Marriage of Convenience

To understand the snickering, it helps to understand the back story, so here it is: Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick and Mayor Richard Riordan share no great love for each other. So it was particularly odd to learn that the duo plan to perform side by side in A.R. Gurney’s play “Love Letters,” in which lovers relate their story by reading letters.

The reason: To raise money for renovation of the Madrid Theatre, a popular project in Chick’s west San Fernando Valley district. The community theater, which replaces an X-rated movie house in Canoga Park, is scheduled to open this spring and is the centerpiece of plans to put some sparkle back into the tired commercial district along Sherman Way.

Beyond the tittering over Riordan and Chick’s unlikely stage romance, there is a lesson: Two City Hall veterans with no love lost between them can nonetheless work together toward a common goal.

At a time when animosity among council members and the mayor often produces disgraceful scenes, it’s refreshing to see a little teamwork. We’re not advocating, as Chick dryly suggested, a “big love-in” for the city’s politicians, but more cooperation--and less invective--certainly couldn’t hurt.