Coronavirus is wreaking havoc on schools, stores, businesses and events. With in-person concerts, talks, comedy shows, food festivals and other gatherings cancelled, we have turned our events column into an events/nonevents column, featuring things to do and screen. It will remain this way as long as social distancing and stay-at-home orders are in effect.
During this difficult time, please consider contributing to your local arts organizations or to individual artists and performers.
Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., virtually. Explore the era of dinosaurs, from your car. Take an armchair tour of early L.A. film locations or Rudolph Valentino haunts. Dine with the Fonz and his friends. Listen to mindful music during the darkest time of the year.
50th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Brotherhood Celebration
The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the L.A. Dodgers Foundation host an online celebration of King's legacy, which also honors L.A. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Sharon Robinson (daughter of Jackie Robinson), who serves as an MLB educational consultant and vice chair of the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Darkness Sounding
L.A.-based ensemble Wild Up's festival returns this weekend with several concerts that offer "mindful music during the darkest time of the year." The works take the form of online, asynchronous or socially-distanced performances. Performers include Jiji, Gulli Bjornsson and Drew Busmire on Saturday and pianist Richard Valitutto on Sunday.
COST: Tickets start at $10 (includes Patreon fan club membership); MORE INFO
MLK/FBI
Cinelounge Drive-In
1625 N. Las Palmas Blvd., Hollywood
Using newly discovered and declassified files, Sam Pollard's documentary uncovers the extent of the FBI's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King Jr. The film also sheds light on the government's history of targeting Black activists. Capacity is limited. Tickets and refreshments must be purchased in advance. FM radio is required for audio.
COST: $40 per car; MORE INFO
Jurassic Quest Dino Drive Thru
Rose Bowl Stadium
1001 Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena
The touring dinosaur exhibit makes the first of three stops in Southern California. Guests can check out 70 photorealistic baby dinos, T-Rexes and other species while listening to an audio tour from the comfort of their vehicles. The quest heads to Costa Mesa and Pomona in February.
COST: Tickets start $49; MORE INFO
Music Stories from the Cosmic Barrio with Betto Arcos
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes' virtual programming continues with radio host, author and journalist Betto Arcos discussing his first book, Music Stories from the Cosmic Barrio. It's a collection of more than 140 music stories about he wrote for various media outlets. Register to view on Zoom or watch on Facebook.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Modulation
There's still time to catch the user-led online exploration of opera and theater featuring commissions from 13 composers including Raven Chacon, Carmina Escobar, Yvette Janine Jackson and Molly Joyce. Navigate through a landscape of new musical pieces, each with its own visual component, that explore themes of isolation, identity and fear. Produced by the L.A. Opera in collaboration with the Prototype Festival.
COST: $25; MORE INFO
John Bengtson's "Silent Echoes In Westlake" Early Los Angeles Film Locations Webinar
Esotouric holds an online presentation by lawyer and film historian John Bengtson who takes viewers on a virtual silent cinema location scavenger hunt through L.A.'s Westlake neighborhood. Discover the buildings and boulevards that appear in some of the greatest comic scenes filmed by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.
COST: $10; MORE INFO
Where Do We Go from Here? A Pandemic Cabaret
Ana Guigui livestreams a performance of her solo musical show, directed by Rod Menzies. The pandemic has radically altered our daily lives, forcing us to rethink life's big questions. Guigui tackles those questions with songs spanning several genres including pop, blues and tango.
COST: $15.99; MORE INFO
RISK! Livestream Online Show
Kevin Allison hosts a crew of storytellers for the live online show, which features risky and risque true tales from guests Randi Williams, Calvin S. Cato, Annie Tan and Joe Charnitski. Only 100 tickets are available for this show. Zoom info will be sent after ticket purchase.
COST: $15 per person; MORE INFO
Wild Horses
In this show, the four best friends of Wild Horses (Stephanie Allynne, Mary Holland, Lauren Lapkus and Erin Whitehead) host a guest for a dinner party-style conversation. After the chat, they'll perform an improv set inspired by the conversation. This week's special guest is Naomi Ekperigin (Broad City).
COST: $5 - $10; MORE INFO
John Ahearn and Rigiberto Torres: The Bronx Comes to LA
Charlie James Gallery
969 Chung King Rd., Chinatown
The gallery opens a two-person show that celebrates the more than 40-year artistic partnership of New York artists Ahearn and Torres. Known for their use of live casting in their sculptures (their subjects breathe through straws until the materials harden), Ahearn and Torres have completed numerous projects in Baltimore, Rotterdam, Taiwan, Brazil and Puerto Rico. The L.A. show features 16 made between 1990 and 2020. Viewing is by appointment only.
COST: FREE, but RSVP required; MORE INFO
Hauntings of Rudolph Valentino
Often referred to as Hollywood's first sex symbol, Valentino's life was cut short at age 31. Fans from around the world mourned his premature departure. But did he really leave? L.A. Walking Tours offers an online guide to the Hollywood sites that Rudolph Valentino's spirit supposedly haunts today.
COST: $10; MORE INFO
Henry Winkler and Friends for Project Angel Food
The L.A. Times Dinner Series invites you to dine with celebrities for a good cause -- in this case, Project Angel Food. Hosted by L.A. Times TV critic Lorraine Ali, the night features a three-course Italian takeout meal from Steve Samson of Rossoblu. Ali will lead a conversation with Samson and actors Henry Winkler, J.B. Smoove, Mark Duplass, Katie Aselton and Yvette Nicole Brown.
COST: $95 per person (two-person minimum); MORE INFO
The Midnight Sky + Live Q&A
The American Cinematheque presents a live Q&A on Saturday with key talent from the new film The Midnight Sky. That includes the fiilm's star and director George Clooney, producer Grant Heslov, cinematographer Martin Ruhe, production designer Jim Bissell and visual effects supervisor Matt Kasmir, moderated by Jim Hemphill. Catch the film now on Netflix.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
LABFest 2021
The Echo Theater Company presents virtual readings of new plays by Brian Otaño, Roger Q. Mason and Christopher Sullivan, all of which were developed at the company's 2020 Playwright's LAB. The Saturday programat 3 p.m. features Otaño's Tara, directed by Hannah Wolf. It's followed at 7:30 p.m. with California Story: A Faustian Preter-Capitalist Scream by Mason, directed by Michael Alvarez. The reading series wraps with Sullivan's SK8ER BOIZ, directed by Shaina Rosenthal.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Sinatra: Raw
The Wallis' Sorting Room Sessions presents Richard Shelton performing as Sinatra during his last public gig at Vegas' The Purple Room, 1971. Things take an unexpected turn as the singer-actor begins to reminisce. Content warning: strong language and adult subject matter. The on-demand video will be available for 24 hours after purchase.
COST: $25 per device; MORE INFO
Charles Lloyd: Kindred Spirits
CAP UCLA presents a pre-recorded concert with legendary saxophonist Charles Lloyd. In the 1960s he sold out two nights at Royce Hall with his quartet featuring Keith Jarrett, Ron McClure and Jack DeJohnette. He recently returned to the stage at UCLA with pianist Gerald Clayton, guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Justin Brown to perform from his most recent album, Kindred Spirits.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Kazuki Takamatsu: Your Wings
Corey Helford Gallery in Boyle Heights opens a virtual solo exhibition of new work from Japanese artist Kazuki Takamatsu. His black and white images explore narratives of death while reflecting on the limitations of personal freedom. The show features 14 of the artist's signature mixed media pieces, plus two new rainbow-colored series. The gallery hosts a virtual opening on Saturday on Instagram Live (@CoreyHelfordGallery) from 4 to 5 p.m., which also includes another solo show, Aimai from from Japanese driftwood painter Chishi Morimura. Both artists will also make appearances at the opening.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Nolan Fest
Hollywood Legion Theater at Post 43
2035 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood
The drive-in theater presents a weeklong series of Christopher Nolan films. The screenings begin with the mind-bending Inception and includes his Batman trilogy, Interstellar and Dunkirk. Reservations must be made online. The all-inclusive price includes a parking spot, candy, soda and unlimited popcorn for each person in the vehicle.
COST: Tickets start at $65; MORE INFO
Groundhog Day
Glendale Sears Parking Lot
211 W. California Ave., Glendale
The Electric Dusk Drive In and Secret Movie Club screen the Bill Murray 1993 classic, directed by Harold Ramis, about a surly news anchor who can't escape a really bad day.
COST: Tickets start at $23; MORE INFO
Servant, Season 2
The second season of the creepy mystery Servant, from executive producer M. Night Shyamalan and showrunner Tony Basgallop, returns on Jan. 15 to Apple TV+. It stars Nell Tiger Free as a nanny with a secret, Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell and Rupert Grint. The new season takes a supernatural turn. New episodes debut every Friday.
Who doesn't miss going out to eat or stopping by a bar for a drink? Here are a few options from restaurants and bars as we work our way back toward normal.
