War Horse and Church on Sunday

This past winter the film “War Horse” was in movie theaters.  Before it premiered, everyone was talking about it and the stage version of it playing in London and New York City.  Even though I’ve never been much of a fan of epic type films, I did go see the movie over Christmas and fell in love with it and cried like a baby through most of it. 

So when tickets went on sale at the Ahmanson Theater in downtown LA, I just had to get them.  For a belated Mother’s Day gift, my mom (who just got into town a couple of days ago), our friend Sheila, and I went to a matinee this afternoon.

Even though Sunday is a fairly light traffic day, we took the train out of North Hollywood into downtown.  It was a warm but clear day.

  The Ahmanson Theater is part of the Los Angeles Music Center and is located on Grand Ave. and Temple St.

All the reviews I’ve read about this production have been fantastic.  The surprise being how in the heck do they put on a stage play using horses.  I was aware ahead of time that the horses were giant puppets, but I wasn’t expecting them to be as truly amazing as they were. 

(the play photos all come from the Ahmanson’s website as cameras are not allowed inside the theater)
Each horse had 3 or more puppeteers in control.  After a few minutes of getting used to their presence, I didn’t really even notice them once the play got going.  The horses movements are so realistic, even the small movements like a tail swish or a head tilt, there are times you forget you’re not watching real horses. 

The staging was very sparse but also very well done.  The movie, of course, was much more intense because of the number of real horses involved and the benefit of location, but the play was still very emotional – I cried twice.  If you get a chance, it’s a must see for sure.

After the play, we headed back towards the train station.

We made a stop across the street to see the Los Angeles Cathedral (Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels) which is rather new, just opening in 2002.  The Los Angeles Archdiocese had been without a cathedral since 1994 when Saint Vibiana was badly damaged in the Northridge earthquake.  

The cathedral is quite modern and so very different than the norm.  It was also pricey to build which was the basis for much criticism.

The tapestries were painted by Southern California native John Nava specifically for the cathedral.  He used “regular people” as models for the holy men and women.

The cathedral will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this September.