LA West Elite Event Brief Encounter

What I liked most about Brief Encounter was the staging. It was so clever and original. Also, I have never seen such a mixed media explosion. So so well done. The projections themselves must have cost an absolute fortune. The story itself never really sung to me. I never felt empathy towards the characters. Still, fascinating visually and a wonderful night. I think my favorite part of the evening was seeing the gorgeous new Wallis Annenberg Center, the remodel of the old post office and the stunning theatre addition. The landscaping… everything flawless. I really appreciated the evening and that we finally have a place to see top tier theatre in Beverly Hills!

The Wallis Annenberg Center is in the former Beverly Hills Post Office. What an amazing venue! I had no idea that it existed. Thanks Brittany B.
The play, A Brief Encounter was a playful, somewhat goofy almost vaudevillian take on Noël Coward’s screenplay. I was unfamiliar with the British based story of the commuting affair between Laura and Alec. It is impressive how a writer can create a comedy from such a sad story of love found and lost.
I loved the multimedia execution and the clever use of the stage sets as a way to quickly change between scenes. I was impressed with the ability of the actors to quickly switch between characters so masterfully and incorporate puppets to replace the actual children of Laura.
I also thought it was clever that they had the cast mingling amongst the guests prior to the start of the play; even setting up and playing a tune at the doors right before we sat down.
We had great seats in the orchestra. This is the kind of thing that makes Elite feel really Elite!
Wonderful…best event I’ve attended yet.

This was a very brief encounter but as you know, it’s quality, not quantity. From the Valet Parking ($ 16) to the Box Office, I think it was less than twenty steps! The entrance hall is grand, and the list of sponsors is even grander. The Annenberg Theater for the Performing Arts is truly magnificent in its mixture of woods and masonry. Be careful to note the new address or you may be circling the Beverly Hills Civic Center for a bit.
Sugarfina, all dressed up in blue and white, was giving out samples of their delicious imported confections. Yummm. Expect to spend around $ 20 for a glass of wine and either a dessert or cheese plate.
Our tickets were perfect; they were right in front of the aisle. The quartet was close enough to catch their winks and wit, and definitely close enough to observe their musical talents. Actually, I could have reached out and touched them! I was amazed as the play started to see each of the musicians assume the acting roles. I am always astounded at how live theater can incorporate movement and props to create transition.
It is an everyday story about how a chance meeting between two strangers can eventually become a torrid love affair via circumstance and rationalization. This «Brief Encounter» can sweep you away and have you deviate from your own moral compass as you relate to the characters’ suffering as they separate.
Thank you Brittany B. and Unilocal Elite West for a love-​ly night out!

If it wasn’t for this event, I would have probably never ventured into this establishment or seen this production, and I would have totally missed out. Not only is the Center a gorgeous and elegant space, but Brief Encounter was charming, funny, and interesting. I loved the story and the acting. Their use of space, lighting, music, and character interactions was impressive. I particularly enjoyed the way the «back» characters served to add to or «move» the scenes along — very clever.

It was such a special treat to attend Brief Encounter at the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts. This venue has been transformed from an old post office to a highly modern and gorgeous playhouse.
Brief Encounter was extremely funny, very cute and very creative. It was unlike any viewing experience I ever had. The show is like a combination of a play and a movie, with all the special effects and an actual projector screen showing little clips and images. The show is 90 minutes, but felt like 2 hours. I think it would have been perfect if the show was kept to 75 minutes.
The cast members really engage the audience as they roam around the aisles singing and pretending to have dinner with you. Where we were seated, we had the privilege of seeing the cast members enter through the side of the venue as they were ready to walk on stage. It was also nice to chat with the other Unilocalers in our row and discuss the oohs and aahs of the Wallis Annenberg Center.
Aside from this one really nice and helpful Persian lady, the staff and ushers at the Wallis Annenberg could have used a little more enthusiasm. It’s not that they were unfriendly, but I felt most of them could have highly benefited from a caffeine boost or a jolt of energy. Some looked like they were dragging their feet and just seemed so bored. Come on, you’re working at an exciting show at such a gorgeous venue! It would not hurt to smile and be more pumped. This is showtime baby!
Thank you Unilocal and Brittany B. for another successful Elite event!

Such a nice place. Felt under-​dressed. Next time gotta dress to impress these Beverly Hills folks.
Parking: Free street parking right behind the Beverly Hills sign. But watch out for the signs. The time the play ended, it was perfect timing to move before getting a ticket.
Hate to get a ticket when attending a free event. Esp, after scoring a free parking spot.
When walking from the street, not really sure where the front/​back/​side is.
So, I walked to the valet side. They were able to guide me to the will call/​ticket area.
The old post office (so I was told) looked pretty with its lights on.
Staff: They were very friendly and nice. I was able to pick up tickets without any hassle. And, no grief for not wearing a suit and tie.
As I made my way to my seats, since the performers were walking around playing instruments, made it hard to tell whom worked for the theater and whom were in the play. Since, this was my first time, I didn’t know the number sequence.
Left side is all odds. And right side is all evens. After bumping knees and apologizing, finally found our seats.
I don’t think that there was a bad seat in the house.
We had no idea what to expect; But, I was mesmerized by the production.
The interactive stage, the cast members moving on and off stage, the musical and acting talent. I felt I was whisked away to the 30’s or 40’s. I won’t bore you with the story line. But, I loved the playfulness of the cast.
Overall, we had an excellent time. I would highly recommend.
Thank you very much much Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Brittany B. for this awesome experience.

I loved this venue, it was my first but hopefully not my last visit. Thank you very much Unilocal for yet another fantastic event.
I loved the cast. All were great and gave excellent performances and I love mixed media. I did however not enjoy the story. Call me old fashioned but when two married people one who we know has children have a quick selfish fling it really bugs me. I just guess this particular play was just not for me.

Thank you very much much Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Brittany B. for another 5 star event! I am most gracious for the pair of tickets and the wonderful experience.
This is my second time visiting the Wallis and I absolutely love it. Be sure to check out my other 5 Star review for them, under their own page. The space is very lovely and romantic. Strolling the halls of the old post office and then stepping down into the theater level located beside their gorgeous outdoor space is nothing short of fabulous.
Since my last visit, the pop up store has since changed and is currently Sugarfina (a favorite of many Unilocalers). I sampled the sea salt caramel chocolate — delish!
Picking up tickets from Will Call is always a breeze! The staff here are all wonderful.
Parking is $ 8.
The chairs are super spacious unlike most other theatres. We had fabulous seats in Row M.
Downstairs restrooms are very nice and accommodate many more than the first floor smaller restrooms.
While Brief Encounter was a much different production than the previous I had seen here in December it was still a pleasure to a guest.
I look forward to returning soon and continuing to recommend The Wallis to my friends, co-​workers and family members.
Amazing theatre!

Wow. Such an awesome event to get to attend.
This was my first Unilocal Elite event to attend. I had never been to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts but it was pretty easy to find. Parking was easy, $ 8 to self park $ 16 to valet. The building is beautiful. Gorgeous renovations done on it. There’s no way you can tell it was an old post office bldg.
The play was great. I didn’t expect to get into the story line but I did. The acting was actually very good. The transitions where a gush of wind & sounds of waves comes through the stage and the actors sway with the sound was very well done. My favorite was perhaps when the actors simulated a train driving through the stage. it was so believable.
Overall if there is another opportunity to come to this theater to watch another production my husband and I definitely will.
Thanks Brittany B for the tickets!

Thank you for the tickets to this wonderful play!
I really didn’t know what to expect from Brief Encounter but I was pleasantly surprised! With only a cast of 7 very talented actors, this play featured special effects I had never seen before. It was beautifully done! The musical numbers were fun and a great transition between scenes. I was very impressed at the amount of talent in the small cast. It was awesome that one person could play 5 various instruments, sing, and act two totally different parts. Just wow!
The venue was perfect! I really appreciated the live music before the show because it really set the mood for what was to come.
I highly recommend seeing this play!

**GREAT VENUE AND EVENT**
Thanks, Brittany B. and Unilocal for the complimentary tickets!
PARKING
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Event parking at the garage was $ 8.
AMBIANCE
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Grand, new, modern, and chic.
Opened its doors in October 2013.
PLAY
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BRIEF ENCOUNTER by Noël Coward
Love story between two married people at a train station.
Good multimedia usage, production, props, and music.
Humorous, sad, and thrilling.
STAFF
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Helpful, friendly.
AUDIENCE
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Respectful and courteous.
RECOMMEND any play and/​or production at the WALLIS ANNENBERG CENTER for the Performing Arts.
Glad to have experienced it with Unilocal

I thought this event was a great way to introduce the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts to those of us unfamiliar with the space itself. As for the play itself, I was impressed to find out that the entire show was manned by less than 10 people in varying positions on the stage! What a multi-​talented group of performers. The cello player/​baritone singer was my personal favorite, with a voice that could range from vintage to soulful in one fell swoop. The mixed-​media format of the play was a bit jarring at first, but I found my mind closing in the gaps between the music, background screen and foreground screen quite nicely at the end. The layout and subsequent use of the stage layout was fantastic. I loved how a removable overhang added an extra layer of depth to the stage, and the staging of the characters on both levels was seamless and natural.
I must admit, I did not enjoy the central characters that the show revolved around – their plight was too overwrought for my sensibilities. I blame my inability to empathize with desperate housewives? This didn’t ruin my overall enjoyment of the show, because I became quite fond of the side couples/​characters that shared the spotlight on the sides of the stage. And the creativity of the props was a joy to watch – the little «Scottish terriers» on leashes, the (somewhat creepy) mannequin children, the boat, the tree branches… they certainly took a leap of imagination to follow, but I believe the production did a smart job of allowing these props to be a bit funny. They understood the unrealistic stretch these props would normally require of the audience’s imagination and they decided to have a bit of fun with it.
In the end, I think I might be a bit too old-​fashioned with my plays… I appreciated the way in which this mixed-​media play took me out of my comfort zone, but ultimately prefer a more traditional medium. However, I do think that other theatre-​goers should give mixed-​media presentations a shot! I truly believe that I experienced this play in a unique way that will stay with me longer than plays I have enjoyed in the past. Thank you so much for the opportunity to see this show, Brittany B. I like to think I feel a smidge more cultured because of it. :)

What a great opportunity to visit the new Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts! A lovely building with lovely grounds.
I really enjoyed the unique Noël Coward play-​cum-​musical («Brief Encounter»), which I thought was an enjoyable juxtaposition between 40’s-style dialogue, costumes and rhythms, and totally modern, impressionistic sets, multimedia backdrops and interactivity, and sometimes jarringly anachronistic vocals by the main crooner.
Today’s contemporary audiences might not «get» this play, but I really appreciated the retro qualities. Definitely a snapshot from a particular time and place. And the emotions at the production’s core — longing, passion and deep-​seeded loss — are truly timeless.
Thanks to Brittany and Unilocal for the opportunity to see this production with a friend!

When I saw this event on the listings page, I knew I had to sign up!
This was a total two-​fer for me. I got to see what was done to the old Beverly Hills Post Office, and how it was incorporated into the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, & I got to see a live performance.
While I’d never seen any performance of Brief Encounter previously, this production was spectacularly stunning! I loved the incorporation of film into the live-​action dynamic. And I didn’t realize that the musicians playing before the performance started were also the actors. The singing was wonderful, and the dancing was fun to watch. My friend and I both enjoyed it tremendously. Had I realized there would be no intermission, I would have gotten a bottle of water before the performance.
About the theatre — It’s nice and intimate. I was lucky to sit down in the orchestra, row G — and had a great vantage point. Some of my other friends were up in the balcony. I didn’t hear what they had to say, but since the space is pretty small, I’m sure the sight lines were good. The grounds were lovely, and Hooray for «Adaptive re-​use» and saving a pedigreed post office building designed by Allison & Allison.
Thanks Brittany B for the great Unilocal Elite Event.

Brief Encounter in the story of unrequited love. Laura is a housewife living in British suburbia. She has two children and is living in a dull, passionless marriage to Fred and her only solace is taking the train into town every Thursday to go to the market and to the movies. On one of her visits she meets Alec, a handsome doctor and he fills the void of everything that her marriage does not. Alec and Laura meet several more times and get to know each other very well. Eventually they fall in love. In the end Laura is faced with the dilemma whether or not she should go back to her husband even though her life with him has gotten very mundane or run away with Alec who will provide her with passion that she has been craving for a very long time.
This play was a real «sleeper,» (I fell asleep for part of it.)
But for fear of offending the Queen and having my passport invalidated for arrival at Heathrow, I must say that the acting was nothing short of impressive.
At times you do wish that you had a British English interpreter, but I think back to the days that I used to watch PBS, and recollected many of the phrases.
The setting and staging of the play/​musical is filled with many surprises – actors popping up from audience, etc.
This play is a definite must see for fans of British humor and drama productions.
It’s the UK right in your backyard. The music is great.
Our first time in this brand new theater which is a 5 all the way. Such a great intimate place with the best seat feel and leg room. No bad seat in the house really. Check out the upstairs bathroom – very unique, and come a half early to tour around and drop in the upscale theater candy store.

A beautiful theater, what a great introduction to what is sure to be many more plays and musicals.
I thought Brief Encounter was wonderful. Attending the performance on Tuesday, Feb 18, the cast was both fun and enjoyable. The direction superb. But the real brilliance is in the production.
With a blend of multimedia, very memorable scenes were interactively woven seamlessly throughout. Players from the cast mixed into the audience, and entering from side entrances to speak lines was terrific. Romantic and lovely, the music sung and played live, really spoke to me.
I want to thank the management of Wallis-​Annenberg for their generosity, and Brittany B for selecting little, old me.

Brief Encounter wasn’t your ordinary musical/​play. It was a whimsical ride into the world of unrequited love, illicit affairs, pain, happiness, love, and conflict. I thoroughly enjoyed the production and execution of Noël Coward’s play. Simple special effects were astounding and the musician /​actor execution was done with perfection. The melding of performance with the technicals in sound and lighting helped tell this story and made it an experience!
The space itself is grand and amazing. I love the remodel. Acoustics were pretty good, I could hear the singer in the quartet sing without amplification from the back row as I was walking down the aisle to my seat. Lighting was done with class and tact so as to not take away from the experience.

So cool!
I’m a vintage girl. I love pretty much anything vintage so I knew this was going to be right up my alley.
The venue was in the beautiful new Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, which is taking the place of the old post office in Beverly Hills. It’s a gorgeous building. Lots of architectural details (when you first walk inside there is a Greek style façade on the inside complete with a fresco) but they were able to warm the inside up as well as keep the modern streamlined look. I also personally loved how they kept some of the vintage walls of the post office encased in glass, so you could see the «vintageness» but not be able to touch it. It was in unexpected places and meshed well with the new design. Quite cool.
Parking was easy to find at this hour — as there was lots of street parking available. There is an underground parking lot too across the street in the City Hall building.
We picked up our reserved tickets at Will Call — so easy!
The play itself was lovely. Very vintage and I liked how they streamlined the vintage video with the physical play. The costumes were perfect for the time period and I loved the vintage romance of it all.
The «extras» as I’ll call them were what I thought were the actual stars of the show. They were a talented bunch playing a myriad of other side character parts as well as playing lots of instruments and singing songs and background music to the play. Very cool.
We had a great time! Thanks so much for the tickets Brittany B! :)

THANK YOU Unilocal Elite for giving me this opportunity to visit this gorgeous theater (Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts) and a great show!
What a historic building! Very well maintained. All the staffs are very professional and friendly. The box office is inside the building, no long line to pick up the tickets. The staffs are very efficient.
Not a huge theater but very intimate. Every seat is a good seat. There is bar area right in front of the theater entrance. Not only they sell cocktail drinks, they also have small appetizer as well.
A few performers were playing instruments outside the theater for short entertainment. Just lovely!
Great production, love the singing! What a creative idea to blend in the black/​white screen as backdrops! All the performers are so talented. They really make full use of the sets.
The Parking: Valet Parking and Parking Structure ($ 8 flat)

Great venue and great show! :)
I’m a big fan of musicals and plays. I’ve been to lots of venues, but haven’t checked this place out yet.
The venue was located right in the middle of Beverly Hills! There was a nice art gallery near the lobby area. The stage was just the right size. Parking was easy to find and self-​service was $ 8.
I came to the show not knowing what to expect and the show was awesome! «Brief Encounter» was well done! I loved the singing, the sets, the backdrops, the interactive play between the background/​set and the characters. I can’t believe the whole play only consisted of 6 actors/​dancers/​musicians. They had a piano, banjo, cello, bass, and trumpet player. A very talented group!
I loved the songs, the music and the love story. A very good show!
Thanks Brittany B., Unilocal,and The Wallis Annenberg Center for hosting this event! :)