up to the facade the many musical memories that filled Rockwell will still be echoing.
In the meantime, thank you Rockwell Table and Stage for being my home for so many great evenings. You will be missed.
Photo: Rockwell Table and Stage (Courtesy their Facebook page)