Welcome to another edition of the Essential Arts newsletter. As the warm weather turns up the heat on L.A., we take it as a sign to do the same by firing up a new week in review of art and culture around town, sparking curiosity of what's out there to experience this weekend and maybe roasting a museum and a bad play or two for your cackling enjoyment. Let's dive into what we wrote about on the arts beat this week...
1. "John Valadez: Chaos Anime"
A leading figure in the Chicano Arts Movement launched in the 1970s, Valadez is among the finest socially engaged figurative painters working in Los Angeles. His debut with the Luis de Jesus gallery opens Saturday and will include a mural-scaled painting, "Chaos," that press materials say seeks to unravel common cliches around the "haves and have-nots."
Through June 8. Luis de Jesus, 1110 Matteo St., L.A. luisdejesus.com
— Christopher Knight
2. "Projecting L.A. 2024"
The power of photojournalism will be on display in a most unusual way Saturday: projected at a scale of 80 feet wide and three stories tall. The work of documentarians, street photographers and photojournalists (including Times photographers) forms an hour-long video with images accompanied by music.
Gates open at 6 p.m., first screening at 7:30 p.m., second screening at 8:45 p.m. 713 N. Hill St., L.A. thelaproject.org
— Jessica Gelt
Chaplain Kevin Deegan places his hands on the chest of a COVID patient as he prays in this 2022 photo that's part of Projecting L.A. 2024. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
3. "Ghost Waltz"
Five years ago I caught the Latino Theater Company production of "The Mother of Henry," which sticks in my memory as glorious proof of the power of song to lift theater. Now the company is back with a new play by Oliver Mayer that celebrates the underappreciated life and work of Mexican composer Juventino Rosas, with a cast that includes vocalist and violinist Quetzal Guerrero, Madonna's touring keyboardist Ric'Key Pageot and Latin Grammy nominee Nathalie Peña-Comas.
Previews through Friday , opening night May 4, runs through June 2. Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., L.A. latinotheaterco.org
— Craig Nakano
4. Big Mouth at the Greek
Nick Kroll and the Emmy Award-winning cast of "Big Mouth" bring their hilarious voices and cartoon visuals of the popular animated Netflix show to the Greek as part of this year's Netflix Is a Joke Fest. Merging the world of TV, comedy and middle school hormones, this is sure to be an awkwardly amazing night of laughter. Thursday, 8 p.m., Greek Theater, netflixisajokefest.com — Nate Jackson
5. Beach Life Festival
The return of this weekend seaside bash in Redondo Beach features rock stars for various waves of sound including rock, indie, soul, Americana and adult contemporary. Headlined by Sting, Incubus and My Morning Jacket, the fest masters the balance of raucous moments and chill vibes from classic acts like Seal, Devo and ZZ Top alongside a list of eclectic acts like Dirty Heads, Local Natives and Courtney Barnett that will surely turn up to show fans different slices of adventurous sound for this outdoor fest against a backdrop of surf and sun. 1.p.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday, 239 N. Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach, beachlifefestival.com —N.J.
The week ahead: A curated calendar
SUNDAY
Lee Chang-dong This American Cinematheque retrospective of the acclaimed South Korean filmmaker's work includes new 4K restorations of "Green Fish," "Poetry," "Peppermint Candy" and "Oasis."
Through May 19. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz. americancinematheque.com
TUESDAY
Really Big Show: How Ed Sullivan Changed America Every Sunday Night Muse/Ique celebrates "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the groundbreaking ways its on-air talent reflected the true diversity of the American public during the 1950s and '60s.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, the Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino; 3 and 7:30 p.m. May 5, Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. muse-ique.com
WEDNESDAY
Netflix Is a Joke The Olympics of comedy comes to town for shows ranging from clubs to stadiums. (See our guide, to the 25 must-see shows)
Wednesday-May 12. Various venues. netflixisajokefest.com
THURSDAY
Broadway @ the Wallis The concert series ends its season with an evening hosted and music-directed by Seth Rudetsky, featuring Norm Lewis performing works from his career on the Great White Way.
7:30 p.m. Thursday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org
"Macbeth" Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma star in William Shakespeare's stage tragedy directed by Simon Godwin and captured for the cinema.
Thursday and May 5 in limited theatrical release. macbeththeshow.com/macbeth-in-cinemas
FRIDAY
L.A. County Fair Sporting a theme of "Stars, Strikes and Fun," the annual event offers 16 days of exhibits, carnival attractions, corn dogs, funnel cakes and music. LACMA shares its collection of works by acclaimed 20th century Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo at the Millard Sheets Art Center; concert headliners include Nelly, Ramón Ayala and Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo.
Thursdays through Sundays, plus Memorial Day, through May 27. Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. Pomona. lacountyfair.com
"The Fall Guy" Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, who demonstrated abundant chemistry at this year's Oscars, star in this action-comedy-romance about an aging stuntman.
Starts Friday (with Thursday previews) in theaters. thefallguymovie.com
Pacific Playwrights Festival The annual celebration that has launched 150 new works since 1998 presents seven plays in three days.
Friday-May 5. South Coast Repertory, Emmes/Benson Theatre Center, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scr.org
"Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" Young Anakin Skywalker, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Queen Padmé Amidala are back on the big screen to face Darth Sidious and Darth Maul in this rerelease of the first entry in George Lucas' prequel trilogy. Also features an exclusive look at "The Acolyte," the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars High Republic series.
Starts Friday (with Thursday previews) in theaters. starwars.com
SATURDAY
Aventura After calling it quits in 2021, the influential bachata band from the Bronx — an inspiration to the likes of Bad Bunny and Drake — is back on the road for what it says will be its final tour.
8 p.m. Saturday-May 5. Crypto.com Arena, 1111 S. Figueroa St., downtown L.A. cryptoarena.com
Jiji + Vivaldi Guitarist Jiji and musicians from the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra perform masterworks from the Italian Baroque and contemporary music inspired by the era from Caroline Shaw and Max Richter.
7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; 7:30 p.m. May 5. The Huntington, Rothenberg Hall, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. laco.org
MAY 5
"The Lords of Flatbush" A 50th anniversary screening of this loose-limbed drama set in 1958 Brooklyn, which helped launch the careers of Perry King, Sylvester Stallone, Susan Blakely and Henry Winkler.
6:30 p.m. May 5. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. thenewbev.com
The biggest L.A. culture news
Theater Critic Charles McNulty reviews "Illinoise," a hallucinatory dance musical based on Sufjan Stevens' 2005 concept album "Illinois," which offers a fitting end to a Broadway season that seemed happiest when operating beyond conventional assumptions and practices.
Staff writer Ashley Lee takes a look into "Galilee, 34," a controversial new play about Jesus running through May 12 at Costa Mesa's South Coast Repertory. The play takes place months after the crucifixion, when Jesus' family and followers are trying to figure out how to proceed after the death of their leader.
Art Critic Christopher Knight launches some heat-seeking missles at LACMA's plans to unveil a new (ill-advised) satellite museum in Las Vegas.
Staff writer Jireh Deng covered Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Mamet slamming Hollywood's "garbage" DEI initiatives at the LA Times Festival of Books.
Assuming he missed Knight's less-than-glowing thoughts on LACMA's new Vegas location, museum director Michael Govan sat down with staff writer Jessica Gelt to talk about LACMA's goals to develop a "strategic plan of regional partnerships" with museums — large and small — in order to pull more of its collection out of storage, and make it accessible to as many people as possible.
Charles McNulty files his roasty review of Broadway's latest woefully underwhelming version of "Cabaret" that can't be saved, even by its awkwardly dressed star Eddie Redmayne.
More culture news, briefly ...
The recipients of the 2024 Doris Duke Artist Awards have been announced, and the winners are: Nataki Garrett (theater), Shamel Pitts (dance), Acosia Red Elk (dance), Esperanza Spalding (jazz), Chay Yew (theater), and Miguel Zenón (jazz). Now in its 11th year, the awards come with an unrestricted cash prize of $525,000 per artist, and up to $25,000 in retirement funds.
The Getty has returned an ancient bronze head to Türkiye (formerly Turkey). The head of a young man was acquired by the museum in 1971 and dates to c. 100 BCE–100 CE. While the body of the figure has not been identified, the head has been traced to the archaeological site of Bubon, in the Burdur province of southwestern Turkey — an area known for illegal excavations in the 1960s.
The Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced its 2024-25 Family Series filled with programming suited for people big and small. The lineup includes the world-premiere of the Musicians of Bremen Live, as well as puppet play titled "Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch," based on the book by Eileen Spinelli.
Geffen Playhouse's new artistic director, playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, has been elected as a new member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The academy recognizes and honors the artistic excellence of its members, and also serves as a research center where accomplished individuals across disciplines can come together in search of answers to complex problems facing various communities and society at large.
The Getty's PST ART is coming back this September with a theme of "art & science collide." Facets of the programming began rolling out this week as the Getty inaugurated its PST Climate Impact Program aimed at bringing together PST's 60-plus participating institutions around issues of climate action and sustainable exhibition practices.
— Jessica Gelt
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Last but not least
It's not every day that we get to a) interview Jon Bon Jovi and b) end that interview by him telling the writer to "Go f— yourself." Not a bad way to promote a new, very entertaining Bon Jovi documentary. Most of us (aside from our recently cussed-out pop critic Mikael Wood) haven't seen it yet. We're living on a prayer that it's as good as his JBJ interview.
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