PASADENA, Calif. — A solitary light bulb glows centerstage at the Pasadena Playhouse.

It’s a long-standing theatrical tradition to keep the so-called ghost light burning whenever the theatre is dark. And this theatre — like so many others — has been dark for more than half a year.

The last show that performed at California’s state theatre was The Father, starring Alfred Molina. It was also the last opening night that producing artistic director Danny Feldman was able to perform his customary opening night ritual.

“Before we let the audience in, I walk through every seat of the house and I touch every single seat,” said Feldman. “It’s a little weird, but I like doing it.”

He’s confident he’ll get to do it again. In the meantime, as Feldman explained, the Pasadena Playhouse was faced with a choice: "Hibernate or innovate," as he put it, and he chose the latter.

"The mission of the Pasadena Playhouse is to enrich the lives of our community," he explained, sitting at the edge of the empty stage. "And we knew that that didn’t mean we had to do it with people in this building."

To that end, the theatre has launched PlayhouseLive, a new subscription-based digital platform.

Some of the exclusive content includes "Intermission with Hashtag Booked," where LaNisa Frederick and Danielle Pinnock interview celebrities from the theatre community, including Molina.

There’s also a behind the scenes documentary series called Page to Stage: Little Shop of Horrors, which traces the journey of the theatre’s groundbreaking 2019 production.

And then there’s a truly rare gem: a silent documentary about the Pasadena Playhouse, produced in the 1930’s. It was unearthed by an archivist in the theatre’s basement.

“When he sent it to me, my jaw dropped,” Feldman said. “It’s an extraordinary look at what a theatre looked like, what this community looked like during that time.”

He loves that the film showcases life behind the scenes, with sets being built and costumes being made. "It’s the same thing we are doing now, in the same space, which is sort of beautiful."

But as rich as it’s past is, Feldman says the Playhouse has always prided itself on doing work that speaks to the moment. After the murder of George Floyd, he says the staff immediately wondered how the theatre could respond.

“And of course the answer is, we respond on our stage,” he said. “We respond with art.”

They worked with spoken word artist Javon Johnson, who created a piece called Still, which was filmed on the playhouse stage with strict COVID-19 precautions.

“Routine traffic stops feel more like minefields,” Johnson says in the show, describing a moment when his young nephew saw a police officer. “Any wrong move could very well mean your life.”

“It is powerful,” Feldman said of the piece. "And I think it captures and puts into words what so many people are feeling in the country, and what so many people are trying to understand.”

For Johnson, who currently lives in Las Vegas, this was a bit of a homecoming. He grew up in South Central L.A. but had never performed on the Playhouse’s historic stage. Walking into the theatre, he said he immediately noticed a large photo of Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne from a production of Fences.

“And to be able to go ‘I’m here?’ was kind of wild, right?” said Johnson. “Growing up watching them. Again, L.A. boy who grew up watching Boyz n the Hood.”

He’s excited about PlayhouseLive because it brings theatre to a worldwide audience, removing some of the accessibility hurdles theatregoers sometimes face — both geographical and financial.

“For me, creativity asks what is next, right? Not always necessarily what is and what has been,” Johnson said. “And I think what PlayhouseLive does is it forces us to ask, in what way can theatre continually push itself, even after this COVID moment, right? How then might we stay open to these publics.”

“We’ve really built it to be something that can live a long time,” Feldman said. “It’s really breaking down barriers and breaking down walls.”

Which isn’t to say the theatre’s ghost light is on for good.

“Our new digital platform is not in any way a replacement for live theatre,” Feldman said. “I say that often and I will continue saying that often. Nothing can replace that experience of sitting in an audience watching a live show on this stage.”

Instead he sees PlayhouseLive as a companion, a way to peek behind the curtain. It’s something they intend to keep offering, even after that curtain rises again.