Theater Travel

The Little Spectacular Theater of "Little Hills"- Cerritos Performing Arts Center (CCPA)

by marinarena

Within a seemingly typical suburban commercial center is a hidden gem of a theater hall in the city of Cerritos ("Little Hills" in Spanish). Unfortunately, many miss this cultural institution. Nestled (or blinded) by the gigantic retail boxes of Wal-Mart and Best Buy is the Cerritos Performing Arts Center, the premiere theater house of the greater south east Los Angeles area. Founded in 1992, the gorgeous, architecturally marvelous CCPA does have quite the knack for drawing world-class acts and faithful patrons despite its lack of great promotion. For its grand opening, legendary class act Frank Sinatra broke in the center, dazzling an eager, enthusiastic capacity crowd.

Other famous faces have drawn pop music fans to CCPA. Whitney Houston, before her not-so-innocent druggie years, opened the second season of CCPA. An intimate crowd got to see her sweat as she belted out her hits. Other performers throughout the years include the jazzy R&B darling Natalie Cole, Motown's The Four Tops, the audacious pop star Tom Jones and country crooners Kenny Rogers, Clint Black and Trisha Yearwood. Also, various notables in non- secular music, Broadway and cabaret have graced the stage.
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