We’re not little old ladies. And we’re not from Pasadena. But we’re going to ‘Jan & Dean’s Beach Party’ at Levitt Pavilion.
Jul
6
2017
Even though we hear there are gonna be two girls for every boy. And that sucks! Bring your surfboards to hear Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean sing “Little Old Lady from Pasadena”, “Dead Man’s Curve” and “Surf City” along with his group of musicians who have performed with both Jan & Dean and The ...
Seeking Nijinsky’s unrealized ‘Sarabande’ ballet at Turocy workshop
Jul
5
2017
Nijinsky left behind the seeds of an unfinished ballet he began in 1913. That was the rather infamous year in which the dancer/choreographer unveiled his provocative The Rite of Spring to the shock and awe of le tout Paris. He also premiered Jeux, an overtly sensual ballet for three—a love triangle—that subtly foreshadowed the oncoming ...
Summer fun: ‘Il Boom’ lost De Sica comedy comes to town
Jul
5
2017
IL BOOM is a rare and undervalued example of director Vittorio De Sica’s long and fruitful collaboration with screenwriter Cesare Zavattini — a canon that includes other landmark neo-realist films Shoeshine, Bicycle Thieves and Umberto D. IL BOOM is considered a minor masterpiece of the commedia all’italiana, a mordant form of film comedy that arose ...
arts·meme goes to ‘The Circus’ 1
It’s the eternal cliche … .”fun for kids of all ages.” But hey, half the experience comes from watching a show with little ones. And they are a great audience. Legendary puppeteer Bob Baker‘s “The Circus,” a classic marionette revue now on at Bob Baker Marionette Theater, has been specially restaged for summer viewing — ...
Lauridsen’s ‘Lux Aeterna’ centerpiece of rich Master Chorale program
Editor’s note: A guest author on the blog today, Patrick Scott, who shares his observations of Thursday’s performance of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ Twenty years ago Morten Lauridsen‘s “Lux Aeterna” became an enormous game changer for American choral music. Last night the Los Angeles Master Chorale, hosting the annual Chorus ...
Bravura triple opening at Hauser & Wirth July 1
In a theatrical, nearly madcap, gesture, international art gallery Hauser & Wirth is throwing a big art party to simultaneously launch three shows: Takesada Matsutani, Paul McCarthy: WS Spinoffs, Wood Statues, Brown Rothkos and Monika Sosnowska. The open-to-the-public event will take place on the holiday weekend, July 1, on the campus of the private gallery’s ...
Weird scenes inside the goldmine: L.A.’s 1967 rock venues 1
Jun
21
2017
by kirk silsbee
editor’s note: Harvey Kubernik’s new coffeetable tome, 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love (Sterling), is a both a scholarly examination and a sensuous immersion into the pivotal year in 1960s youth culture through a mosaic of voices. Kirk Silsbee’s sidebars from his essay in the book, excerpted and condensed here, ...
‘Summer of Love’ in pop-up film-fest
As a nod to recurring “Summer of Love” fever, the American Cinematheque presents a pop-up 1960s mini film fest. Martin Lewis curated the fondly-recalled “Mods ‘n Rockers” series at the Egyptian Theatre, and he’s chosen a handful of titles to be screened at Santa Monica’s Aero Theatre this weekend. “Mods ‘n Rockers” was great fun ...
Nijinsky influenced by Parisian dance hall? Soon explored at unusual Seattle workshop
Jun
20
2017
How does “Exploring an Unrealized Ballet and its Cultural Context: Paris 1909 to 1915” strike you as an interesting way to pass four days in Seattle? That is exactly what I shall be doing June 29 – July 2 at the University of Washington in Seattle, courtesy of Catherine Turocy, Artistic Director of the New ...
Must the show really go on? 2
In a world in which ‘norms’ seem at best untethered and at worst unhinged, everything is under revision, everything feels up for grabs! And thus we question that most sacredly-held tenet … that the show must go on. In this purposefully ‘bad’ dance number from Cover Girl (1944) courtesy of B-movie factory Columbia Pictures, the ...