Fred Kavli Theatre

The Fred Kavli Theatre is the big room at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center, the city complex on Thousand Oaks Boulevard known as the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. It seats 1,800 and opened in October 1994. Antoine Predock designed the plaza, and City Hall shares the site with the two theatres and the 3-acre Mary and Richard Carpenter Plaza Park, so the garage serves government offices by day and audiences at night.

It's about 45 minutes up the 101 from downtown LA, and the bookings lean toward touring Broadway, symphony concerts, comics and rock acts with a long catalog. This season's list on the center's site runs from UB40 and Kathy Griffin to a Journey tribute and 5-Star Theatricals staging Les Misérables. The Kavli lobby doubles as an art gallery, so come early and take a lap before the show.

Park in the structure off Dallas Drive and ride the elevator to Level 3, which lets you out at the Kavli entrance. Show nights cost $16 a car, card or phone only, and parking is free during City Hall office hours. Security screens everyone at the door, so leave the backpack in the trunk. Outside food, water bottles and coolers aren't allowed, and the bar stops pouring at least 30 minutes before the end, with a cap of two drinks per purchase.

Nobody checks your outfit. Symphony and Broadway crowds dress up a little, while rock and country nights are mostly jeans and T-shirts. Cameras and recording devices aren't allowed in the hall, and latecomers wait at the doors until a pause in the program.