A youth theatre production rises from the ashes of the Los Angeles fires

Callum Ganz, 17, center, gives a pre-show pep talk to castmates in Crazy for You on opening night as the Theatre Palisades Youth group returns to the stage after losing their theater in the Palisades fire, in Los Angeles, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/ Jocelyn Gecker)

The day after her house burned down, Lara Ganz sent a group message to the youth theater troupe she runs: They would not let the Los Angeles firestorm stop their upcoming show.

"So many of our castmates have lost everything,” wrote Ganz, the director of youth theater at a beloved playhouse in the Pacific Palisades. "We will continue with rehearsals. I am confident we will find a stage.”