Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center

Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center is the city of Redondo Beach's theater at 1935 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, inside Aviation Park near the border with Lawndale. The city's Cultural Arts division runs it, and the hall seats 1,453 behind a grand lobby, with more than 40,000 square feet of event space around it. The center programs more than 270 days a year and draws over half a million visitors annually, which makes it the biggest stage in the South Bay.

The calendar is presenter-driven. Resident organizations include the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Encore South Bay and the Redondo Ballet Company, the Distinguished Speaker Series has run here for 28 seasons, and the rest of the year fills with classical and contemporary concerts, cultural festivals, holiday shows, community theater and dance. The room is also rented out for conferences, filming and private events. Concert and comedy tours come through, but EDM is rare here; check the listing for your date.

Driving is the usual way in, off the 405 at Inglewood Avenue or Aviation Boulevard. Parking in the lots next to the theater is free, which is a treat by LA standards. The center does not publish doors times, an age policy or a bag policy on its site, so check your event page for those details before you go.