LA Live, the opening of Church & State in the Nabisco building, today's Times article about the greening of Pershing Square: the signs of downtown's blossoming continue. We look to another sign as well: Spooktacular. This two-day Halloween-a-thon, in the recently refurbished Million Dollar Theater, isn't as large as some of the other events around town, nor will it attract the massive crowds of West Hollywood, but that's okay. We're jazzed that downtown is doing Halloween in a grand, stylish way.
Not that downtown hasn't done Halloween before, but Spooktacular boasts a cavalcade of nifty events rolling under one roof. "Night of the Living Dead" is the big Halloween night movie at the Million Dollar, followed by "Re-Animator" on Saturday night. There's a daytime costume contest for the young'uns on Saturday, a stage show, music, and a Halloween performance by George the Giant (who eats glass and crumbles hard cement with his very noggin -- tres impressive).
Most eerie of all? The theater itself, which we find full of phantomry and delicious secrets. Sid Grauman, the impresario behind the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, created the Million Dollar first, in 1918. With its ornate flourishes and long history, the Million Dollar positively oozes mystique. So if a flapper plunks herself down next to us during the movie, we'll have to wonder if she's a spunky young lady in 1920s garb or someone who never found her way home after that dreamy Valentino matinee.
Million Dollar Theater, 307 S. Broadway, Los Angeles
213-999-5067
