Try to tell us that you've never stood on the Music Center Plaza and kicked up a heel or raised your hem for a little hip-sway or belted out a line from a favorite Broadway show and we'll tell you, politely, that you're fibbing, and hard.
Oh, for sure, downtown's coolest cultural quartet -- Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Mark Taper Forum, and the Ahmanson Theatre -- has seen thousands of performers paid to warble and dance since its 1964 start. But we Angelenos also get the performing bug while standing next to the plaza's famous fountains, and we often let loose with a bit of ballet or a ballad.
Wait, did we say 1964? We absolutely did, meaning this: The Music Center is turning 50, and the celebrations shall be worthy of the big-of-song spirit it has displayed there over the last half century.
The center will be re-dedicated on Wednesday, Oct. 1, with shades of the original dedication ceremony, given that the words from 1964 will be read and re-created. This is all happening on the steps of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, making it even more grand and stirring-of-soul, if you're looking to have your soul stirred. (If you're a frequent visitor to the Music Center, we'll guess you're into this.)
A free open house follows on Saturday, Oct. 11. Tours of the four Music Center venues, a showcase of what wonders go down within, and "a full day of arts experiences at both the Music Center and Grand Park" shall burble high, not unlike the fountain at the center of the plaza itself. If you've been in one or two of the buildings but not all four, this is your day to remedy that, though "remedy" sounds cold. Joyfully remedy? Okay, yes.
The partying doesn't even stop there -- there's a gala, too, in December. Yeah, this place deserves the ongoing neverending birthday, because ongoing neverending birthdays are the best.
Happy 50th, Music Center, and high fives to all SoCalers who support the spot. We've seen you tapping a toe on the plaza, now and then, inspired.
