The Fall 2015 Culture Guide
Now that staring at the ocean no longer qualifies as the perfect weekend activity, museums, lecture halls, and performance spaces are packing out their Fall calendars with pretty incredible events. What’s even better, is that many are celebrating big anniversaries, so they’re stepping up their game for the season.
Shaping Sound at The Broad Stage
1310 11th St., Santa Monica | 310.434.3200Whether you're into reality T.V. competitions or not, you have to admit that the performers on So You Think You Can Dance are a pretty talented bunch. It was only a matter of time before we saw the contestants get together to form their own company. The resulting dance show, Shaping Sound, promises to be a visually-stunning grab bag of dance styles and sound that's big on entertainment and not at all pretentious. Plus, the Broad Stage is an excellent, intimate venue where every seat is the best seat in the house.
These Paper Bullets at Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood | 310.208.5454New-to-L.A. musical, These Paper Bullets, refers to itself as "a modish ripoff of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing," which to us sounds like a pretty good time. Then there's the fact that the music and lyrics come courtesy of Green Day's Billy Joel Armstrong.
The Broad Museum
221 S. Grand Ave., Downtown | 213.232.6200Philanthropists and art collectors Eli and Edythe Broad have one of the most impressive and comprehensive collections of contemporary art in the world, and their new museum on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, built to house that collection, opens to the public this fall. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (you know them from the High Line in New York) in collaboration with Gensler (they did the headquarters for Facebook and Airbnb), it's already making a name for itself as one of the city's modern architecture gems. And knowing the Broads, the art will be nothing short of spectacular. Opens September 20.
The Next Wave Lecture Series at the Hammer
Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood | 310.443.7000The drought in California is an incredibly important issue, which also happens to be frustratingly complicated. We love that the Hammer (the programs here are always free) teamed up with the UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability to plan a series of lectures that explores the most difficult and sometimes subtle parts. Although these talks have been happening once a month since January, the fall line-up includes such topics like Down to Drops or Still at Gallons?, Who Owns Water?, and Thriving in a Hotter Los Angeles. 9/24, 10/29, 11/24, and 12/2.
Hopscotch at The Industry
Opera's not exactly an art form that's known for innovation, which is exactly why we love Yuval Sharon's experimental opera company, The Industry. The company first made a name for itself with Crescent City, an opera at Atwater Crossing, and their program has been catching headlines ever since. Their latest? Hopscotch, an opera staged in six cars, where performers sing to you as you drive around the city. Only in LA Opens October 31.
Animalia at the Getty
1200 Getty Center Dr., Brentwood | 310.440.7300The Getty's latest exhibit from the In Focus series (it's their recurring exhibit about photography), called Animalia, documents the history of photography with animals as subjects. Spanning from the early days, when getting the animal to sit still was the biggest challenge, to present-day digital photography, it's a total crowd-pleaser and great for kids, too. Closes October 18.
Double Features at Beverly Cinema
7165 Beverly Blvd., Hollywood | 323.938.4038The historic Beverly Theater was saved from redevelopment by Quentin Tarantino when he purchased the entire building in 2007. It's been close to a year now that he's been handling all of the programing himself. This means that not only are the double features all from Quentin's personal collection, but they're all shown in 35MM. True to character, the offering is a mix of super obscure Kung-Fu flicks, kitschy '80s comedies, and respected cinematic classics. Check out the weekend kiddie matinees, too.
Banned Books Week + Lit Crawl L.A.
Banned Books Week started in classrooms all over the country back in 1982 to shine a light on the growing (and very alarming) number of books challenged and banned every year. This year the festivities include a screening of the film adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and other events scattered throughout local libraries and bookstores. Then on October 21, Lit Crawl L.A. arrives: It's an entire evening devoted to wonderfully geeky, literature-related events scattered across a number of restaurants, bars, and galleries in the North Hollywood Arts District.
LA Opera 30th Anniversary Season
135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown | 213.972.8001If ever you think LA Opera plays second fiddle to The Met, think again: For one, it's got Plácido Domingo for a General Director, which explains why the 30th anniversary season calendar (spanning the end of 2015 and the first half of 2016) reads like a greatest hits list of both classical operas and modern interpretations. To illustrate, there's Puccini's tearjerker La Bohème and a totally unique production of Mozart's The Magic Flute which mixes live performers with animation, making it a great way to introduce kids to opera. For Halloween, the Kronos Quartet along with Philip Glass will perform an instrumental score to Dracula live, while the 1931 film plays on a giant screen. BTW, this is just the beginning.
On The Road: Gloria Steinem in Conversation with Melissa McCarthy
929 S. Broadway, Downtown | 213.623.3233So, this is kind of a big deal. For one night only (November 12), live on stage at the gorgeous Theater at the Ace Hotel, Melissa McCarthy will sit down with the inimitable Gloria Steinem to discuss her latest book, My Life on the Road. Hustle to get tickets here, as sure to sell out.
