PASADENA PLAYHOUSE'S GHOST

WHERE: Pasadena Playhouse
(600 North Rosemead Boulevard, Pasadena) map

STATUS: Active theater

THE GHOST(S):

This classy theater opened in 1925, and was built to house Pasadena's community theater that had originally started on a lower class burlesque stage. Just as this little theater troupe (lead by Gilmor Brown) overcame great odds to gain respect, so too did this theater, which in 1937 was declared California's Official State Theater because of the its innovative programing, which attracted the very top playwrights and actors to go to this suburb of Los Angeles and do "community theater."

This tradition of attracting the best in the dramatic arts to Pasadena continued for the many decades that followed since Gilmore Brown first set foot inside this building. Another tradition of the playhouse that continued was the continuous presence of Gilmor Brown, himself, even after his death in 1960. It is said that Gilmor requested hidden passageways to be built throughout the theater, so that he could secretly watch (and eavesdrop on) the rehearsals, and likewise it is said that his presence is still watching the goings-on of this fabled stage from the shadows to this day. This uneasy feeling of being spied upon on (and around) the stage was so common that faculty members felt it was necessary to warn incoming students (of the attached acting school) of Gilmor's ghost, and explain to them that "he" is just being protective of the place he helped build. So, should you ever have the chance to walk through this historic landmark and/or walk across the historic stage, don't worry if you feel the piercing eyes of a being from the great beyond. He means you no harm.

Additionally, anything strange that happens inside the theater is blamed on his ghost. In the past, lights have mysteriously turned on and off during performances (even after the wires had be examined by an electrician). An often repeated tale involves a stage manager's stack of notes with a production's sound and lighting queues getting scattered around a room during each intermission of that production (and even after the doors were locked and a guard was placed in front of it).

http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/

If you know of another ghost story (or another version of a story mentioned), or if you have personally experienced something strange at this theater, please leave a comment.

(to read about another haunted theater in the L.A. area...)