Many a movie star has returned to his roots on the live stage. As previously mentioned, the best spot for good drama is the Mark Taper Forum in the Los Angeles Music Center (135 N. Grand Avenue), but there are also a number of smaller theatres elsewhere around town, specializing in live drama (as well as the occasional musical production). At these theatres, in recent years, you might have seen:

 Patrick Stewart doing his one-man tour de force in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," or Judd Hirsch reprising his Tony Award-winning role in "Conversations With My Father," or Alan Alda in "Art," at the Doolittle Theatre in Hollywood (1615 N. Vine Street / (323) 972-0700).

 "Love Letters" starring Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Cerritos (12700 Center Court Drive / (310) 916-8500);

 Leslie Uggams starring in "Into the Woods"; or Sandy Duncan in "South Pacific," at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach (300 E. Ocean Blvd. / (310) 436-3661);

 Teri Hatcher ("Lois & Clark") playing Sally Bowles in "Cabaret"; or Sarah Brightman (fresh from "Phantom of the Opera") doing Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Aspects of Love"; or Julie Harris and Charles Durning in "The Gin Game." at the Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills (8440 Wilshire Blvd. / (323) 468-1716);

 Annette Bening as "Hedda Gabler"; Ed Begley Jr. in "The Old Neighborhood"; or Cloris Leachman starring as Grandma Moses in "Joy Ride"; or Frank Langella in "The Father," at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood Village (10886 Le Conte Avenue / (310) 208-5454);

 Carrie Snodgrass in "The Manchurian Candidate" at the West Coast Ensemble in Hollywood (6240 Hollywood Blvd., one block east of Vine, across from the Pantages/ (323) 871-8673);

 The Pointer Sisters in "Ain't Misbehaven," or Carol Channing in "Hello Dolly," or Theodore Bikel & Lainie Kazan in "Fiddler on the Roof," or Robert Goulet in "Camelot," all recently at the Pasadena Civic in Pasadena (300 E. Green Street / (818) 449-7360);

Also: The Wilshire Ebell Theatre in L.A. (4401 West 8th Street), the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa (655 Town Center Drive / (714) 957-4033), the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena (39 S El Molino Avenue / (818) 792-8672), the Tiffany Theater in West Hollywood (8532 Sunset Blvd. / (310) 289-2999), and the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles (3790 Wilshire Blvd., at Western / (213) 380-5005), to name just a few.