Myron Hunt’s Wattles mansion to host interior design expo
Mar
7
2017
Wattles Mansion, built in 1908, was the original home of Gurdon Wattles, a Nebraska banker who bankrolled much of early Hollywood. The classic Mission Revival masterpiece was designed by Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey, who also designed the Huntington Library, the Rose Bowl and the Ambassador Hotel, which sadly met its maker via the wrecking ...
In memorium: Robert Osborne (1932-2017)
Mar
6
2017
A life well lived, and a great contributor to our culture. It was my honor to have been interviewed by him, to converse with him at TCM Fest and on the TCM Cruise. And naturally, to spend countless evenings in his company watching movies on Turner Classic Movies. It is a great loss that I ...
Ratmansky’s frothy ‘Whipped Cream’ casts @ Segerstrom
Mar
2
2017
There are all kinds of considerations to weigh — and this is great fun for balletomanes — in selecting a ballet performance. The focus of this tough decision is the big world premiere at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County of Alexei Ratmansky’s new full-evening ballet, “Whipped Cream.” The superb Pacific Symphony will ...
Who was Horace Tapscott?
Horace Tapscott (1934–99) was an important but underappreciated jazz musician and community activist blacklisted in the 1960s because of his political affiliations. A poetic new film HORACE TAPSCOTT: MUSICAL GRIOT is a meditation on Black music, art, and activism and the history of Los Angeles. According to the film, during the Watts Rebellion of 1965 ...
California arts leader Craig Watson appreciated
Mar
1
2017
We recently received notice that Craig Watson will step down from his role as director of the California Arts Council effective April 2017. In his position as the Council’s Director since August 2011, Watson has been responsible for the substantial growth and renewal of California’s state arts agency. He has shepherded the agency’s resurgence, overseeing ...
REVIEW: Lionel Popkin’s ‘Inflatable Trio’ at the Skirball 1
Do you sense that things are changing in ways that make you uneasy? That even our most familiar modes of operating—what political pundits call “norms,” for example public civility—are in upheaval? Choreographer Lionel Popkin has made a dance about this. His charming and successful “Inflatable Trio,” a fun hour-long pageant for three dancers, premiered at ...
Georgeous & Rita-licious
As Oscar Sunday approaches, we turn to the year when two beautiful young singer/dancers both won Academy Awards for West Side Story. George Chakiris and Rita Moreno, respective winners for Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role, appeared stunningly beautiful at the ceremony April 9, 1962 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. This is ...
Judy Garland’s admiration for Gwen Verdon’s husband
Feb
21
2017
Recently researching dance history at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, I came across this nugget from Gwen Verdon. In an interview, Gwen recounted a story with droll wit, Judy Garland once said to me, “Oh your husband has done such a marvelous job!” And I said who??? Because I really did ...
Audience nods off at performance
Feb
19
2017
In a brilliant illustration of a New York Times story, “Inside the Brutal World of Comedy Open Mikes,” photographer Christian Hansen captures a less-than-scintillated audience of three. The occasion was an ‘open mike’ session at a comedy club. Guys, we know the feeling!
Must see, must hear: Maria Schneider big band at VPAC 2
Maria Schneider’s ascendance is a Cinderella jazz story of sorts, albeit a long one. It surprises no one when she’s on the cover of Downbeat these days. But she first appeared as Best Original Composition award winner in the magazine’s 1984 student competition. Subsequently she’s become one of the most distinctive and evocative contemporary composers. ...