There’s something I want to admit. I cried at a recent matinee of “Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical” at the Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City. I was surrounded by elementary school students giggling as a grown man with broom bristles on his head sang about being a dinosaur toothbrush lawyer.
I didn’t cry because the silly song touched my heart. I cried because I felt hopeful and happy, sitting in a dark theater with my 8-year-old and other small children who were really excited about live theater. It was a sentimental cry brought on by a growing faith in humanity. The humanity in question is a group of talented adults on stage doing their best to entertain the little sages who occasionally snort loudly or yell “stand up!” It was. When a character falls apart. One child laughed so hard during the song “Chubbs McSpiderbat” that he fell out of his seat.
This show was presented by Center Theater Group but is a production of TheaterWorksUSA. The show features great actors and singers. The adults clearly care about what they’re doing and feel a connection with the kids, but they’re also people who could be cast in serious adult dramas or highbrow comedies. . Their time and dedication is a gift to these children. Children who will one day grow up to be theater lovers.
As I type this, I am sitting in the community room of a church that Pasadena Playhouse uses for its Playhouse Players course for children ages 7 to 12. These kids, myself included, are in the middle of rehearsals for the production of “Annie,” which we’ve been working on since September. The adults who teach them are relentlessly enthusiastic and supportive, giving them the gift of craft and changing lives in the process.
I can hear kids singing “Tomorrow” in another room. A small voice is rising high, fragile and hopeful — annndd I’m crying again.
I’m Jessica Gelt, arts and culture writer. I want to let you know that my children are safe. My colleague Ashley Lee and I know a lot about arts and culture.
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Diego Velázquez’s “Queen Mariana of Austria (1652-1653)” is on special loan from the National Prado Museum in Madrid to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.
(Nashio Photo Archive Museum)
“Mariana: Portrait of Velázquez’s Queen” National Prado Museum collection
Diego Velázquez’s almost life-size portrait of Queen Mariana of Austria (1652-1653) is on special loan from the Prado Museum in Madrid to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, marking the first time this extraordinary painting has been exhibited in a museum. That will happen. West Coast (my second time coming to America). The work will be exhibited alongside paintings by artists Velazquez knew and admired, including Nicolas Poussin, Guido Reni and Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by fellow 17th-century Spanish painter Jusepe de Rivera. , Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Francisco de Zurbaran, and others will be exhibited next to each other. The exhibition opened last weekend and runs until March 24th. Look out for an article about “Mariana” by Times art critic Christopher Knight coming soon. Norton Simon Museum, 411 W. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. nortonsimon.org
sweet honey in the rock
The Grammy-nominated African-American vocal ensemble, described by Times contributor Connie Johnson as “one of the music world’s best-kept secrets…a sound astoundingly pure and vibrant.” 50th Anniversary Tour to Southern California via Northridge. In a rare concert venue, the group performs a distinctive celebration of “Holy Days,” a rare fusion of traditional holiday spiritual songs and hymns from a variety of faith backgrounds. Thursday, 8 p.m., Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. thesoraya.org
Sandra Bernhardt will perform two shows at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
(Courtesy of Sandra Bernhardt and Wallis Annenberg Performing Arts Center)
“Sandra Bernhardt: Easy Listening”
A pioneer of the one-man show, this performance includes more than just music. “Her social critique is firmly based on money,” Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote in 2012. “She’s still the urban-chic canary in the pop culture coal mine, and it’s still a giddy joy to hear her caustic alarm bells.” This time, Bernhardt invites the audience to her I’ll take you on a tour of my musical influences. Due to popular demand, a second show has been added. Thursday and Friday, 7:30 p.m., Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills. zawaris.org
— Ashley Lee
The week ahead: a curated calendar
Monday
Jeff Parker EVA IVtet Guitar genius leads the band. The band is a cadre of jazz and session heroes who are among the city’s best improvisers.
Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Zebulon, 2478 Fletcher Drive. dice.fm
Carols on the Square The public can sing free 30 minutes of holiday songs led by Grant Gershon in the Music Center Square.
6 p.m. 135 N. Grand Ave., LA lamasterchorale.org
Messiah Sing Along Grant Gershon leads the Los Angeles Master Chorale in a holiday tradition.
7:30 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., LA lamasterchorale.org
Wednesday
Both: A Hard Day’s Silent Night Open Fist Theater Company combines the music of the Beatles with Christmas. What’s not to love?
Wednesday 8pm. Saturday 4pm and 8pm. Sundays at 3pm and 7pm. Atwater Village Theater, 3269 Casitas Ave. openfist.org
Jennifer Hudson EGOT winner has released her new holiday album, “The Gift of Love.”
8pm Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Downtown LA laphil.com
Thursday
2024, Hot Disruption! The year-end sketch comedy show written by Rory Taturian sums up the pop culture and politics that shaped 2024.
10 p.m. Groundlings Theatre, 7307 Melrose Ave., LA groundlings.com
Culture News and Southern California Scene
“Untitled”, a new pigment on canvas from Rita Albuquerque’s “Earth Skin” at Michael Cohn Gallery in Los Angeles. Albaque’s work, including her signature blue pigments, will be featured in the Frieze Project during next year’s Frieze Los Angeles.
(Courtesy of Rita Albuquerque and Michael Cohn Gallery)
Freeze Los Angeles has announced that the artists and works participating in the Freeze Project will be open to the public free of charge during the annual fair, which will be held from February 20th to 23rd at the Santa Monica Airport. This year’s site-specific installation works are curated by Art Production Fund and include Rita Albuquerque, Jackie Amezquita, Claire Chambless, Joel Gaitan, Madeline Hollander, Greg Ito, Ozzie Juarez, Dominic・Contains works by Moody. The theme is “how personal histories and experiences shape our understanding of Los Angeles,” according to a news release. This work promises to be interactive and unexpected. For example, golden eggs filled with miniature sculptures by Chambless will be hidden throughout the festival, and Hollander, with the help of local flight school the Santa Monica Flyers, will create a new It plans to host a limited number of choreographed flights for guests. to the machine.
Janet Hilbert, co-founder of the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University;
(Courtesy of the Hilbert family)
Janet Hilbert, co-founder with her husband Mark of the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University, has died. She was 83 years old. The museum opened in 2016 and has since expanded from 7,000 square feet to 22,000 square feet. The new homegrown work was named to the Times’ list of Los Angeles’ eight best new construction projects of the year. The museum’s inspiration came from Hilbert’s love of scenic painting, and she and her husband eventually built what the museum calls one of the most comprehensive collections in California. art of the world. Hilbert spent 36 years as a professor of business administration at Santa Ana College. She is survived by her husband, their children, and grandchildren.
Actress Annie Cozen is one of the many Jewish performers who have told their stories in Blade over the years.
(Allen J. Scherben/Los Angeles Times)
For 17 years, The Braid has featured Jewish stories through salons, spoken word theater, and more, and now has a physical location on Ocean Boulevard in Santa Monica. The organization, which bills itself as “America’s largest independent Jewish theater,” produced Monica Piper’s one-woman play “Not That Jew,” which previously appeared off-Broadway at New World Stages. It was being performed. “Unlike most theater companies, which typically license existing works or produce material with a particular voice, The Blade invites writers of all kinds to submit autobiographical stories, It then democratizes storytelling by carefully curating and weaving it into original shows that reflect the diversity of contemporary Jewish life in all its rich, kaleidoscopic complexity.” Blade said in the announcement.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has hired Mitch Vachon as its new chief philanthropic officer starting in February. He comes to the position from the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he has held the same position since 2021. He succeeds Margie Kim, who held the position for five years.
And last but not least I forgot to mention
This headline: How a “cursed” emerald weighing 836 pounds traveled across the Americas, ruining lives and bankrupting people.
