Vox Lumiere – Silents you can hear®

An electrifying new form of entertainment. Vox Lumiere (voices of light) is “rock concert meets silent film” – an award-winning mashup of musicians, singers and film that transport you, transform you and leave you breathless.

With an eclectic mix of original rock, pop and classic Hollywood film scoring, Vox Lumiere brings silent film classics to three-dimensional, high-decibel life, offering a fresh take on timeless stories for music geeks, film lovers and anyone who likes a little heavy metal served up with their classical music.

Innovative productions blend old movies, new songs and powerful live performances into a showstopping spectacle that will have you on the edge of your seat. Singers and musicians play off each other, the audience and the onscreen story in a magical exchange. It’s a riveting new kind of storytelling that will inspire you and haunt your dreams long after the credits roll.

Vox Lumiere is a unique entertainment experience – an immersive, multimedia extravaganza that smashes the walls between audience and artist. With dazzling visuals, iconic stories and soul-pumping original music from creator and award-winning film composer Kevin Saunders Hayes, Vox Lumiere is a genre- busting new art form unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

A captivating fusion of old Hollywood and modern music, Vox Lumiere redefines what it means to go to the theater.

Drama. Excitement. Passion. Fantasy.

Vox Lumiere
Silents you can hear®

LINK TO GOOGLE MAPS: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oXmrPYjZBtUSgco1A

Parking locally is easy.

There is a structure at 9100 Wilshire Blvd.
Parking Rates . . .

$3 each 15 minutes
$27 daily maximum
$10 flat rate (Monday-Friday after 5pm) (Saturday & Sunday all day)
* Cash or credit accepted

There is a structure at 140 South Doheny Drive
Parking Rates . . .

Every hour $5
Daily Max $25
* Scan the QR code to pay with your cell phone

Meanwhile, on Wilshire Blvd. itself?
Monday through Friday/ All the meters on Wilshire are free after 7 p.m.
Saturday: All Meters on Wilshire are free after 3PM
Sunday: All Meters on Wilshire are free all day!
What about the Side Streets?

Monday-Saturday: All Side street meters are free after 6PM
Sunday: All side street meters are free all day.

Opened: 1936 as the Elite Theatre. It’s between Doheny Dr. and Wetherly Dr. on the south side of the street. The Writers Guild Theatre is around the corner on Doheny and the AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theatre is just two blocks east on Wilshire. Photo: Bill Counter – April 2021

In 1956 it again was a movie house. During the 60s and into the 70s it was operated by the Walter Reade circuit of New York as one of L.A.’s premiere art houses. Reade also operated the Beverly Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills and the Granada Theatre in West Hollywood. Major films in the 60s at the Music Hall included “La Dolce Vita,” “La Strada,” and “War and Peace.”

A 1970 ad for the Walter Reade circuit. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing the ad as a post for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. Walter Reade ran into troubles and the circuit ended up in bankruptcy in 1978. They had dropped the Music Hall earlier.

Laemmle triplexed the Music Hall in the 90s. When the circuit’s 15 year lease was up in April 2011 there was discussion of closing as the landlord wanted to explore other options for the building. They succeeded in getting a lease extension. In 2019 the circuit decided to end their 45 year tenure and their last day of operation was November 21.

In an article in the Beverly Hills Courier, Greg Laemmle said: “It’s not about ticket sales being up or down and not specifically about rent increases. The theater just didn’t quite fit for us anymore given the direction of wanting to be our own landlord. It’s just time.” Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for spotting the story. See the Laemmle blog post “After a 45-Year Run, Lemmmle To Leave Music Hall.”

When Laemmle announced their exit, the the building owner started showing the premises to other theatre operators as well as potential non-theatrical tenants. Deadline’s November 22, 2019 story “Why Laemmle Theatres Decided Not To Sell…” was about the circuit as a whole no longer being up for sale and also discussed the Music Hall’s fate. See the page about the Royal Theatre for links to other stories about the circuit.  

New operators: Three veterans of the Laemmle circuit took over the theatre and reopened November 29, 2019 as the Lumiere Music Hall. They formed a new company with the intention of offering programming similar to what had been done under Laemmle management.

The Lumiere management team: Luis Orellana at the left, Lauren Brown, and Peter Ambrosio. It’s a photo by Allen J. Schaben that appeared with Gary Goldstein’s lovely December 31, 2019 L.A. Times article about the trio’s ambitions for the theatre. The article noted that they had a one-year lease plus four renewal options. Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for spotting the story. A message from the team:

“We are very excited to announce that the Laemmle tradition will be kept alive at the Music Hall. We are three Laemmle Theatre employees (two former and one current) and we are opening a new company, Lumiere Cinema…It is our intention to honor the Laemmle family’s commitment of bringing the best of independent cinema to the big screen in Los Angeles. Each of us has worked at the Music Hall and we are proud to be able to grant it a new lease on life. We would like to thank Greg Laemmle and the entire Laemmle team for enabling us to make this dream a reality…”

The theatre shut down in March 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Films continued to be offered virtually via the lumierecinemala.com website. The theatre had also been open in the evenings for the sale of drinks, popcorn and merchandise.

A Variety story on February 17, 2021 by Pat Saperstein had the news that it had been leased out from under the Lumiere team by indie distributor Blue Fox Entertainment. The story discussed a renovation including an expanded lobby, upgraded food and drink options, new screens and recliner seats. The company, headed by James Huntsman, said at the time that it would book their own product as well as that of other distributors and will also make the theatres available for screenings and special events. An opening was expected in October. The renovation was to be designed by Fred Dagdagan. Well, that deal fell apart.

The Lumiere Music Hall reopened March 19, 2021. See a post about the event on their Facebook page. The Music Hall was one of several theatres profiled in “Movies and theaters are coming back. But what about L.A.’s treasured art houses?,” a July 13, 2021 L.A. Times article by Ryan Faughnder and Mark Olsen. The story featured several photos taken at the theatre.

Vox Lumiere – Silents you can hear®

An electrifying new form of entertainment. Vox Lumiere (voices of light) is “rock concert meets silent film” – an award-winning mashup of musicians, singers and film that transport you, transform you and leave you breathless.

With an eclectic mix of original rock, pop and classic Hollywood film scoring, Vox Lumiere brings silent film classics to three-dimensional, high-decibel life, offering a fresh take on timeless stories for music geeks, film lovers and anyone who likes a little heavy metal served up with their classical music.

Innovative productions blend old movies, new songs and powerful live performances into a showstopping spectacle that will have you on the edge of your seat. Singers and musicians play off each other, the audience and the onscreen story in a magical exchange. It’s a riveting new kind of storytelling that will inspire you and haunt your dreams long after the credits roll.

Vox Lumiere is a unique entertainment experience – an immersive, multimedia extravaganza that smashes the walls between audience and artist. With dazzling visuals, iconic stories and soul-pumping original music from creator and award-winning film composer Kevin Saunders Hayes, Vox Lumiere is a genre- busting new art form unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

A captivating fusion of old Hollywood and modern music, Vox Lumiere redefines what it means to go to the theater.

Drama. Excitement. Passion. Fantasy.

Vox Lumiere
Silents you can hear®

LINK TO GOOGLE MAPS: https://maps.app.goo.gl/64qrNeyeqe2ujrTm9

The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, California has parking behind the theater at E. 5th Street and N. Spurgeon Street. There are also parking garages nearby.

Parking behind the theater
The lot behind the theater is run by the city and is a pay lot
Some recommend parking in the structures behind the theater

Parking garages
Garage B: Located at 300 East 5th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Garage C: Located at 310 N Birch Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Garage D: Located at 420 N Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701

The daily rate for these garages is $1.50 per hour after the first hour, with a maximum of $10 per day

Other parking options
There may be street parking, but some say there isn’t much without walking
There are also on-street parking meters in Santa Ana

The Frida Cinema opened its doors on February 21st, 2014, in the heart of Downtown Santa Ana’s buzzing arts and culture district.

Serving as a cultural hub for film and arts lovers of all ages, The Frida houses two 200-seat auditoriums, both of which feature state-of-the-art 4K Laser projection. The Frida offers a diverse range of film and event programming, with a focus on classic, cult, international, independent, documentary, LGBTQ+, and anime films. Beyond film screenings, The Frida Cinema actively engages with its community by hosting art shows, discussion panels and Q&A’s, student film showcases, live events, film festivals, and the monthly DTSA First Saturday ArtWalk.  The Frida has collaborated with over 200 partners, including dozens of schools and community organizations, further providing a platform for diverse voices and stories.

____________________________________________________

THEIR MISSION STATEMENT

Serving as the only non-profit art house movie theater in Orange County (Tax ID 27-0950151), The Frida was founded with the mission to Enrich, connect, and educate communities through the art of cinema.  The Frida Cinema relies on community support, including memberships, donations, and volunteer involvement, to sustain its mission of bringing the art of cinema to Orange County. Donations in support of The Frida Cinema are tax-deductible, and can be made online, at the theater, or by mail to:

The Frida Cinema
305 E. 4th St, STE 100
Santa Ana, CA 92701

____________________________________________________

THEIR NAME

When you set out to do the impossible, it helps to find a source for inspiration…

Born in Coyoacán, Mexico, Magdalena Frida Carmen Kahlo y Calderón — known by the world as Frida Kahlo — was a legendary Mexican painter and central figure in revolutionary Mexican politics and twentieth-century art, renowned for her magnificent body of surreal, symbolic, and deeply personal art. What is less known about Kahlo is the incredible saga of integrity and perseverance inherent to her life’s story. In 1925, at the age of eighteen, Kahlo was involved in a tragic streetcar accident where she suffered multiple fractures to her spine, foot, and pelvic bones, spending the rest of her life struggling against severe pain and disability. Where for some this would have been enough to give in to despair, Kahlo turned to art to communicate her physical suffering, as well as her passions for Mexican culture and politics, nature, and the love of her life, fellow artist Diego Rivera, whom she married in 1929.

A consummate creator until her death at 47, Kahlo’s inspiring uncompromising resoluteness and individualism has led to her becoming a leading icon for both the LGBT and feminist movements, as well as for the greater conversation of self-expression through art. When we set out to open The Frida Cinema, we aligned our mission to two core commitments – we would never compromise on our vision, and we would meet every challenge with The show must go on boldness and commitment. At a time when cinemas were facing the dual challenges of industry-wide digital convergence and increasingly popular streaming services, the concept of opening an independent cinema was admittedly audacious and improbable. Even before we opened, it was suggested that we run mainstream Hollywood movies to survive, or that we only run art house cinema in one screen, and big-budget Hollywood films in the other.

We continue to be steadfast in adhering to our mission, and inspired by both the Mexican and Artist communities that call Downtown Santa Ana home, we christened ourselves after a hero in the arts that we could look up to not only for her talent, but for her unyielding commitment to her vision, her passions, her identity, and her voice.  We are proud and honored to continue to find strength and inspiration from Frida’s remarkable story.  Gracias Frida!

Frida Kahlo
July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954

Vox Lumiere – Silents you can hear®

An electrifying new form of entertainment. Vox Lumiere (voices of light) is “rock concert meets silent film” – an award-winning mashup of musicians, singers and film that transport you, transform you and leave you breathless.

With an eclectic mix of original rock, pop and classic Hollywood film scoring, Vox Lumiere brings silent film classics to three-dimensional, high-decibel life, offering a fresh take on timeless stories for music geeks, film lovers and anyone who likes a little heavy metal served up with their classical music.

Innovative productions blend old movies, new songs and powerful live performances into a showstopping spectacle that will have you on the edge of your seat. Singers and musicians play off each other, the audience and the onscreen story in a magical exchange. It’s a riveting new kind of storytelling that will inspire you and haunt your dreams long after the credits roll.

Vox Lumiere is a unique entertainment experience – an immersive, multimedia extravaganza that smashes the walls between audience and artist. With dazzling visuals, iconic stories and soul-pumping original music from creator and award-winning film composer Kevin Saunders Hayes, Vox Lumiere is a genre- busting new art form unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

A captivating fusion of old Hollywood and modern music, Vox Lumiere redefines what it means to go to the theater.

Drama. Excitement. Passion. Fantasy.

Vox Lumiere
Silents you can hear®

LINK TO GOOGLE MAPS: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oXmrPYjZBtUSgco1A

Parking locally is easy.

There is a structure at 9100 Wilshire Blvd.
Parking Rates . . .

$3 each 15 minutes
$27 daily maximum
$10 flat rate (Monday-Friday after 5pm) (Saturday & Sunday all day)
* Cash or credit accepted

There is a structure at 140 South Doheny Drive
Parking Rates . . .

Every hour $5
Daily Max $25
* Scan the QR code to pay with your cell phone

Meanwhile, on Wilshire Blvd. itself?
Monday through Friday/ All the meters on Wilshire are free after 7 p.m.
Saturday: All Meters on Wilshire are free after 3PM
Sunday: All Meters on Wilshire are free all day!
What about the Side Streets?

Monday-Saturday: All Side street meters are free after 6PM
Sunday: All side street meters are free all day.

Opened: 1936 as the Elite Theatre. It’s between Doheny Dr. and Wetherly Dr. on the south side of the street. The Writers Guild Theatre is around the corner on Doheny and the AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theatre is just two blocks east on Wilshire. Photo: Bill Counter – April 2021

In 1956 it again was a movie house. During the 60s and into the 70s it was operated by the Walter Reade circuit of New York as one of L.A.’s premiere art houses. Reade also operated the Beverly Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills and the Granada Theatre in West Hollywood. Major films in the 60s at the Music Hall included “La Dolce Vita,” “La Strada,” and “War and Peace.”

A 1970 ad for the Walter Reade circuit. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing the ad as a post for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. Walter Reade ran into troubles and the circuit ended up in bankruptcy in 1978. They had dropped the Music Hall earlier.

Laemmle triplexed the Music Hall in the 90s. When the circuit’s 15 year lease was up in April 2011 there was discussion of closing as the landlord wanted to explore other options for the building. They succeeded in getting a lease extension. In 2019 the circuit decided to end their 45 year tenure and their last day of operation was November 21.

In an article in the Beverly Hills Courier, Greg Laemmle said: “It’s not about ticket sales being up or down and not specifically about rent increases. The theater just didn’t quite fit for us anymore given the direction of wanting to be our own landlord. It’s just time.” Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for spotting the story. See the Laemmle blog post “After a 45-Year Run, Lemmmle To Leave Music Hall.”

When Laemmle announced their exit, the the building owner started showing the premises to other theatre operators as well as potential non-theatrical tenants. Deadline’s November 22, 2019 story “Why Laemmle Theatres Decided Not To Sell…” was about the circuit as a whole no longer being up for sale and also discussed the Music Hall’s fate. See the page about the Royal Theatre for links to other stories about the circuit.  

New operators: Three veterans of the Laemmle circuit took over the theatre and reopened November 29, 2019 as the Lumiere Music Hall. They formed a new company with the intention of offering programming similar to what had been done under Laemmle management.

The Lumiere management team: Luis Orellana at the left, Lauren Brown, and Peter Ambrosio. It’s a photo by Allen J. Schaben that appeared with Gary Goldstein’s lovely December 31, 2019 L.A. Times article about the trio’s ambitions for the theatre. The article noted that they had a one-year lease plus four renewal options. Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for spotting the story. A message from the team:

“We are very excited to announce that the Laemmle tradition will be kept alive at the Music Hall. We are three Laemmle Theatre employees (two former and one current) and we are opening a new company, Lumiere Cinema…It is our intention to honor the Laemmle family’s commitment of bringing the best of independent cinema to the big screen in Los Angeles. Each of us has worked at the Music Hall and we are proud to be able to grant it a new lease on life. We would like to thank Greg Laemmle and the entire Laemmle team for enabling us to make this dream a reality…”

The theatre shut down in March 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Films continued to be offered virtually via the lumierecinemala.com website. The theatre had also been open in the evenings for the sale of drinks, popcorn and merchandise.

A Variety story on February 17, 2021 by Pat Saperstein had the news that it had been leased out from under the Lumiere team by indie distributor Blue Fox Entertainment. The story discussed a renovation including an expanded lobby, upgraded food and drink options, new screens and recliner seats. The company, headed by James Huntsman, said at the time that it would book their own product as well as that of other distributors and will also make the theatres available for screenings and special events. An opening was expected in October. The renovation was to be designed by Fred Dagdagan. Well, that deal fell apart.

The Lumiere Music Hall reopened March 19, 2021. See a post about the event on their Facebook page. The Music Hall was one of several theatres profiled in “Movies and theaters are coming back. But what about L.A.’s treasured art houses?,” a July 13, 2021 L.A. Times article by Ryan Faughnder and Mark Olsen. The story featured several photos taken at the theatre.

Vox Lumiere – Silents you can hear®

An electrifying new form of entertainment. Vox Lumiere (voices of light) is “rock concert meets silent film” – an award-winning mashup of musicians, singers and film that transport you, transform you and leave you breathless.

With an eclectic mix of original rock, pop and classic Hollywood film scoring, Vox Lumiere brings silent film classics to three-dimensional, high-decibel life, offering a fresh take on timeless stories for music geeks, film lovers and anyone who likes a little heavy metal served up with their classical music.

Innovative productions blend old movies, new songs and powerful live performances into a showstopping spectacle that will have you on the edge of your seat. Singers and musicians play off each other, the audience and the onscreen story in a magical exchange. It’s a riveting new kind of storytelling that will inspire you and haunt your dreams long after the credits roll.

Vox Lumiere is a unique entertainment experience – an immersive, multimedia extravaganza that smashes the walls between audience and artist. With dazzling visuals, iconic stories and soul-pumping original music from creator and award-winning film composer Kevin Saunders Hayes, Vox Lumiere is a genre- busting new art form unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

A captivating fusion of old Hollywood and modern music, Vox Lumiere redefines what it means to go to the theater.

Drama. Excitement. Passion. Fantasy.

Vox Lumiere
Silents you can hear®

LINK TO GOOGLE MAPS: https://maps.app.goo.gl/64qrNeyeqe2ujrTm9

The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, California has parking behind the theater at E. 5th Street and N. Spurgeon Street. There are also parking garages nearby.

Parking behind the theater
The lot behind the theater is run by the city and is a pay lot
Some recommend parking in the structures behind the theater

Parking garages
Garage B: Located at 300 East 5th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Garage C: Located at 310 N Birch Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Garage D: Located at 420 N Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701

The daily rate for these garages is $1.50 per hour after the first hour, with a maximum of $10 per day

Other parking options
There may be street parking, but some say there isn’t much without walking
There are also on-street parking meters in Santa Ana

The Frida Cinema opened its doors on February 21st, 2014, in the heart of Downtown Santa Ana’s buzzing arts and culture district.

Serving as a cultural hub for film and arts lovers of all ages, The Frida houses two 200-seat auditoriums, both of which feature state-of-the-art 4K Laser projection. The Frida offers a diverse range of film and event programming, with a focus on classic, cult, international, independent, documentary, LGBTQ+, and anime films. Beyond film screenings, The Frida Cinema actively engages with its community by hosting art shows, discussion panels and Q&A’s, student film showcases, live events, film festivals, and the monthly DTSA First Saturday ArtWalk.  The Frida has collaborated with over 200 partners, including dozens of schools and community organizations, further providing a platform for diverse voices and stories.

____________________________________________________

THEIR MISSION STATEMENT

Serving as the only non-profit art house movie theater in Orange County (Tax ID 27-0950151), The Frida was founded with the mission to Enrich, connect, and educate communities through the art of cinema.  The Frida Cinema relies on community support, including memberships, donations, and volunteer involvement, to sustain its mission of bringing the art of cinema to Orange County. Donations in support of The Frida Cinema are tax-deductible, and can be made online, at the theater, or by mail to:

The Frida Cinema
305 E. 4th St, STE 100
Santa Ana, CA 92701

____________________________________________________

THEIR NAME

When you set out to do the impossible, it helps to find a source for inspiration…

Born in Coyoacán, Mexico, Magdalena Frida Carmen Kahlo y Calderón — known by the world as Frida Kahlo — was a legendary Mexican painter and central figure in revolutionary Mexican politics and twentieth-century art, renowned for her magnificent body of surreal, symbolic, and deeply personal art. What is less known about Kahlo is the incredible saga of integrity and perseverance inherent to her life’s story. In 1925, at the age of eighteen, Kahlo was involved in a tragic streetcar accident where she suffered multiple fractures to her spine, foot, and pelvic bones, spending the rest of her life struggling against severe pain and disability. Where for some this would have been enough to give in to despair, Kahlo turned to art to communicate her physical suffering, as well as her passions for Mexican culture and politics, nature, and the love of her life, fellow artist Diego Rivera, whom she married in 1929.

A consummate creator until her death at 47, Kahlo’s inspiring uncompromising resoluteness and individualism has led to her becoming a leading icon for both the LGBT and feminist movements, as well as for the greater conversation of self-expression through art. When we set out to open The Frida Cinema, we aligned our mission to two core commitments – we would never compromise on our vision, and we would meet every challenge with The show must go on boldness and commitment. At a time when cinemas were facing the dual challenges of industry-wide digital convergence and increasingly popular streaming services, the concept of opening an independent cinema was admittedly audacious and improbable. Even before we opened, it was suggested that we run mainstream Hollywood movies to survive, or that we only run art house cinema in one screen, and big-budget Hollywood films in the other.

We continue to be steadfast in adhering to our mission, and inspired by both the Mexican and Artist communities that call Downtown Santa Ana home, we christened ourselves after a hero in the arts that we could look up to not only for her talent, but for her unyielding commitment to her vision, her passions, her identity, and her voice.  We are proud and honored to continue to find strength and inspiration from Frida’s remarkable story.  Gracias Frida!

Frida Kahlo
July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954