Pasadena Playhouse

The place to be to exercise and socialize is Disco Night on a Friday night at the Glendale Curves on West Kenneth Road. Last Friday evening’s Disco Night was no exception. Down came the daytime lights, up came the red and blue disco spotlights, pounding disco music and twirling disco ball. Owner Zovig Injejikian likes to have fun and makes sure her exercise patrons do, too. Glendale residents and Curves members Ritta Hovsepian , her niece Ashley Barsamian and Aida Kanchian let their hair down and discoed.

Sandra Kraisirideja, Enjoy! GLENDALE -- Guilt drove filmmaker Vahe Babaian to write and direct his first feature film "After Freedom." His parents made tremendous sacrifices to get to America and Babaian benefited enormously by being brought here. "I'm really fortunate. I never would have made a film if I hadn't come here," Babaian said. But his parents never realized their own hopes and dreams. Babaian and his parents came to the United States from Lebanon in 1976 with only $500.

Glendale needs a culture shock Nora Mossessian is absolutely right (“Local color is disappearing,” Mailbag, Wednesday). Glendale has very little that is interesting in the way of shopping, accommodations or the arts. There was a proposal for a cartoon museum in Glendale, which would have attracted a lot of visitors from outside Glendale as well as from Glendale. The City Council dropped the ball on this, and we have no museum. A Noise Within is one of the best repertory theater groups in California, winning Ovation award after award.

TODAY GLENDALE An artist reception is from 6 to 8 p.m. for Kendra Page's "Vistas and Vignettes," a series of oil paintings on display at Whites Gallery, 2414 Honolulu Ave., Montrose. For gallery hours, call (818) 957-4171 or visit www.whitesgallery.com. The Kiwanis Club of Glendale meets at noon at the Glendale Elks Lodge, 120 E. Colorado St. For more information, call (818) 434-3935. Take Off Pounds Sensibly meets at 9:15 a.m. for a weigh-in and 10 a.m. and for a meeting at First Lutheran Church, 1300 E. Colorado St. For more information, call (800)

Outstanding theater, front and Centre OK, I admit I've been a theater snob and haven't gone to the Glendale Centre Theatre in years. I've preferred A Noise Within (really great), the Mark Taper Forum and the Pasadena Playhouse because of their often intellectually stimulating and professional productions. Be that as it may, my wife and I recently went to the Centre Theatre to see its production of Agatha Christie's chair-edge suspense tale, "And Then There Were None."

The Foothills communities have a history of showing a variety of plays and musicals, and this upcoming fall season is no different. Playing this season in the Glendale Centre Theatre are several plays and musicals about romance, dreams and war. The season starts with "Come Blow Your Horn," about bachelor brothers avoiding marriage. It continues with well-known works, such as "Man of La Mancha," "The Sword and the Stone," and "Beauty and the Beast." Those wanting to take in a film at the historic Alex Theatre in downtown Glendale can catch the ones presented by the Alex Film Society.

The Tony-nominated Broadway show, "Anna in the Tropics," a world premiere Deaf West Theatre Company co-production, and the west coast premiere of John Patrick Shanley's newest play "Doubt," top the list of choices for the 2005 season of the Pasadena Playhouse. Sheldon Epps, artistic director of Pasadena Playhouse State Theatre of California, announced the 2005 season. "The offerings of the 2004 season were met with overwhelming praise and enthusiasm. And as we move into our 2005 season I am equally excited," said Epps.

  Ten Years Ago Aiming for completion by the summer of 1999, Vestar Development began construction of the new Glendale Fashion Center at the corner of Glendale and California avenues.     Twenty Years Ago An Easter egg hunt was part of the fun as the Montrose Shopping Park celebrated Easter 20 years ago this month, much to the delight of local youngsters.   Thirty Years Ago The long-awaited north-south Glendale Freeway, from the Golden State Freeway to Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada, was fully opened to traffic on Friday, April 14, 1978.

Furious Theatre Company returns to production with a season of four premieres: the U.S. premiere of scenes from the "Big Picture" by Owen McCafferty, the Los Angeles premiere of "The Shape of Things" by Neil Labute, the U.S. premiere of "The God Botherers" by Richard Bean and the U.S. premiere of "Tearing the Loom" by Gary Mitchell. The season is produced by Furious Theatre Company's ensemble in residence at the Pasadena Playhouse Balcony Theatre, at 39 S. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena, and features some of the most sought-after playwrights working today.

Performance to benefit New Horizons A Saturday performance of "Anna in the Tropics," written by Cuban American playwright Nilo Cruz, will benefit the after-school program at New Horizon Family Center. The play will be presented at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. A VIP reception will be from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m., and the performance is at 9 p.m. Tickets are $50 for the performance and $75 for the VIP reception and preferred seating for the performance.