Typically one doesn't get to eye a new cultural venue as it is coming together. The first glance comes with the first performance, when the paint smell is lingering and the chairs have new chair feel. (Love new chair feel, even over new paint.)
But it is far more intriguing, and far more rare, to see a big theater long before the painting and chair-placing stage. A Noise Within in Pasadena is giving fans that rare chance to actually go on the construction site of its coming-together theater, for free. The events are called "Hard Hat Sundays," and they're happening once a month; the next one is Sunday, Feb. 13.
As you might expect, the lure of wearing a hard hat and walking around piles of dirt that will one day be a stage is hard to resist. Meaning reservations for the no-charge event, which is only running three more times through April, are essential.
We can imagine people who like seeing things built will be excited, as will play buffs. But if you're both? Hoo boy. A happy day of bulldozer-close poking around (with a guide, of course). And, down the road, when you and your friend are at a play, you can brag all about how you saw the all of where you're sitting before there were even places to sit.
