Artists are mobilizing for fire victims and first responders
As thousands of firefighters continue to battle the Palisades and Eaton fires and the unfathomable damage is assessed, the arts communities are mobilizing. Actors, musicians…
Cultural gems threatened, and the race to save Getty Villa
As fires spread throughout areas of Los Angeles this week, my colleague Jessica Gelt has diligently kept track of the region’s treasured cultural institutions and…
Los Angeles’ best classical music, art and theater in 2025
Happy New Year, Essential Arts readers! 2025 is already shaping up to be a feast of a year in terms of arts and culture in…
L.A. County’s annual holiday celebration and a Velázquez masterpiece
Dear Essential Arts Readers,This has been a tough year for many of us. I don’t need to list the challenges we have faced as a…
Los Angeles welcomes New Year’s Eve at Disney Hall and Grand Park
If you’re reading this, thank you. Taking over the Essential Arts newsletter from our wonderful former colleague Carolina A. Miranda remains a daunting task, and…
Los Angeles arts events this weekend are Wabanaki basketry, flamenco
Sure, many of us have had Christmas covers on repeat lately, but I’ve also been playing the soundtrack and score of the still-brilliant 1994 movie…
Making theater fans for life starts with great shows for kids
I have an admission to make: I recently cried during a matinee of “Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical” at Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver…
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend: art, music, theater
During The Times’ Actors Roundtable, Adrien Brody gorgeously shared how his mother has “guided me in my understanding of art and the yearning to leave…
Netflix’s ‘Maria’ and Angelina Jolie get Maria Callas all wrong
Here we go again.In Hollywood’s ongoing cheerless attempts to contest the joy of music by cutting stellar classical musicians down to size, “Maria” joins the…
Yuval Sharon steps down as artistic director of the Industry
In what could be considered the end of an era, the Industry on Thursday announced that Yuval Sharon will step down as artistic director of…
Give the gift of homemade arts and crafts this holiday season
It’s December and the holidays are in full swing — as is the relentless consumerism, which always fills me with unease. The way I’m expected…
‘Maria’ review: Jolie’s Callas is a chilly one-note bore
Maria Callas seized fame as the voice of Tosca, Medea and Carmen, opera’s eternally doomed heroines. If opera still commands audiences a century from now,…
Natural History Museum news; plus L.A. arts and culture this week
Exposition Park got a boost last week when the Natural History Museum opened its new 75,000-square-foot welcome center. NHM Commons, the new glass-walled entrance and…
‘Little Women Ballet’ and more Los Angeles arts events this weekend
Happy “Wicked” week, Essential Arts readers! The film adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical arrives in theaters this weekend. I’m staff writer Ashley Lee, who’s…
‘Waiting for Godot,’ ‘Star Wars’ in concert, Usher and more LA arts
The crowd was jubilant on the opening night of “Waiting for Godot” at the Geffen Playhouse last Thursday. Starring Aasif Mandvi and Rainn Wilson, Samuel…
‘Kiss Me, Kate’ screenings and more L.A. arts events this weekend
This weekend’s Essential Arts events are all about big screens and bold ideas. I’m staff writer Ashley Lee, here with my colleague Jessica Gelt to…
3 wins for L.A. Opera, Pacific Opera Project, Independent Opera
If Los Angeles has a reputation for opera, it is as an outlier, a city freed from encrusted tradition and eager to invent. Long Beach…
How the costumes on ‘Elsbeth’ are used to disarm the unsuspecting
Given her fondness for hot pink outerwear, it is unlikely that Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) has garments in her closet bearing any resemblance to Lt.…
Where to watch the John Williams documentary in Dolby Atmos
Happy November, Essential Arts readers! This weekend’s top picks for things to do are all about the music. I’m staff writer Ashley Lee, here with…
L.A. Opera’s ‘Spanish Dracula’ and more Los Angeles arts events
While the weekend is once again upon us, I can’t stop thinking about an intimate, site-specific, one-night-only performance I experienced last weekend. Before I jump…