Welcome to another edition of Essential Arts, where the question of the week just might be: How have 99 Cents Only Stores shaped L.A.’s cultural landscape? (Artist Andreas Gursky offers his contribution at the Broad.) But before we dive into the week’s news, let’s roll through our staff recommendations for your culture calendar in the days ahead.
Best bets: What’s on our radar
1. “Fat Ham”
“Hamlet” serves as a springboard for spry comedy in James Ijames’ “Fat Ham,” winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Juicy, the young Black queer protagonist, receives an angry visitation from his dead father demanding that he avenge his murder. But a backyard barbecue is underway to celebrate the nuptials of Juicy’s mom and — you guessed it — his uncle. The wildly entertaining Broadway production arrives at Geffen Playhouse with its Shakespearean and Freudian themes deployed to reconsider an age-old question: Can we say no to the tragic fate assigned to us? As hilarious as it is thought-provoking, “Fat Ham” is not to be missed.
Through April 28. Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. geffenplayhouse.org
— Charles McNulty
“Fat Ham” at the Geffen Playhouse.
(Jeff Lorch)
2. Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella is back, and the 23rd iteration of the festival has arguably the most SoCal-centric bill to date. Friday headliner Lana Del Rey lives here. Saturday headliner Tyler, the Creator grew up here, as did Sunday headliner Doja Cat. Orange County’s No Doubt, the Gwen Stefani-led pop-ska act that last performed together in 2015, is reuniting for the fest, and the Long Beach band Sublime has reformed too. Check out our weekend coverage from The Times’ team on the ground.
April 12-14 and 19-21. Empire Polo Club, 81-800 Avenue 51, Indio. www.coachella.com
— August Brown
Jakob Nowell is taking the place of his father in Sublime at Coachella.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
3. “Kairos”
Part romantic comedy, part “Black Mirror” episode? Lisa Sanaye Dring’s compelling new play “Kairos” introduces a medical advancement that can guarantee immortality. Sylvia Kwan and Gerard Joseph play thirtysomethings who, upon falling in love, contemplate the potential consequences of embracing eternal life, and how it will affect society at large — not to mention their budding relationship since, well, forever is a very long time. Jesca Prudencio directs the rolling world premiere of the piece, originally developed as part of the Geffen Playhouse Writers’ Room.
Through April 28. Union Center for the Arts, David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 N. Judge John Aiso Street, Little Tokyo. eastwestplayers.org
— Ashley Lee
4. “Book of Mountains & Seas”
Composer Huang Ruo, who was born in 1976 at the end of the Cultural Revolution and immigrated to the U.S. in his youth, wrote the extraordinary string quartet “Dust in Time,” inspired by Tibetan Buddhist mandalas, at the start of the pandemic. Recorded in an empty Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, it served as a kind of otherworldly healing ceremony. The following year Ruo embarked on an opera based on ancient Chinese myth. Created in collaboration with the dazzling puppeteer Basil Twist and the effervescent chorus Ars Nova Copenhagen, “Book of Mountains and Seas” now comes to Santa Monica courtesy of Los Angeles Opera.
Wednesday through April 14. The Broad Stage, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica. laopera.org
— Mark Swed
The work of puppeteer Basil Twist in part of “Book of Mountains and Seas,” presented by Los Angeles Opera at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.
(Steven Pisano)
5. “Woolf Works”
Three Virginia Woolf novels — “Mrs. Dalloway,” “Orlando” and “The Waves” — are inspiration for the Wayne McGregor ballet having its North American premiere next week by American Ballet Theatre in Costa Mesa. The three acts of dance are not literal adaptations of Woolf’s stories but rather a visual evocation of the novels’ emotions and themes. In reviewing the Royal Ballet performance of “Woolf Works” last year, the Guardian used words such as “ravishing,” “astonishing” and, yes, “masterpiece.”
Thursday-Sunday. Segerstrom Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org
— Craig Nakano
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
SUNDAY
Long Story Short An exhibition featuring artworks dating from the 1940s to the present day, drawn from MOCA’s collection with the intention of reminding viewers that “art history, and history more broadly, is made in the present.”
Through April 28. Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. moca.org
TUESDAY
Hippolyte Bayard: A Persistent Pioneer One of the lesser-known pioneers of photography, Bayard was a Parisian bureaucrat and inventor who practiced his art on the side; the exhibition presents photographs dating from the 1840s and includes one of the earliest photo albums ever created.
Tuesday–July 7. The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu
Nineteenth-Century Photography Now A new look at the Getty’s collection of 19th century photography and the work of contemporary artists who respond directly to its historical themes and subject matter.
Tuesday–July 7. The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu
Nourishment Sanaa Gateja’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles precedes the artist’s upcoming participation in the Ugandan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
Through May 18. Karma, 7351 Santa Monica Boulevard, L.A. karmakarma.org
WEDNESDAY
Manifestos 4: The Dred and Harriet Scott Decision Conceptual artist Charles Gaines’ performance-based installation transforms the original text of the landmark 1857 U.S. Supreme Court case.
8:30 p.m. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org
Picture Worlds: Greek, Maya, and Moche Pottery Ancient works from the Mediterranean, Central America and northern Peru explore the ways ceramics served as a dynamic means of storytelling and social engagement.
Through July 2. The Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades. getty.edu
THURSDAY
Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett Paul McCartney, the Eagles, Jon Bon Jovi and more pay homage to the late Mayor of Margaritaville.
7 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. hollywoodbowl.com
FRIDAY
The Beast A science-fiction romantic drama written and directed by Bertrand Bonello, starring Léa Seydoux and George MacKay, and loosely based on Henry James’ 1903 novella “The Beast in the Jungle.”
Now playing, AMC Burbank and Landmark Theatres Sunset; starts Friday, Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica; Laemmle Town Center 5, Encino; Laemmle Glendale; Laemmle Claremont. laemmle.com
Civil War Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny star in writer-director Alex Garland’s thriller about a fractured U.S. in a not-too-distant future.
Starts Friday with Thursday previews. a24films.com
Cailee Spaeny, left, and Kirsten Dunst photographed for an L.A. Times feature on “Civil War.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony Conductor Louis Langrée leads the L.A. Phil in Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony, plus a symphonic world premiere by Jonathan Bailey Holland. 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. April 13-14. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
SATURDAY, APRIL 13
Rainbow: The New Judy Garland Musical Michael Feinstein stars in this multimedia trip through the life of the Hollywood icon.
8 p.m. Mark Taper Forum, 35 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. centertheatregroup.org
The biggest L.A. culture news
The Mark Taper Forum will relaunch regular programming in early 2025, but have the underlying problems that forced Center Theatre Group to close its historic stage been solved? That was the question driving the conversation between Times theater critic Charles McNulty and CTG’s leaders, Artistic Director Snehal Desai and Managing Partner Meghan Pressman. The story was the most popular subscriber read this week.
McNulty also has the verdict on Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny Brice: dazzling. You can read his review of “Funny Girl” at the Ahmanson Theatre.
Katerina McCrimmon and Stephen Mark Lukas in “Funny Girl.”
(Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
Staff writer Ashley Lee has the back story on “Ride,” a production at the Old Globe in San Diego that recounts the journey of Annie Londonderry, the first woman to bicycle around the world. The story unfolds with just two actors, and Lee explores how increasingly regional theater companies across the country, faced with tightened budgets, have looked for productions that entertain audiences with the most minimal of casts.
Livvy Marcus and Alex Finke in “Ride” at the Old Globe.
(Jim Cox)
Times classical music critic Mark Swed explains the phenomenon of Philip Glass’ 20 etudes, which have become the composer’s most performed music. Swed explains why Yuja Wang, Alice Waters, Justin Peck, Martin Scorsese and Laurie Anderson, among others, have been expressing such fandom for these Glass works.
Taylor Swift and Beyoncé may be selling out stadiums, but the concert and music festival biz isn’t universally golden these days. Made in America, the Labor Day festival founded by Jay-Z in Philadelphia that added a downtown L.A. satellite in 2014, canceled for the second year in a row.
More culture news, briefly …
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The Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts has announced its 2024-25 season lineup featuring partnerships with L.A. Opera, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Ballet, L.A. Dance Project and Tonality, among others. Theater is part of the plan, including Tectonic Theater Project’s play “Here There Are Blueberries” by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts announced its 2024-25 Broadway programming. The lineup features 10 shows including “Hamilton,” “Kimberly Akimbo,” “Life of Pi,” “Back to the Future: The Musical” and “Hadestown.”
Palm Springs Art Museum has appointed Christine Vendredi as its new chief curator. Vendredi is the former global director of art for Louis Vuitton and co-author of two books on architecture. She begins in her position this month.
Lang Lang, the classical pianist who’s equally at home playing movie melodies at the Hollywood Bowl as he is performing Bach in recital at Walt Disney Concert Hall, will get his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday.
Pacific Opera Project announced its 2024-25 season lineup, which includes two outdoor productions: the Los Angeles premiere of Antonín Dvořák’s “Rusalka” performed at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, and Gilbert & Sullivan’s “H.M.S. Pinafore” staged at Heritage Square Museum in Montecito Heights.
RIP Christopher Durang, Tony Award-winning writer of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” who died at 75.
Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä, who turned 28 in January, was appointed music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, succeeding Riccardo Muti and becoming the CSO’s youngest leader since it was founded in 1891.
— Jessica Gelt
Klaus Mäkelä
(Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)
And last but not least …
A-plus-plus to the smart kid who figured out that waving a school absence slip by a concert stage is an excellent way to score an autograph from Bruce Springsteen.
