performance

K-POP Demon Hunters fans shared their reactions to watching HUNTR/X’s history-making Oscars performance and win.

The trio of voices behind the band from the popular Netflix film – Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami – took the stage at the 98th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, moving audiences worldwide with tears of joy.

They performed their iconic track, Golden, celebrating the folklore and cultural inspiration brought from the 2025 animated film.

Shortly after hitting the stage, K-Pop Demon Hunters, which became Netflix’s most-watched film ever, won the award for Best Original Song for Golden, after dominating awards season.

HUNTR/X, who nabbed two awards – Best Song Written for Visual Media for the famed track and Best Original Song – at the Golden Globes in January, incorporated instrumentals and dance into their performance at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.

“Let’s go K-POP Demon Hunters!” one fan wrote on X.

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“I love me some K-pop demon hunters! Those girls were singing down in that movie lol,” said another.

“K-Pop Demon Hunters made HISTORY,” reacted a third.

“The only thing I care about at the Oscars is K Pop Demon Hunters. If it were up to me, I’d give them all the possible awards,” added a fourth.

However, many were disappointed upon seeing that their acceptance speech was abruptly cut short, as were many others throughout the night, despite them pleading for more time.

“Absolutely disrespectful of the #oscars for cutting off kpop demon hunters in their acceptance speech. They were given less time than every other winner and the Oscar’s owes them an apology,” one fan raged.

“I don’t like how they cut off the Kpop Demon Hunters Cast. That was nasty #Oscars,” someone else complained.

“Congrats to Michael B Jordan, but why did he get 3x the amount of time for his speech than the KPop Demon Hunters crew?” said another, referencing Sinners star Michael B. Jordan’s Best Actor win afterwards.

According to The Independent, HUNTR/X is the first all-Asian musical act to take the Oscars stage, following Blackpink K-pop band member Lisa, who was the first K-pop artist to perform at the show last year.

In August 2025, Netflix revealed that K-Pop Demon Hunters was the platform’s most popular movie of all time, overtaking the previous record-holder, Red Notice, starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot.

“KPop Demon Hunters has gone up, up, up, and it’s their Golden moment,” the streaming service said in a statement.

Biggest Oscar Nominees of 2026 Academy Awards

Everyone in Hollywood hopes to snag a nod on the industry’s biggest night but only few get that honor. Here are the nominees and winners from the major categories of the 2026 Academy Awards:

Best Picture

• Bugonia
• F1
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another *WINNER*
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

Best Director

• Chloé Zhao — Hamnet
• Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
• Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another *WINNER*
• Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
• Ryan Coogler — Sinners

Best Actor (Leading Role)

• Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme
• Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
• Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
• Michael B. Jordan — Sinners *WINNER*
• Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent

Best Actress (Leading Role)

• Jessie Buckley — Hamnet *WINNER*
• Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
• Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value
• Emma Stone — Bugonia
• Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue

Best Supporting Actor

• Benicio Del Toro — One Battle After Another
• Jacob Elordi — Frankenstein
• Delroy Lindo — Sinners
• Sean Penn — One Battle After Another *WINNER*
• Stellan Skarsgård — Sentimental Value

Best Supporting Actress

• Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another
• Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
• Amy Madigan — Weapons *WINNER*
• Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value

Best Original Screenplay

• Marty Supreme — Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein
• Blue Moon — Richard Linklater & Glen Powell
• Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
• Sinners — Ryan Coogler *WINNER*
• It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi

Best Adapted Screenplay

• One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson *WINNER*
• Bugonia — Yorgos Lanthimos & Will Tracy
• Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro
• Hamnet — Chloé Zhao
• Train Dreams — Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Best Animated Feature

• Arco
• KPop Demon Hunters *WINNER*
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2
• Elio

Best International Feature Film

• The Secret Agent — Brazil
• Sentimental Value — Norway *WINNER*
• It Was Just an Accident — Iran
• Sirāt — Spain
• The Voice of Hind Rajab — Tunisia

Best Documentary Feature

• The Alabama Solution
• Come See Me in the Good Light
• Cutting Through Rocks
• Mr. Nobody Against Putin *WINNER*
• The Perfect Neighbor

“The animated musical officially became Netflix’s most popular film of all time on the Most Popular English Films list with 236 million total views.“

In response to the film’s massive success, Netflix released a sing-along “party at home” version, K-Pop Hunters Sing-Along, that’s currently streaming on the app.

The movie was produced by Sony Pictures Animation and helmed by Maggie Kang, a Canadian film director born in Seoul, South Korea.

Maggie described the film as a “love letter to K-pop,” also known as “Korean pop music.”

On March 12, Netflix announced that the beloved animation will be getting a sequel, with directors Maggie and Chris Appelhans returning behind the scenes.

A release date has yet to be revealed, but fans can expect it may be a while, given the first film went into production in 2021 and wasn’t released until 2025.

“I feel immense pride as a Korean filmmaker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters,” Maggie said in a statement about the sequel.

“There’s so much more to this world we have built, and I’m excited to show you. This is only the beginning.”

Sean Penn won the supporting actor Oscar on Sunday night for his performance as the ruthless, racist Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another.”

The win marks the third Academy Award for the 65-year-old Penn and his first in the supporting category. He previously earned lead actor Oscars for “Mystic River” (2003) and “Milk” (2008), and had been nominated three other times in leading roles before this year. He beat out fellow nominees Benicio Del Toro for “One Battle After Another,” Jacob Elordi for “Frankenstein,” Delroy Lindo for “Sinners” and Stellan Skarsgård for “Sentimental Value.”

With his victory, Penn joins Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Frances McDormand and Walter Brennan as three-time Oscar winners for acting. Katharine Hepburn is the only four-time acting winner.

Penn, who delivers a volatile, darkly comic performance in Anderson’s sprawling political thriller, emerged as the race’s front-runner after a surprise victory at the BAFTA Awards and the Actor Awards, whose voting body overlaps heavily with the motion picture academy.

Sean Penn did not attend the Oscars, so presenter Kiernan Culkin accepted the award on Penn’s behalf.

The big question surrounding last year’s Academy Awards was whether the show would address the L.A. wildfires, which had rattled the city mere months prior.

This year, the elephant in the room is the ongoing Iran war, which like last year’s wildfires, puts a celebration like the Oscars in sharp relief. But for Conan O’Brien, balancing gravity and levity is part of his job description as host.

“My job is to always try and hit this very, very thin line between entertaining people and also acknowledging some of the realities,” O’Brien said during a Wednesday news conference with the Oscars creative team.

“It’s a dance that goes on up until the show begins,” the former talk show host said, adding that he and his team of writers are still revising material ahead of the show to ensure their content is as relevant as possible.

“Between us,” he said, referencing Oscars telecast executive producers Katy Mullan and Raj Kapoor, “we will find the right tone.”

O’Brien also during the news conference recalled Johnny Carson’s turn hosting the Oscars during the Iran hostage crisis, when 52 Americans, including diplomats and other personnel, were held hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran from 1979 to 1981. The comedian remembered the television host parodying ABC’s “Nightline” with his joke, “It’s day 444 of the Oscars.”

“It was such a funny, topical joke that touched on something everyone was thinking about, and at the same time, got a big laugh and was unifying,” O’Brien said. “That was meaningful to me.”

Kapoor said during the news conference that the production team is putting systems in place to alleviate attendees’ safety concerns amid the tense global situation and reported threats to California.

“Every year, we monitor what’s going on in the world,” the showrunner said, adding that the ceremony has the support of the FBI and LAPD. “This show has to run like clockwork.”

He added, “Everybody that is coming to this show, that is witnessing this show, that is even a fan of the show when they’re standing outside the barricades — we want everybody to feel safe and protected and welcome.”

As for the telecast’s creative direction, the team cited “human touch” as a unifying theme — a not-so-subtle slight to AI.

“We’re celebrating human touch, human connection and what I like to call actual intelligence, as opposed to artificial,” said music director Michael Bearden. “We want to get back to the communal … and so the music will reflect that.”

That spirit of celebration will be especially tangible in the “KPop Demon Hunters” performance, Kapoor said. That performance will be complemented by a “Sinners” moment featuring Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq as well as guests Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey and Alice Smith.

“We have this lovely story celebrating Korean culture with authentic Korean drummers and singers and even choreography,” the producer said. “So again, we’ve expanded our reach, and we’re telling these global stories, celebrating international films that have had a global impact and doing things in a really different way.”

Mullan and Kapoor closed the news conference by teasing a pair of reunions featuring cast members from “Bridesmaids” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Bridesmaids” alum Rose Byrne is nominated for a lead actress Oscar for her role in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” which marked O’Brien’s dramatic acting debut. (If Byrne wins, he said, “half that Oscar’s mine.”)

“We’re gonna have superstars, superheroes, and there is also going to be an extraterrestrial on the stage, so you can figure that one out,” Mullan said.

The 2026 Oscars will air live Sunday on ABC, with streaming available on Hulu, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.

Just in time for the Oscars, Tilly Norwood, and by extension her creator, Eline van der Velden, gave actors at every level an unexpected gift — the chance to breathe a little easier.

AI will not be replacing you any time soon.

On Tuesday, the AI phenomenon known as Tilly debuted a single and music video titled “Take the Lead.” In it, Tilly sings a self-celebratory, pro-AI anthem with the big-eyed feisty longing of an algorithm marked “Disney princess: Big song” while she wanders through increasingly fantastic self-affirming scenarios that scream “Plus ‘Barbie.’”

Van der Velden was clearly trying to persuade actors to embrace the possibilities of AI but like Timothée Chalamet, who managed to prove that opera and ballet have many devoted fans by publicly suggesting the opposite, her attempt will likely backfire. The underlying message of the video, at least to performers, appears to be: Relax — AI hasn’t figured out how to lip sync properly, much less act.

It’s a bit of good news in a time of AI anxiety, some of which was Tilly-induced. Last year, Van der Velden, a Dutch actor and founder of the production company Particle6, debuted Tilly, via Instagram, as the “world’s first AI actress.” Around the time the account hit 50,000 followers, Van der Velden announced that several talent agents were interested in representing Tilly. Not Van der Velden, but Tilly Norwood, a “performer” who did not exist.

For a few minutes, Hollywood lost its collective mind. Not only were creators and performers facing a future in which their work, bodies and faces could be scanned and fed into an algorithm capable of imitating writing styles or creating images of actors doing things they never did (in a recent AI video, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt duke it out on a war-torn rooftop), now some feared they would be competing for jobs with “actors” who could work 24 hours a day, required no health benefits and would never demand bowls of M&Ms with the green ones removed.

SAG-AFTRA, which had just ended a strike caused in part by concerns about AI, protested Tilly and the use of “stolen performances to put actors out of work.” Various actors were outraged and some called for the interested talent agencies to be identified. Even Emily Blunt was publicly disconcerted, begging Hollywood agencies to “please stop taking away our human connection.”

Van der Velden quickly responded, insisting that Tilly was “not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art … a new tool — a new paintbrush.”

Then, on Tuesday, “Tilly” released a music video that seems to argue the exact opposite.

In the video, which appears over the message “Can’t wait to go to the Oscars,” the computer-generated young woman trips through a montage of “famous person moments,” as Tilly insists that she is not a puppet but a star; she encourages all actors to embrace and use AI, to own their creativity and “be free.”

A note prefacing the video states that “18 real humans” were involved in its production (including Van der Velden who is the basis of the performance), who provide the subtext for Tilly warbling: “They say it’s not real, that it’s fake, but I’m a human, make no mistake.”

Whatever Van der Velden and her team hoped to achieve, one thing is very clear: Emily Blunt has nothing to fear from Tilly Norwood.

The questionable merits of the song, performance and production value aside, the video is the best argument yet for why AI “performers” are a limited threat. As Tilly walks the streets of London, poses for selfies, signs autographs, appears on talk shows, performs live in front of enormous audiences, interacts with photographers, we are reminded that Tilly could never do any of this. AI performances are, by their very nature, limited to a screen.

Instagram fame is a real thing and can be monetarily beneficial, just as animated and digitally enhanced characters can connect deeply with audiences. But beyond her ability to raise the spectre of wholly coded “performers” constructed from borrowed bits of humans (which, as anyone who has read or seen “Frankenstein” knows, never ends well), Tilly doesn’t appear to have anything like star power.

And to consider her as existing separate from her creators is like imagining that the ventriloquist dummy Charlie McCarthy could have a career, and an agent, separate from the real performer Edgar Bergen.

Though Charlie did have the advantage of being able to be seen live and in person.

Watching Tilly, one is reminded that the magic of actors is that they are human. Audiences are, after all, human too and whether facing a stage or a screen, we are captivated by certain performers’ ability to bring all manner of characters and stories alive, while also being, as Us Weekly says, “just like us.”

People with bodies that age and change, people who fall in love, get messy, say dumb things, say smart things, fall prey to illness and accidents, shop at Trader Joe’s, end up in court or trip when about to receive an Oscar.

Their faulty, glorious humanity allows them to connect to their art, but it also connects them to us. We may never get an Oscar or be able to masterfully deliver a Shakespeare soliloquy on a chat show, but we know what it’s like to trip or say something dumb or experience aging, illness or accident.

You can’t replace actors with algorithms, even if/when someone comes up with something more convincing than Tilly, because actors are not just about performances. They are people who are alive in the world and no amount of coding can replicate that.

The Hollywood Pantages Theatre on Thursday announced its 2026-27 season, which contains a whopping seven L.A. premieres including “Maybe Happy Ending.” The hugely buzzy show about the complicated love between two humanoid helperbots was originally developed and staged in South Korea, and won six Tony Awards last year including musical, direction (Michael Arden), leading actor (Darren Criss) and book and original score (Will Aronson and Hue Park).

An early version of the show was first staged in Seoul in 2015, seven years before the rollout of ChatGPT and the ensuing AI doomsday alarm that platform sparked about the rise of hyper-intelligent robots. It will be interesting to watch “Maybe Happy Ending’s” lead robot characters, Claire and Oliver, contemplate their existence during a time when Elon Musk says his Optimus humanoid robots will be in widespread use by the end of next year.

Five shows will be staged at the Pantages before “Maybe Happy Ending,” starting with the season-opening L.A. premiere of “Water for Elephants.” Based on Sara Gruen’s 2006 novel, this musical about the dramatic life of a traveling circus performer during the Great Depression premiered on Broadway to mixed reviews in 2024 and closed after 300 performances.

Next up: The L.A. premiere of “The Outsiders,” based on S.E. Hinton’s iconic 1967 novel about the conflict between two gangs of disaffected youth. The show opened on Broadway in 2024 and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards — it ultimately won four including for musical and direction.

After that a new revival of the beloved rock opera “The Who’s Tommy” will take to the stage. Given the show’s 30-plus-year history of destroying audiences (in a good way) with its classic rock grooves, it’s sure to remain a steadfast crowd-pleaser.

Get your dancing shoes on for the L.A. premiere of “Buena Vista Social Club,” which was co-produced by John Leguizamo and opened on Broadway last year, garnering 11 Tony nominations and five wins, including a special Tony Award for the Buena Vista Social Club band. Based on the lives of musicians in Havana from the 1950s through the 1990s, and featuring plenty of infectious Latin music presented in Spanish, the show is set to launch its North American tour in Buffalo this fall before making its way to the Pantages.

The L.A. premiere of “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical” is up next. The World War II-themed comedy about a British plan of deception premiered on Broadway last year and was nominated for four Tonys including musical.

Rounding out the L.A. premieres are a lavish production of “The Great Gatsby” and the season closer, “Death Becomes Her,” both of which are based on hot properties with plenty of audience recognition.

If you’re looking for a classic, fear not: “Hamilton” and “The Lion King” are returning next season to do what they do best: Thrill audiences and sell out shows.

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt contemplating a season pass. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY
From John Doe to Lonesome Rhodes: Anti-fascism From the Archive
A double bill of “Arch of Triumph” (1948), a tragic romance set in 1938 Paris starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Charles Laughton, and “Voice in the Wind” (1944), a low-budget B-movie with Francis Lederer as a persecuted Czech concert pianist, opens this short series of films that were restored by the the UCLA Film & Television Archive. The series continues with Saturday’s pairing of “The Burning Cross” (1947) and “Open Secret” (1948) and “A Face in the Crowd” (1957) on March 20.
7:30 p.m. Billy Wilder Theater, UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. cinema.ucla.edu

SATURDAY
Nuun to Midnight
A 37-film, 12-hour festival that merges music and visual arts serves as a fundraiser for curated arts presenter Middle Ear Project.
Noon-midnight. Automata Theater, 504 Chung King Road, Chinatown. automatala.org

Sarah Davachi + Robert Takahashi Novak: New Commissions
The Broad lobby’s unique characteristics will be utilized to create a deep listening experience for newly commissioned compositions by electroacoustic and minimalist organist Davachi and conceptual sound and contemporary electronic music artist Novak.
8 p.m. The Broad, 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. thebroad.org

The Great Wall of Los Angeles
Judy Baca’s iconic mural inspired Gustavo Dudamel and Gabriela Ortiz to gather composers Juhi Bansal, Nicolás Lell Benavides, Viet Cuong, Estevan Olmos, Xavier Muzik and Nina Shekhar for this salute to the city, augmented by a video installation created director Alejandro González Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki.
2 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Alexander Malofeev
The young Russian pianist performs a program featuring works by Sibelius, Grieg, Rautavaara, Scriabin, Stravinsky, Arthur Lourié and Prokofiev.
7:30 p.m. Broad Stage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. broadstage.org

The Opera Buffs
Emerging musical artists from Southern California perform six mini-operas.
8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org

Wild Up
The orchestral collective Wild Up performs “The Odes,” a program highlighting experimentation across the ages, featuring works by French Baroque composer Jean-Féry Rebel, English dramatist Henry Purcell and Soviet modern polystylist Alfred Schnittke, as well as modern artists. The group will be joined by guest vocalist and composer Julia Holter, students from the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts and special guests.
8 p.m. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org

TUESDAY
Beetlejuice
The Broadway musical based on Tim Burton’s 1988 horror-comedy makes a local stop on its national tour.
Through March 22. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. broadwayinhollywood.com

Malice: Stories of Injustice
The Odyssey, in partnering with Mar Vista Voice and West Los Respuesta Rapida, presents a program of monologues based on the true stories of families and communities impacted by ICE, with proceeds benefiting the two charities.
8 p.m. Tuesday (in English) and Wednesday (in Spanish). Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

The Rilke Project
Piano Spheres presents pianist Vicki Ray performing works by Bernstein, Ives and Eötvös, as well as pieces from Los Angeles-based composers Steuart Liebig, Andrew Tholl, Joseph Pereira and David Rhodes, and the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke.
8 p.m. 2220 Arts + Archives, 2220 Beverly Blvd. pianospheres.org

Six
The national tour of the Broadway musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, a modern pop take on the sextet of women who were the wives of Henry VIII.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday-March 13; 2 p.m. Saturday. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org

THURSDAY
Turning Points
Guest conductor Dinis Sousa leads the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in Huang Ruo’s “Tipping Point,” Schumann’s “Violin Concerto” with solo violinist Isabelle Faust, and Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 4,” a.k.a. the “Italian.”
7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; 7:30 p.m. March 6. Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 220 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laco.org

Arts anywhere

Kevin Kline and Laura Linney in the series “American Classic” on MGM+.

(David Giesbrecht/MGM+)

American Classic
The limited series (eight 30-minute episodes) stars Kevin Kline as an out-of-control Broadway star who returns to his Pennsylvania hometown. Featuring a fine supporting cast that includes Laura Linney, Jon Tenney, Tony Shalhoub and Len Cariou, Times TV critic Robert Lloyd calls the show “a love letter to theater, community and community theater.” Streaming on MGM+ (free 7-day trial available).

KUSC
Local classical music fans know very well the treasure we have in Classical KUSC, one of the few all-classical music stations left on the planet. And, indeed, people from all over the world listen online. But what if you’re just “classical curious” and don’t know where to start? With round-the-clock programming, multiple specialized streaming channels devoted to movie scores, seasonal sounds and more, plus live concerts and knowledgeable hosts, this is the place for enjoyment, enlightenment and education. And remember, it’s listener-supported! If you can afford to give, please do. Listen at 98.7 FM and stream at kusc.org

The jacket of the book “True Color” by Kory Stamper.

(Knopf)

True Color
Kory Stamper chronicles the life of I. H. Godlove, an eccentric scientist who infused the midcentury Merriam-Webster dictionary with a shockingly kaleidoscopic array of colors using only words. The worlds of color science, color psychology and color production provide a vivid backdrop for a journey across the 20th century. Knopf (March 31 release): 320 pp. $32

Culture news and the SoCal scene

People gather outside for pre-show drinks before Public Assembly theater’s show at the Women’s Twentieth Century Club on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Los Angeles.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

The roving company Public Assembly Theatre, which develops three one-act plays monthly in unconventional L.A. spaces, got an up-close look via a fascinating story by freelancer Emma Madden. Madden spent the better part of a month tracking the development process, read-throughs and final show, and tells the story of a tiny company that is making major waves with a Hollywood-weary crowd.

Freelancer Solvej Schou tells the difficult but ultimately uplifting story of an Altadena shop owner who closed twice during the last year: Once because of the Eaton fire, and again because of heavy flooding the following year. In the wake of all the trauma, the owner, Adriana Molina, hired a local muralist to paint a colorful outdoor mural of Altadena as a way to boost morale in the neighborhood.

Dalia Stasevska, a Ukranian-born conductor who is making her L.A. Opera debut with Philip Glass’ “Akhnaten,” poses for a portrait at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

(David Butow / For the Times)

The Ukrainian-born conductor Dalia Stasevska made her L.A. Opera debut last weekend, conducting Philip Glass’ opera “Akhnaten,” which runs through late March. Times freelancer Tim Greiving sat down with Stasevska to write an in-depth profile that delves into her early love of opera and classical music as well as her efforts to raise money for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

Malia Mendez got the skinny on a Christie’s auction in New York that features the $1-billion guitar collection of the late businessman Jim Irsay. Items on the block included Kurt Cobain’s 1969 Fender Mustang and the Beatles drum head from the band’s legendary appearance on “The Ed Sullivan show.”

Artist Ulysses Jenkins is photographed at his studio in Inglewood on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

Mendez also penned a lovely obituary for Ulysses Jenkins, a pioneer of Black experimental video who died last month at the age of 79.

Chiura Obata, “Full Moon, Pasadena, California,” (1930) Verso, Asian American art

(The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, Gift of the Obata Family)

The new theme for the fourth edition of the Getty’s PST ART has been announced. The 2030 survey will explore “the artistic and cultural exchange between Los Angeles and the Pacific Rim,” according to a news release. PST ART launched in 2011 and has since established itself as one of the region’s most timely and expansive art showcases — with participation from every corner of Southern California.

“PST ART is now an established and central part of Southern California’s cultural landscape, with each edition exploring key aspects of our past, present, and possible futures,” said Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, in a statement. “With our large diasporic communities from around the Pacific Rim, Los Angeles is the perfect place to explore the far-reaching and varied impact of transpacific culture.”

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Who doesn’t love a good breakfast sandwich? I’m resurfacing this list of where to find the best in the city. You’re welcome.

Amy Madigan is now a first-time Actor Award winner.

The “Weapons” actor scored in the supporting actress category Sunday for her performance as the unhinged Aunt Gladys in the Zach Cregger-directed horror film. She beat out Teyana Taylor (“One Battle After Another”), Odessa A’Zion (“Marty Supreme”), Ariana Grande (“Wicked: For Good”) and Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”).

The win shakes up the Oscars race for supporting actress, which prior to Madigan’s Actor Award victory seemed to be in Taylor’s favor.

“It’s such an honor to be here. I’ve been doing this a long ass time,” Madigan said as she accepted the honor Sunday evening.

“Gladys has surprised me. She’s getting a lot of love back,” Madigan said. “I didn’t know y’all want to hang out with her.”

The actor also offered a message of camaraderie to her fellow SAG-AFTRA members, citing the Chicago upbringing that made her a “union person.”

“We’re all union people,” she continued, “and I don’t care what somebody says. They’re not going to bust us, ever.”

Madigan went on to give a shout-out to her fellow “Weapons” cast members Julia Garner, Josh Brolin and others.

Madigan was the sole “Weapons” star nominated at this year’s Actor Awards. She also received nominations from the Golden Globe Awards, Critics Choice Awards and Academy Awards. She earned her last Oscar nomination 40 years ago for her performance as the fiery Sunny in “Twice in a Lifetime” (1985).

“I haven’t done this in a while, so it feels like a new experience for me, but I know what it is very well,” Madigan told The Times in a November interview about the awards buzz.

“It’s a little daunting at times,” she added.

But like her “Weapons” character, Madigan is fearless, having used a stunt double for only the very last scene in a physically demanding movie.

As for everything before that, the actor said, “I did all that running and all that ridiculous stuff.”

“I think everybody was holding their breath a little bit going, ‘Oh, I hope she doesn’t slip and crash into something,’ which I didn’t,” she said. “I’m proud of that.”

Harrison Ford received a standing ovation Sunday as he accepted the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award.

“It’s a little early isn’t it?” Ford joked, noting that “it’s a little weird to be getting a lifetime achievement award at the half-point of my career.”

The 83-year-old is one of the industry’s highest-grossing actors after catapulting to global stardom with his role as Han Solo in the “Star Wars” franchise, a legacy further cemented by his lead role in “Indiana Jones” movies.

Ford fought back tears, thanking his fellow actors, writers, directors and cast members. He “found a calling. A life in storytelling. An identity in pretending to be other people,” he said.

“While we’re all at different stages of our lives and careers in this room, we all share something fundamental. We share the privilege of working in the world of ideas, of empathy, or imagination,” Ford said. “Because of that privilege, I’ve come to know myself.”

Ford said he was “not an overnight success,” spending the first 15 years of his career jumping between acting and carpentry before landing an acting role.

Ford thanked film producer and casting director Fred Roos and his longtime manager Pat McQueeney, all of whom he said were integral to his success.

“They’re no longer with us, but it feels important that I think of them now. I feel them here tonight. They would be happy for me,” Ford said.

SAG-AFTRA’s recognition on Sunday is one of several lifetime achievement awards bestowed upon the actor over his extensive six-decade career, which is defined by two of Hollywood’s biggest film franchises.

A highlight reel of Ford’s various acting performances played ahead of his accepting the award.

The award was presented by actor Woody Harrelson, who lauded Ford’s varied achievements and called him a “timeless American treasure.”

“There’s too much of me in this tribute to Harrison, but I’m an actor, what do you expect?” Harrelson quipped. The actor first met Ford after following him into a sushi restaurant and the pair “sealed their friendship” over lunch, during which “at one point, we laughed — and I’m not kidding — for three minutes straight,” Harrelson said.

“This is a life achievement award and he has lived a full one,” Harrelson said.

Ford hasn’t shown signs of slowing down in recent years. The actor plays therapist Paul Rhoades in the Apple TV show “Shrinking,” which earned him his first-ever Emmy nomination last year. He also recently starred in the “Yellowstone” prequel “1923” and appeared in his first Marvel movie, “Captain America: Brave New World.”

Ford “thinks working more is the antidote to aging,” Harrelson said. The actor recently reprised his iconic role as a swashbuckling archaeologist in the 2023 sequel “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

Despite Ford’s massive success in the industry, the actor has yet to win a major competitive acting award. The Life Achievement Award is the first that Ford snagged from the guild. He was nominated last year for actor in a comedy series for his role in “Shrinking” but lost to Martin Short for his performance in “Only Murders in the Building.”

Ford said he was “quite humbled” to be honored with the award in a room full of actors, “many of whom are here because they’ve been nominated to receive a prize for their amazing work, while I’m here to receive a prize for being alive.”

“Sometimes we make entertainment. Sometimes we make art. Sometimes we’re lucky and we make them both at the same time,” Ford said.

The awards show’s highest honor is given to performers who foster the “finest ideals of the acting profession.” Ford joins a list of seasoned actors who have received the award, including Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman and Robert De Niro.

SAG-AFTRA described Ford as “one of cinema’s most enduring leading men” whose performances “have become woven into the fabric of our culture,” in a December release announcing the honor.

OLIVIA Dean was queen of the Brit Awards last night, scooping four gongs — ten years after she attended the ceremony as a student.

The singer-songwriter, 26, won the best artist, album and pop act categories and the publicly voted song of the year with Rein Me In, with fellow award-winner Sam Fender.

London-born Olivia, who stunned on the red carpet, also performed on stage, a decade on from partying at the event as a Brit School student in 2016.

Her impressive haul followed the success of her second studio album, The Art of Loving, which spent seven weeks at No1 following its release last year.

The songstress celebrated by holding a private afterparty in Manchester where the ceremony was held.

The switch to the city’s Co-Op Live arena marked the first time the event has been staged outside London.

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A source said: “Olivia wanted to thank everyone around her for their support. She sees the success of the evening as a group effort.”

Olivia won a place at the free Brit School in Croydon, South London, aged 15, following in the footsteps of singer-songwriter former students Adele, Amy Winehouse and Jessie J.

She enrolled on a theatre course but later switched to songwriting as she began creating tracks on a second-hand piano which she begged her mum, Christine, to buy.

Speaking about the Brit School, Olivia said: “It set me up for life. I knew what I wanted for myself and it taught me so much. I just think it is a magic place.

“Look at all the people it has produced and will continue to do so.”

Last summer, Olivia made her first public appearance with her American drummer boyfriend Eddie Burns as they stepped out at the Wimbledon tennis championships together.

As It Was singer and former One Direction star Harry Styles took to the stage to open the Brit Awards 2026 live from Manchester on Saturday, with fans admitting they were ‘shaking’

It’s safe to say Harry Styles impressed fans with his performance at the Brit Awards.

The As It Was and Sign of the Times singer, and former One Direction star, opened the live ceremony on ITV1 and ITVX on Saturday night. He performed his new track Aperture after recently announcing the release of his fourth album would be very soon.

Marking his return to music, the singer took to the stage to kick things off, the performance no doubt gave fans a peak of what to expect with his upcoming world tour. Amid a backlash from many viewers about the prices of his tour tickets, Harry won over viewers with his vocals and choreography.

In fact, fans claimed they were “shaking” and “going to be sick” after watching it live. Taking to social media, one fan said: “Wish I could be normal but unfortunately I’m literally shaking over Harry Styles performing at the Brits.” Another said: “I AM SHAKING,” as a third added: “I’M GONNA BE SICK.”

READ MORE: Ant and Dec vow never to host ‘nightmare’ Brit Awards again and hint at Chris Martin rowREAD MORE: NEED TO KNOW: Brit Awards how to watch, start time, what to expect and nominees

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A fourth fan said: “HE IS A PERFORMER,” as a fifth said: “HARRY IS SO BACK THAT WAS INSANE.” A further post read: “Harry sounds GOOD. Aperture live is such a vibe.”

Another fan commented: “OMG DID HE HAVE TEARS IN HIS EYES!?? HARRY STYLES IS SO BACK.” A final tweet read: “Ok Harry actually ate that choreo.”

It was revealed the awards would take place in a new home on Saturday night, at the Co-op Live in Manchester. Artists revealed to be performing included Olivia Dean, Wolf Alice, EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, the singing voices of HUNTR/X (filmed in advance of The BRIT Awards).

Alex Warren, Mark Ronson, ROSALÍA, SOMBR and RAYE were also confirmed. Mark was also revealed to be receiving an award for his outstanding contribution to music, while Noel Gallagher was said to be receiving a songwriting award.

Speaking of honours, it had also been revealed that tributes would be made to some of the lost music acts who have recently passed away. Ozzy Osbourne is set to be honoured with Robbie Williams fronting a super group paying tribute to the star. It comes seven months after the Black Sabbath frontman died aged 76.

The performance will be a special arrangement of ‘No More Tears’ – the title track from Ozzy’s multi-million selling 1991 album of the same name. It was curated by Ozzy’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, and will boast a phenomenal line up of British and international musical talent.

It will feature musicians that played as part of Ozzy’s band over the years, including Adam Wakeman, Robert Trujillo , Tommy Clufetos and Zakk Wylde. The makeshift group will be fronted by Robbie, who was invited personally by Sharon to be part of this special moment.

BRIT Awards bosses are also set to honour Stone Roses bassist Mani at Saturday night’s show – led by Charlatans legend Tim Burgess. Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield died suddenly aged 63 last November, and close pal Tim will be on hand to deliver an emotional speech.

A source said: “Tim is set to present the In Memoriam section, but before he does so, he is primed to talk about Mani who was both a dear friend and mentor. The fact that Mani was from Manchester too – and the awards is being held there for the first time – means it will be a really special moment. Mani will then feature heavily in the section, as will other greats we have lost including Ozzy Osbourne.”

Ahead of the ceremony, three acts had received the most nominations. They were Olivia Dean and Lola Young with five nominations apiece, and Sam Fender trailing closely on four nominations following his Mercury Prize success.

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What sounded like a very cool L.A. Art Week party ended up getting a bit too rowdy. On Sunday night the Los Angeles Police Department was called to a former 99 Cents Only store on Wilshire Boulevard where an opening night party was underway for a week-long pop-up called “99CENT,” organized by former tagger and blue-chip artist Barry McGee and presented with the Hole gallery.

An LAPD public information officer confirmed that officers responded to a disturbance call at the location, which is just down the street from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Academy Museum, at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Police arrived to find “a large group of about 20 or 30 people, drinking and playing loud music.” The crowd dispersed on its own after law enforcement arrived.

Neighbor Rebekka Mueller, who lives across the parking lot from the store, said that a concert at the event had attracted hundreds of people, a number of whom took to tagging four or five neighboring businesses, including the now-closed historic Googie-style Johnie’s Coffee Shop.

The event drew plenty of respectful art fans, Mueller said, “but attracted lots of other people, and they started tagging the whole building — but not in an art way. And then it spilled over to the businesses nearby, to an insurance company, and then two apartment buildings were completely tagged … and they had no security on site when this happened. So this was very alarming for the neighborhood.”

Cole Schiffer, whose family owns the 99 Cents building, said he was sorry that neighbors’ structures were tagged and that he has been working all week to paint over the tagging.

“We didn’t know that this would happen. I was pretty naive about the graphic art world,” he said. “We’re business owners, we spend a lot of time removing graffiti. My mom grew up in this neighborhood. My grandparents lived and died here, so honestly, it’s a little sad and crazy to see this graffiti all over the neighborhood.”

Schiffer said things had calmed down after Sunday night and that the Hole gallery was working to avoid problems for the rest of the week’s festivities.

In a brief story about the event, Times freelancer Mariella Rudi noted that the 99 Cents store had been transformed into, “a dense, joyous artist flea market” featuring, “more than 200 contributors and well over 4,000 works.” When Rudi was there on Sunday night she said she didn’t see any destructive behavior.

“Paintings are stacked against old shelving. Shopping carts hang from the ceiling. You can even check out your purchases at the register, complete with a sticker and a receipt,” Rudi wrote, adding, “Graffiti-heavy aisles will thrill fans of Beyond the Streets, but a handwritten sign near the entrance offers a final note: ‘Please, no tagging inside. Owners are cool.’ ”

The pop-up will feature puppets from Bob Baker Marionette Theatre this Sunday, as well as an Anti-Fascist Zine Fair. This whole scene is right up my alley, and I say, “Yes, please,” to more edgy arts programming featuring outsider artists and youthful rebellion.

But it seems a minority of guests decided to dishonor the spirit of the event by disrespecting the boundaries put into place by organizers.

Even neighbors who complained, like Mueller, said they were big supporters of the arts and that a lot of great art was on display inside the store — they wished the situation had played out differently, and they hope Sunday night’s grand finale proves more in control.

Mueller said that although organizers had painted over many of the tags, the situation at Johnie’s had not yet been remedied.

I’m Times Arts editor Jessica Gelt, and I’m here for all the colorful underground fun — and the angry dissent that often comes with it — but none of the destruction of property.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY
All My Sons
Oánh Nguyễn directs Antaeus Theatre Company’s production of Arthur Miller’s 1946 Tony-winning play about a Midwestern family facing a moral reckoning after World War II.
Through March 30. Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Broadway, Glendale. antaeus.org

Detail of a photo by Lou Bopp, seen in the documentary “All the Empty Rooms.”

(Netflix)

All the Empty Rooms
Photos memorializing the bedrooms of children lost to school shootings captured by photographer Lou Bopp and reporter Steve Hartman and featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary short film directed by Joshua Seftel, are on display at an outdoor installation.
Through Monday, Sunset Triangle Plaza, 3700 Sunset Blvd.

And What of the Children?
Writer-director Ryan Lisman’s play blends drama, dark comedy and horror in a psychological thriller about a trio of siblings in the Witness Protection Program.
Through March 15. The Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. events.humanitix.com

Front and Center: Emerging Artists with the Colburn Orchestra
Salonen Fellows Mert Yalniz and Aleksandra Melaniuk will lead a varied program of concerto works spotlighting up-and-coming soloists. The performance will be live streamed.
7 p.m. Friday. Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand. Ave., downtown L.A. colburnschool.edu

John Giorno in Andy Warhol’s “Sleep.”

(Andy Warhol/John Giorno Collection, John Giorno Archives. Studio Rondinone, New York, NY.)

Sleep
John Giorno, the subject of the exhibition “John Giorno: No Nostalgia,” stars in Andy Warhol’s 1964 five hours and 21-minute silent film. Free with a reservation.
5-10:30 p.m. Friday. Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. marcianoartfoundation.org

SATURDAY

John Holiday in the title role of LA Opera’s 2026 production of “Akhnaten.”

(Cory Weaver)

Akhnatan
John Holiday stars in L.A. Opera’s production of Philip Glass’ portrait of the Egyptian pharaoh, sung in in English, Ancient Egyptian, Biblical Hebrew and Akkadian. Directed by Phelim McDermott and conducted by Dalia Stasevska making her company debut.
Through March 21, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laopera.org

Attacca Quartet and Theo Bleckmann
The versatile Grammy-winning ensemble teams with vocalist Bleckmann on David Lang’s “note to a friend,” a chamber opera based on three reimagined texts by Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa.
8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

From Strand to Sculpture
A self-guided tour of the Japanese bamboo basketry exhibition will be followed by a lecture from bamboo art expert Robert Coffland, founder of TAI Gallery (now TAI Modern) in Santa Fe, N.M., and now president of the Santa Fe gallery Textile Arts Inc. The lecture is also available via Zoom.
4-7 p.m. Saturday. The Gamble House is located at 4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena. gamblehouse.org

The Price
Richard Fancy, Dana Dewes, Jason Huber and Scott G. Jackson star in Arthur Miller’s late-period drama about two brother’s cleaning out their late father’s New York brownstone.
Through April 5. Pacific Resident Theatre, 703 Venice Blvd. pacificresidenttheatre.org

Pepe Romero Returns
The classical guitarist joins the Long Beach Symphony for a concert featuring ”Concierto de Aranjuez” by Joaquín Rodrigo, Gabriela Lena Frank’s “Elegia Andina” and movements from Handel’s “Water Music Suites.”
7:30 p.m. Saturday. Long Beach Terrace Theater, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. longbeachsymphony.org

Bud Cort in the 1971 movie “Harold and Maude,” screening March 15 at the Aero.

(CBS via Getty Images)

Starring Bud Cort
The American Cinematheque salutes the singular character actor, who recently died at 77, with screenings of Robert Altman’s “Brewster McCloud” (1970), Wes Anderson’s “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou” (2004) and Hal Ashby’s“Harold and Maude” (1971).
“Brewster McCloud”, 2 p.m. Saturday in 35mm. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd.; “The Life Aquatic”, 3 p.m. March 14; “Harold and Maude,” 1 p.m. March 15 in 35 mm. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. americancinematheque.com

SUNDAY
Unassisted Residency
Every edition of erstwhile weatherman Fritz Coleman’s monthly comedy show features a special guest.
3 p.m. Sunday. El Portal Theatre, Monroe Forum, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. elportaltheatre.com

TUESDAY
Camerata Pacifica
The ensemble performs a program that includes Madeleine Dring’s “Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano,” the world premiere of David Brice’s “Natural Light,” Cécile Chaminade’s “Thème varié for Piano, Op. 89” and Antonín Dvořák’s “Quintet in A major for Piano and Strings, Op. 81,” arranged by David Jolley.
3 p.m. Sunday. Bank of America Performing Arts Center, Janet and Ray Scherr Forum, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino; 8 p.m., Thursday. Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.; 7 p.m. Friday. Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara. cameratapacifica.org

WEDNESDAY

Sara Porkalob, playwright and performer of “Dragon Mama.”

(Corey Olsen)

Dragon Mama
Writer-performer Sara Porkalob returns in Part II of her Filipina American “gangster” family’s intergenerational saga, “The Dragon Cycle,” this time centering her mother’s journey. Directed by Andrew Russell
Through April 12. Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue, Westwood. geffenplayhouse.org

THURSDAY
The Adding Machine
The Actors’ Gang performs Elmer Rice’s 1923 satire that provides a prophetic warning from the past for our present.
Through April 18. The Actors; Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. theactorsgang.com

Dante and Beethoven’s Sixth
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the L.A. Phil in Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 – Pastoral” and Thomas Adès’ “Inferno – Part 1.”
8 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. Friday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company
A remounting of the historic dance theater work “Still/Here,” created by Jones 30 years in the midst of the AIDS epidemic from interviews with terminally patients which he called “survival workshops.”
8 p.m. UCLA Royce Hall, 340 Royce Drive, Westwood. cap.ucla.edu

Arts anywhere

New releases of arts-related media.

Clockwise from top left, artists Candice Lin, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Tomás Saraceno and Ragnar Kjartansson from “Art in the Twenty-First Century.”

(Art21, Inc.)

Art in the Twenty-First Century
Museums are fantastic, but do you ever want to know what’s going on right now in the art world? Since it debuted in 2001, this video series has focused on contemporary art and artists and has been a mainstay of public broadcasting. The second episode of the 12th season (they’re released biannually) debuted Feb. 11 and profiles four international artists, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Ragnar Kjartansson, Candice Lin and Tomás Saraceno, who use ordinary materials to make extraordinary art. Of local note, Crosby and Lin both live and work in L.A., and the Huntington in San Marino makes an appearance as well. Watch at art21.org, YouTube and pbs.org.

(Princeton University Press)

Michelangelo & Titian
It may not have been a heated rivalry, but author William E. Wallace makes the case that the two great Renaissance artists drove each other to excel in a new dual biography subtitled “A Tale of Rivalry and Genius.” Princeton University Press: 248 pp., $35. press.princeton.edu

Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama competes in the figure skating men’s singles free skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics on February 13 in Milan, Italy.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Turandot: Christopher Tin Finale
The two-time Grammy-winning composer completed Giacomo Puccini’s famously unfinished final opera for this EP recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios with an all-star cast. You may even have heard it during Japanese figure skater Yuma Kagiyama’s free skate program at the recent Winter Olympic Games in Milan (Kagiyama won silver for the second time). Not only was Milan Puccini’s hometown, but the Games coincided with the 100th-anniversary of the premiere of the opera at Teatro La Scala. Tin Works: $12-30. Available on vinyl, CD, digital download and streaming platforms. christophertin.com

— Kevin Crust

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Frieze Los Angeles returned to the Santa Monica Airport on Feb. 26.

(Casey Kelbaugh / Courtesy of Frieze and CKA)

Art Week is here, and L.A. is overflowing with guests, artists and dealers from around the world as the city stages a wide variety of fairs, exhibitions, dinners and other arts events. The Times put together a handy guide to all the fairs you need to see, including Frieze, Butter LA and the Other Art Fair.

Freelancer Jane Horowitz wrote an in-depth piece about Frieze’s “Body & Soul,” a public art program of eight installations designed to reach beyond traditional art fair audiences. The story gives information about site-specific installations and the artists behind them, including Patrick Martinez. Amanda Ross Ho and Kelly Wall.

Kara Walker, “Unmanned Drone,” 2024, bronze

(Ruben Diaz)

Earlier this week, MOCA announced it had acquired 158 works by 106 artists in 2025 and that it had acquired the centerpiece of its current blockbuster “Monuments” exhibit: “Unmanned Drone,” by artist Kara Walker. “Walker created the 13-foot-tall bronze sculpture out of a statue of the prominent Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson that was originally in Charlottesville, Va. The statue had been removed after serving as a significant gathering place for the infamous 2017 Unite the Right rally of white supremacists,” I wrote in a story about the acquisition.

Our major investigation into L.A. arts icon Judy Baca also published this week, featuring allegations by 10 former employees, including two managers, that Baca used her nonprofit arts center, SPARC, to benefit her private, for-profit art practice, Judy Baca Inc. They also alleged Baca personally benefited from a $5-million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to expand her most famous work, a community-driven effort known as “The Great Wall of Los Angeles.”

Alexander Hurt, left, Katie Holmes and Charlie Barnett in “Hedda Gabler.”

(Rich Soublet II)

Times theater critic Charles McNulty headed to San Diego’s Old Globe to catch Katie Holmes in a new take on Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” written by Erin Cressida Wilson “that compresses the action and sharpens the language to a razor’s edge.”

McNulty also caught Guillermo Cienfuegos’ “enlivening, if at times unsteady,” production of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” at A Noise Within. “Cienfuegos is a font of directing ideas, but his work here could use more editing. He plays up the comedy, which is as much a part of the play as its violence. But sometimes the actors overdo it,” McNulty writes.

“Beethoven’s ‘Missa Solemnis’ is a grand mass for large orchestra, chorus and four vocal soloists that lasts around 80 minutes,” writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed in his review of Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil’s performance of the challenging piece. “It was written near the end of Beethoven’s life and is his most ambitious work musically and spiritually.” The concert at Disney Hall was part of Dudamel’s “month-long L.A. Phil focus on Beethoven.”

Urban Light at LACMA

(Deborah Vankin / Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced that its partnership with Hyundai Motor Co. will continue until 2037. The union was first cemented in 2015, and the museum said in a news release that it “represents the largest programmatic commitment from a corporate partner in LACMA’s history.” The announcement included two initiatives “that will define the next chapter” of collaboration. “The first initiative is a new exhibition series under the title ‘Hyundai Project.’ Beginning in 2028, the museum will present a biennial survey of an artist with significant ties to Los Angeles and the Pan Pacific region. The featured artist will also develop a large-scale banner for the exhibition that will be installed on the exterior of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM). Secondly, with Hyundai Motor’s renewed support, LACMA will expand the scope, visibility, and impact of the Art + Technology Lab,” the release noted.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is celebrating its 40th anniversary season and has announced its 2026–27 Broadway season featuring 11 shows, six of which are Orange County premieres. The season kicks off with “Beauty and the Beast,” followed by “The Outsiders,” “Water for Elephants,” “Book of Mormon,” “Jersey Boys,” “The Who’s Tommy,” “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Waitress,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Maybe Happy Ending” and “Death Becomes Her.”

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Olympic Gold-winning U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu is everybody’s favorite person these days. Now she has her own mural on Crenshaw Boulevard in Gardena.

There is an adage in sports that it is harder to defend a championship than to win it. That is the challenge that coach Rick Robinson and the Norco High softball team face this season, but the Cougars have the skill to make a run at back-to-back titles after winning 29 of 32 games en route to the Southern Section Division 1 crown last spring.

Robinson entered the 2026 campaign with 728 career wins and has added three to that total as his team won its own showcase last week at Big League Dreams in Chino Hills.

In the final, junior pitcher Coral Williams fanned 11 Orange Lutheran batters in a 2-1 victory, picking up where she left off last spring when she was named the Southern Section Division 1 player of the year after going 17-0 with 10 complete games, a 0.59 earned run average and 147 strikeouts while giving up only nine earned runs in 106 innings. In the semifinals, Oklahoma State signee Peyton May threw a no-hitter and struck out 12 in an eight-inning 3-0 win against Aliso Niguel. She was 10-3 last year with a 1.49 earned run average and 132 strikeouts in 80 innings.

Offensively the Cougars are led by junior shortstop Leighton Gray, a Texas A&M commit who was All-Southern Section as a sophomore after batting .435 with 40 hits, eight home runs and a 0.793 slugging percentage. Add to the mix London Potter, who follows in the footsteps of sisters Riley and Dakota (Norco alums now playing at Quinnipiac and South Carolina, respectively) and catcher/first baseman Camryn May, Peyton’s younger sister.

Since taking over the program in 2000, Robinson has guided Norco to section titles in 2003, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2025 (all but the first in the top division). He also won the Division IV title in 1996 in the second of his five years at Corona Centennial —giving him a Southern Section record of eight.

Among the teams capable of dethroning Norco is Orange Lutheran, No. 2 behind the Cougars in Cal-Hi Sports’ preseason Southland top 20 rankings. The Lancers will miss star center fielder Kai Minor (now an Oklahoma Sooner) but returning are second baseman Sierra Nichols (40 hits), shortstop Madelyn Armendariz (32 hits, 29 RBIs) and pitching aces Rylee Silva (135 strikeouts as a freshman) and UCLA signee Jo Marsh.

Battling the Lancers for Orange County supremacy could be Trinity League rival JSerra, which is off to a 2-0 start behind Florida-bound pitcher Liliana Escobar and sophomore sensation Annabel Raftery, who led the team with 36 hits, 21 RBIs and five homers a year ago.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has one of the section’s best all-around players in Oklahoma State commit Aliyah Garcia and starts out as the team to beat in the San Fernando Valley. The senior pitcher/shortstop had one run, two hits, an RBI and drew two walks while recording five strikeouts in three innings in the Knights’ season-opening win.

Fullerton has one of the most formidable one-two pitching combos in California Baptist commit Katelynn Mathews and Analise Barrios (both also play second base). Mathews had a 15-3 record with 185 strikeouts in 115 1/3 innings and Barrios had a 0.72 earned run average last season when the Indians won 21 games and played Norco tough in the third-place game of the Michelle Carew Classic in April. Utah State-bound outfielder Hayley Brock batted .393 with 38 hits and 24 RBIs.

Fullerton pitcher Analise Barrios compiled a 0.72 earned run average as the Indians went 21-8 last season.

(Steve Galluzzo / For the Times)

Despite its loss to Norco in the second round of the playoffs a year ago, Oaks Christian is the cream of the crop in Ventura County as most of its key contributors are back — Utah State-bound shortstop Gianna Garcia, Brigham Young-bound outfielder Terrianna Kelley (33 hits, 27 RBIs, nine doubles, five homers and a .750 slugging percentage in 2025); shortstop Trystyn Crutcher, pitcher Sophia Debs, outfielder Reagan Beck and catcher Giabella Otani.

Other Southern Section programs that should continue their success from last year include Division 1 runner-up El Modena and semifinalist Temescal Canyon, Division 2 champion Los Alamitos and Division 3 champion Marina as well as La Mirada, Ayala, Chino Hills and Long Beach Poly.

In the City Section, Granada Hills finished 28-3 last season and beat nemesis Carson 11-2 in the Open Division final behind player of the year Addison Moorman (now a freshman at Lehigh) but back to help the Highlanders defend their title are All-City senior co-captains Zoe Justman (who slugged .802 as a junior) and Elysse Diaz (47 hits, 12 doubles, seven stolen bases and an .865 slugging percentage).

Players to watch

Name; School; Year; Position

Coral Willams; Norco; Jr.; Pitcher

Leighton Gray; Norco; Jr.; Shortstop

Emoni Lam Sam; LB Poly; Sr.; Third Base

Kale’a Tindal; Harvard-Westlake; Sr.; Outfield

Aliyah Garcia; Notre Dame; Sr.; Pitcher/Shortstop

Rylee Silva; Orange Lutheran; So. Pitcher

Katelynn Mathews; Fullerton; Jr.; Pitcher

Dailynn Battee; Etiwanda; So.; Third Base

Mia Valbuena; Marina; Sr.; Pitcher

Alison Ortega; La Mirada; Jr.; Pitcher

Koa Puppe; Bonita; Jr.; Third Base

Terrianna Kelley; Oaks Christian; Sr.; Outfield

Annabel Raftery; JSerra; So.; Catcher

Alivia Magallanes; Los Alamitos; Sr.; Outfield

Bree Carlson; Huntington Beach; Jr.; First Base

Nia Hall; Temescal Canyon; Jr.; Third Base

Brett Lambrecht; Chino Hills; So.; Utility

Eliana Corona; La Habra; So.; Catcher

Zoe Justman; Granada Hills; Sr.; Utility

Ashannalee Titialii; Carson; Sr.; Shortstop

Zoe Justman slugged .802 to help Granada Hills claim the City Section Open Division title last season.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Embattled Hollywood mogul Casey Wasserman, who is facing mounting pressure to resign from his position at the helm of the 2028 L.A. Olympics, also holds another important cultural appointment on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s board of trustees.

Wasserman, 51, joined LACMA’s board in 2004 when he was 30, two years after he founded his eponymous talent and marketing agency. Just last week, Wasserman announced he would sell his agency after racy emails between himself and convicted sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, emerged at part of the Justice Department’s latest release of millions of documents related to the Epstein files.

Wasserman, the grandson of legendary studio exec Lew Wasserman, arrived at LACMA as part of a wave of relatively young additions to a notoriously older board. His addition also heralded the dawning of an era in which LACMA actively sought to strengthen its connections with the entertainment world. In 2011, LACMA launched its glitzy Art + Film Gala, an annual party co-chaired by Leonardo DiCaprio that serves as a melting pot for A-list celebrities and art world stars.

“There was an understanding — the message was there needed to be a change in the board,” museum director Michael Govan told The Times in a 2015 interview. “The board was in extreme need of refreshment.”

Now that Wasserman’s leadership in other roles is being questioned , will his relationship with LACMA follow? LACMA did not respond to a request for comment. Although the board generally meets a few times a year, it may not be an issue that has come to the fore as of yet.

Thus far, LA28 has stood by Wasserman, noting in a recent statement that his emails with Maxwell were sent years “before Mr. Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein and Maxwell’s deplorable crimes … This was his single interaction with Epstein.”

“The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games,” LA28 wrote.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said in a recent CNN interview that she believed Wasserman should step down, and that it is “unfortunate” that Olympic organizers remained in support of him.

In a memo to staff at his talent agency, Wasserman wrote that he was “heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company, and its clients so much hardship over the past days and weeks.”

I’m arts editor Jessica Gelt with this week’s arts and culture news.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

The cast of “Cinderella: A Salsa Fairy Tale.”

(South Coast Repertory)

Cinderella: A Salsa Fairy Tale
The classic fairy tale moves to the basketball court in this hip-hop fueled musical adaptation for young audiences with a book and lyrics by Karen Zacarías and music by Deborah Wicks La Puma. Directed by Sara Guerrero.
Through March 8. South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. scr.org

Dear Little Friend: Impressions of Galka Scheyer
The exhibition from the German-born art dealer’s collection includes portraits and ephemera, featuring such artists as Maynard Dixon, Peter Krasnow, Beatrice Wood and Edward Weston, as well as gifts from the Blue Four artsist, whose work Scheyer championed: Alexei Jawlensky, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee and Vassily Kandinsky.
Thursday-Monday, through July 20. Norton Simon Museum, 411 West Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. nortonsimon.org

The Industry LAB 2026
The innovative opera company partners with REDCAT for this series featuring new works: a shared program of Guillermo E. Brown’s “The Instrument, Romance, Bee Boy” and Carmina Escobar’s “Our Voice Is Not at the End of Anything” (8 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday); and Matana Roberts’ “spiral resonance: a study in the abstract,” an immersive sound and moving image installation exhibition (noon-6 p.m., daily through March 1) with solo activation performances in the space by Patrick Shiroishi (8 p.m. Tuesday); Ryan Sawyer (8 p.m. Wednesday); Roberts (8 p.m. Feb. 27); Kyp Malone (8 p.m. Feb. 28); and Judith Berkson (3 p.m. March 1).
Through March 1, 2026 REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org

Wallace Berman/Bruce Conner
A pair of solo exhibitions highlighting extraordinary mark-making: “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” salutes the centennial of post-war counter-culture artist Berman with a rare showing of his large-scale photographic collages; “Inkblots and Felt Tip Drawings” focuses on an often overlooked aspect of multimedia artist Conner’s work. A selection of Conner’s experimental films are being exhibited at Marciano Art Foundation (see below).
Tuesday-Saturday, through April 25. Michael Kohn Gallery, 1227 North Highland Ave. kohngallery.com

Missa Solemnis
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic are joined by more than 100 voices from the Cor de Cambra of the Palau de la Música Catalana and Orfeó Català of Barcelona for this Beethoven mass that is rarely performed due to its ambitious scale.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Jon Serl: As One, As Many
Starting in vaudeville before moving to California and working as a Hollywood voice actor and gardener, Serl became a painter following World War II with a long, expressive career illustrated in this retrospective. Fittingly, the artist had his first museum exhibition in 1981 at the Newport Harbor Art Museum (now UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art).
Through June 7. UC Irvine Langson/Orange County Museum of Art, 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. ocma.art

Marco Perego
“The Being” is a solo exhibition featuring video, installations and drawings by Italian-born artist.
Through April. Jeffrey Deitch, 7000 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. deitch.com

Christina Kirk and Norbert Leo Butz, seated, with the cast of “The Recipe.”

(Rich Soublet II/La Jolla Playhouse)

The Recipe
Christina Kirk and Norbert Leo Butz star as Julia and Paul Child in the world premiere of Claudia Shear’s play about the world-famous chef. Directed by Lisa Petersen.
Through March 22. La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Dr. lajollaplayhouse.org

Puppet Up! – Uncensored
Created by Brian Henson and directed by Patrick Bristow, this irreverent, ever-changing show features the Miskreant puppets plus classic Jim Henson sketches unseen by live audiences for decades.
7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. Feb. 27-28; 5 p.m. March 1. The Montalbán, 1615 Vine St., Hollywood. puppetup.com

SATURDAY
Kyreeana Breelin Alexander
The interdisciplinary artist performs “We Cool,” a solo autobiographical coming-of-age story fueled by rhythm and movement.
8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

Judith F. Baca
With “The Great Wall Of Los Angeles: The 1970’s — A Decade Of Defiance And Dreams,” the artist’s organization SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center) exhibits the latest complete segment in the monumental work’s expansion.
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m.; through April 4. Jeffrey Deitch, 925 N. Orange Dr. deitch.com

Bruce Conner, “Crossroads,” 1976. 35mm, black/white, sound, 37 min. Digitally Restored, 2013.

(The Conner Family Trust/Michael Kohn Gallery)

Bruce Conner
“Recording Angel” brings together seven of the artist’s experimental films, composed of found, scavenged and original footage, and re-cut using his influential rapid-fire editing techniques.
Through July 18. Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. marcianoartfoundation.org

Patti LuPone
The Broadway star marks the 25th anniversary of her concert “Matters of the Heart,” which ran on Broadway and London’s West End and toured the globe.
7:30 p.m. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laopera.org

John Snow
The bassist and his band explore “The Poetry in Music” through works by John Coltrane, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Langston Hughes, Hoagy Carmichael, Bob Dylan and others.
8 p.m. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

Tap Fest: Listen to This!
Dancers Derick Grant, Sam Weber and Josette Wiggan join the Colburn’s tap faculty and students for a program exploring the concept of the Tap Artist as both a dancer and musician.
7 p.m. Colburn School, Thayer Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. colburnschool.edu

SUNDAY
Zhanna Kadyrova
A collaboration with Kyiv to LA, an ongoing project supporting Ukrainian artists through a Los Angeles-based residency, and the Thomas Mann House, the solo exhibition “Sliced Realities” explores the artist’s anti-war practice and coincides with the four-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Sunday-Feb. 28. Thomas Mann House (1550 N San Remo Drive, Pacific Palisades. vatmh.org

Museums Free-For-All
An Southland tradition in which Southern California arts and cultural institutions open their doors for free general admission. Participants include the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Autry Museum of the American West, The Broad, California African American Museum, the Getty Center and the Getty Villa, UCLA Hammer Museum, LACMA, MOCA, Skirball Cultural Center and many, many more. At some locations, tickets are limited and reservations may be required.
All-day Sunday. See complete list of participating institutions at socalmuseums.net/free

Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel
Colburn Conservatory of Music welcomes the Belgian conservatory and its master-in-residence, cellist Gary Hoffman, for a joint performance of Fauré’s “Piano Quintet No. 1” and Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time.”
3 p.m. Colburn School, Thayer Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. colburnschool.edu

Sueño Perro
This film Installation by Alejandro G. Iñárritu both marks the 25th anniversary of his debut “Amores Perros” and serves as a “resurrection” using projections of never-before-seen fragments from that film’s production.
Through July 26. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, BCAM, Level 1, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org

We Hold These Truths: A Celebration of Black History Month Over 100 Years
The contributions of Black Americans to the cause of democracy over the years are recognized in this collaboration of performers from across artistic mediums. Featured artists include actor Phil Morris, composer Tamar-kali, dancer Ishaun Jackson-Moaney, the West Angeles COGIC Victory Dance Company, opera baritone Derrick Lawrence and promising talent out of the USC Thornton School of Music, opera mezzo-soprano and producer Raehann Bryce-Davis, poet Alyesha Wise and arts scholar and activist Derrell Acon.
3 p.m. Nocturne Theatre, 324 N. Orange St., Glendale. eventbrite.com

TUESDAY
Flashback Fun
Six Disney classics return to the big screen: “Muppet Treasure Island” (Tuesday); “The Aristocats” (Wednesday); “Dumbo” (Thursday); “The Rescuers” (Feb. 27); “Bolt” (Feb. 28); and “Oliver and Company” (March 1).
The El Capitan Theatre, 6838 Hollywood Blvd. elcapitantheatre.com

Filmmaker Jafar Panahi at the Toronto International Film Festival last September.

(Kate Dockeray/For The Times)

It Was Just an Accident: Live Read
Film Independent presents writer-director Jafar Panahi’s “incisive drama,” winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2025 and nominated for international feature film and original screenplay at this year‘s Academy Awards, to the Wallis stage read by a new cast.
7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Haegue Yang
“Star-Crossed Rendezvous” pairs two of the Korean-born, Berlin-based artist’s large-scale installations employing utilitarian objects. The first, “Sol LeWitt Upside Down — K123456, Expanded 1078 Times, Doubled and Mirrored” (2015) is a monochromatic installation inspired by the cube structures of the American conceptual artist. Across the gallery, “Star-Crossed Rendezvous after Yun” (2024) is an homage to composer and political dissident Isang Yun (1917–95). Synchronized to Yun’s “Double Concerto” (1977), an array of moving lights animate vibrant geometric structures to create an ever-changing, multisensory experience. The L.A. Philharmonic will perform Yun’s piece on March 10 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, with a pre-concert viewing of the installation at MOCA Grand.
Through Aug 2. Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. moca.org

WEDNESDAY
L.A. Art Week
It happens every February. Thousands of artists, collectors, curators and gallerists descend on the city, swelling an already vibrant local scene with a global reach into a week of discovery, creative adventure and fashion flamboyance. The Big Kahuna, of course, is Frieze Los Angeles (Thursday-March 1. frieze.com), a fair with a primarily contemporary focus, approximately 100 galleries, installations and pop-ups restaurants from around L.A.; Butter Fine Art Fair (Thursday-March 1. Hollywood Park, 1237 District Drive, Inglewood. butterartfair.com) features artists representing the African diaspora; Enzo (Wednesday-Saturday. 1634 W. Temple St. enzolosangeles.com) presents nine New York City galleries in an Echo Park warehouse; Felix Art Fair (Wednesday-March 1. Hollywood Roosevelt, 7000 Hollywood Blvd. felixfair.com) showcases exhibitors from around the world in a classic Hollywood setting; the cheekily-named The Other Art Fair Los Angeles (Thursday-March 1. 3Labs, 8461 Warner Dr., Culver City. theotherartfair.com) promises “the bizarre, unexpected, and never normal” with work from 160 independent artists; Post-Fair (Thursday-Feb. 28. 1248 5th St., Santa Monica. post-fair.com) is a dealer-led event in a historic Santa Monica Post Office building; and Start Up Art Fair (Friday-March 1. The Kinney Venice Beach, 737 Washington Blvd. startup-art.com) brings together 150 independent artists, collectors, curators and art professionals. It’s mostly next weekend but we wanted to give you a heads-up. Be sure to watch for Times reporter Malia Mendez’s upcoming preview. Happy art hunting and people watching.

THURSDAY
Beethoven and Ortiz with Dudamel
Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil are joined by Grupo Corpa and the L.A. Master Chorale for this charged program pairing Beethoven’s “Seventh Symphony” with Gabriela Ortiz’s ballet “Revolución diamantina (Glitter Revolution).”
8 p.m. Thursday and Feb. 27; 2 p.m. Feb. 28-March 1. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Norbert Leo Butz
The Broadway star and two-time Tony Award winner (currently performing in “The Recipe” at La Jolla Playhouse, above) will perform excerpts from his signature roles, original compositions from his four solo records and covers from Tom Waits, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen.
7 p.m. Thursday-Feb. 28. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Samueli Theater, 300 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. scfta.org

Arts anywhere

Something to read, something to hear and something to watch wherever you are.

The Art Book: Mini Format

(Phaidon Press)

The Art Book
What’s it like to hold art history in the palm of your hand? Find out with the new Mini edition of this beloved text celebrated for bringing art appreciation to the masses. First introduced in 1994, the updated edition of this A-Z survey features more than 600 artists from medieval times to the present. It’s far from stuffy, including overlooked and contemporary figures including Berenice Abbott, Romare Bearden, Guerrilla Girls and more; plus Takashi Murakami and Wolfgang Tillmans, who The Times happened to interview recently and have L.A. shows (see below). Phaidon Press: 592 pp., $20. phaidon.com

Yunchan Lim

(IMG Artists)

Goldberg Variations Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, 2025
Recorded fewer than 30 blocks form where Glenn Gould laid down his own landmark recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s masterpiece, pianist Yunchan Lim’s new album has been topping the classical charts since its release earlier this month. If you missed his performance of the Variations at Disney Hall last October (or if even if you didn’t), this is a must listen. Decca Records: $8-38. Available on vinyl, CD and digital download. deccarecordsus.com

An image from Frederick Wiseman’s ‘Titicut Follies.’

(courtesy of Zipporah Films)

Frederick Wiseman
The filmmaker, who died Monday at 96, was a master storyteller and craftsman who mainly inhabited the nonfiction realm of the documentary. His perceptive explorations of public and cultural institutions was unparalleled and he was honored with an honorary Academy Award in 2016. If you would like to revisit Wiseman’s work or want an exhaustive introduction, check out the Frederick Wiseman Essential Films Collection at kanopy.com. Virtually every film he ever made is available and all you need is a public library card (an apt requirement!). His final film, “Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros” from 2023, can be viewed via the PBS Passport membership portal.

— Kevin Crust

Culture news and the SoCal scene

A detail of miniature “sportraits” during a preview of award-winning animator and visual-effects artist Lyndon J. Barrois’ exhibit, “Futbol Is Life” at LACMA.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is staging a new show in honor of the FIFA World Cup, coming to L.A. and other cities this summer. Created by artist Lyndon J. Barrois Sr., “Fútbol Is Life” “depicts some of the most iconic plays and political moments in the 95-year history” of the event with “‘humble’ gum wrappers,” writes The Times’ Jasmine Mendez.

Jefferson Mays in “Amadeus” at Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

A new take on Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” premiered at Pasadena Playhouse last week, and it may be the Tony Award-winning regional theater’s most lavish production to date. I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the theater’s amazing on-site scene shop to write about what it took to put the set, lighting and costumes together; and Times theater critic Charles McNulty attended opening night. Director Darko Tresnjak, writes McNulty in his review, “treats the play as though it were a tragedy wearing the mask of comedy. He doesn’t resist the melodrama that’s inherent in the material, but he refuses to overindulge it. This production hasn’t convinced me that ‘Amadeus’ is a world classic… But I doubt I’ll have the opportunity to see a better revival in my lifetime.”

McNulty also caught a performance of “Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia,” Beth Hyland‘s new play that recently had its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, and explores the lives of married writers living in the Boston apartment once occupied by the poet Sylvia Plath and her husband Ted Hughes. “World premieres are risky, and the writing for this one hasn’t yet settled. The play’s split focus, moving between 1958 and the present, is a sign of conceptual ambition. But Hyland struggles to find the pacing and rhythm of her complicated vision,” McNulty writes.

Meanwhile, “Here Lies Love,” David Byrne’s disco musical about the Ferdinand Marcos regime arrived at the Mark Taper Forum in a show directed by Center Theatre Group’s artistic director Snehal Desai. The Times’ Malia Mendez sat down with members of the all-Filipino cast to discuss the ways the show’s exploration of the perils of authoritarianism dovetail with the modern political moment.

Japanese artist Takashi Murakami sits in front of his painting at Perrotin Gallery on Feb. 13, 2026 in Mid City in Los Angeles, Calif.

(Ariana Drehsler/For The Times)

I had the opportunity for a one-on-one chat with artist Takashi Murakami about his solo show at Perrotin, Los Angeles, which features 24 new canvases that explore the connection between the ancient Japanese art of ukiyo-e and Impressionism. A trip to Monet’s gardens in Giverny, France, cemented Murakami’s idea for the paintings.

Contributor Steve Appleford wrote a thoughtful profile on German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans, who is currently staging his ninth Los Angeles exhibition at Regen Projects. “In 2000 Tillmans became the first photographer and first non-British artist to win the prestigious Turner Award. Tate Britain staged his mid-career retrospective in 2003 and the Hammer Museum in Westwood mounted his first major U.S. retrospective that same year, which traveled to Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.,” Appleford writes.

A sketch from architect Paul R. Williams’ archive at The Getty Center.

(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)

Paul Williams, the first Black architect licensed west of the Mississippi, is the focus of a series of upcoming shows to be staged from August through July 2027 at the Getty, LACMA and USC Fisher Museum of Art. Throughout the course of his six-decade career Williams designed more than 3,000 projects, including for clients such as Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and the Beverly Hills Hotel. The exhibitions will feature architectural drawings, photographs, plans and memorabilia, some of which have never been on view to the public before.

Los Angeles Master Chorale announced Artistic Director Grant Gershon’s 25th anniversary season featuring work by Brahms, Bruckner, Arvo Pärt, Bach, Morten Lauridsen and Orlando di Lasso. Guest artists will include the National Chorus of Korea, composer Eric Whitacre, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, Baroque ensemble Le Concert d’Astrée and theater director Peter Sellars. Subscriptions are available now, and single tickets will go on sale June 1.

The nonprofit arts organization, Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND), announced the four artists chosen to receive its 2026 Mohn LAND Grants. They are Shana Hoehn, Angela Anh Nguyen, Harrison Kinnane Smith and Adam Thompson. Winners receive a $5,000 award as well as $5,000 in production funds to use towards a new work commission.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Washington National Opera is moving on from the beleaguered Kennedy Center, and has announced new venues and dates for its upcoming production of “West Side Story.” The show will be performed at the Lyric Baltimore on May 8, 9, 10; and at the Music Center at Strathmore, May 14, 15.

It began with Beethoven.

Bright yellow T-shirts reading, in raspberry type, “¡Bienvenido Gustavo!” marked Gustavo Dudamel’s first concert as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic the first Saturday afternoon of October 2009 at the Hollywood Bowl. Eighteen thousand tickets were distributed free for a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, an Angeleno “Ode to Joy” broadcast worldwide. The exultant young Venezuelan conductor’s message was: There is no North, South or Central America. We are one.

We are now in “Gracias Gustavo” season, and times, we are daily reminded, they are a-changin’. But what remains consistent is that Dudamel begins again, in the first month of his six-month homestretch as L.A. Phil music director, by dwelling on the composer he says has meant the most to him since his earliest days as a kid conductor in Caracas. His first major recording boasted startlingly propulsive performances of Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies, with the uproarious Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, recorded 20 years ago this month. In August, Dudamel will end his L.A. Phil tenure as he began it, with Beethoven’s Ninth at the Bowl.

Through these two decades, thick and COVID-lockdown thin, Beethoven has been Dudamel’s composer of uplift. This weekend he confronts, for the first time, Beethoven’s daunting mystical and mystifying “Missa Solemnis.” In following weeks, he will pair Beethoven symphonies with two of the most arresting and original of the dozens of new works he has premiered in Los Angeles — Gabriela Ortiz’ Glitter Revolution ballet score, “Revolución Diamantina,” and the first part of Thomas Adès “Dante” ballet.

To begin the Beethoven month at Walt Disney Concert Hall, however, Dudamel turned to another Beethoven work that has long obsessed him, the rarely heard complete incidental to Goethe’s tragedy, “Egmont,” which has the ever-relevant theme that matters most to Dudamel — the profound joy that arises from victory over injustice. For this, he had the assistance of actress Cate Blanchett and playwright Jeremy O. Harris.

Here, too, Beethoven serves as a musical, spiritual and political touchstone. “Egmont” comes in the middle of Beethoven’s career, his heroic period. The historic Egmont was a Flemish general, a hero to his people in the Netherlands who attempts to serve the 16th ^{century Spanish emperor, Philip II, and rife for Goethe’s romanticizing. A remarkable polymath, Goethe himself served as an advisor to Weimar’s Grand Duke, brilliantly balancing political compromises with literature’s highest spiritual callings. He admired the spirit of liberty, for instance, yet opposed the French Revolution and supported Napoleon, believing that ensuing populist disorder would then, as it turned out, require autocracy.}

Goethe’s Egmont must learn to love before he can act to defend his people against Philip. The hero goes to his death at the point of self-realization that only in sacrifice may he ascend to and become a symbol for glory.

In the play, which begins as historic epic and becomes, for Goethe, increasing personal and interior, Egmont gains perspective on the complexities of his place in politics by contemplating nature and being. Among Goethe’s many passions were scientific study. He immersed himself in the natural world and befriended the pioneering German environmentalist, Alexander von Humboldt.

It could, thus, have been hardly coincidence that Dudamel opened the program with the premiere of “Humboldt’s Nature” by Venezuelan composer Ricardo Lorenz. The five-part, 25-minute symphonic poem for a large orchestra rife with percussion follows Humboldt’s account of his journey to Venezuela in 1799.

Symphonic glitter sets the stage of New Andalusia. Guacharo birds shriek. Latin rhythms take us to coastal regions. Sandy percussion accompanies a journey up the Orinoco River. Throughout, Lorenz’s orchestra, imaginatively colored, reflects vast nature. But the score ends with the shock of humanity, as Humboldt encounters enslaved Cubans.

The one thing Goethe lacked was a sophisticated ear for music (and possibly sound). But Humbolt’s account could practically be the starting place for Beethoven’s “Egmont,” begun a decade after the Venezuelan encounter. In the popular overture, elicitation of tumult concludes, with startling exhilaration, in the kind of grand Beethovenian triumph that never fails to excite. The incidental music, though, offers needed theatrical context. That includes two songs for Egmont’s love, Klärchen, four entr’actes, a melodrama for Egmont as he approaches his execution and, powerfully as only Beethoven can, a battle cry.

Goethe has never lost relevance. Matthew Bell’s new biography, “Goethe’: A Life in Ideas,” has given Germany’s Shakespeare new attention. One of the greatest plays of our time, Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia,” confronts Goethe’s “Elective Affinities” with our own elective affinities. One of the greatest operas of our time, John Adams’ “Doctor Atomic,” contemplates the creation of nuclear weapons as the functioning of a latter-day Faust, Goethe’s most lasting creation.

“Egmont,” too, readily speaks to us and it has been on Dudamel’s agenda for years. While performances of the complete play with the incidental music are rare, a half-hour concert version, also rare but less so, proves effective. Dudamel did it with the Berlin Philharmonic in June, a performance of which can be viewed on the orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall. The narrator is a young Austrian actor, Felix Kammerer, who is riveting (as he is in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein”). He adds a slight introduction revealing Egmont’s indecisiveness, but otherwise sticks to Goethe.

Cate Blanchett narrates Beethoven’s incidental music to “Egmont” with Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

(Elizabeth Asher / Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Harris, who is the author of “Slave Play,” has other elective affinities. He has created a new, effusively angry text for Blanchett. It begins as a dirge. Battalions are gathered on the banks of Portland, Ore.; Bethlehem; Charlotte, N.C.; Tehran; Minneapolis; Brussels. The Egmont Harris references is the historical one, not Goethe’s. The text become a bald call for action.

Much of it was lost to the audience, since reverberant amplification gave heroic heft to Blanchett’s voice at the cost of intelligibility. But her intensity, whether seated on the lip of the stage, where she begins, or standing in the organ loft where she winds up at the end, spoke for itself.

Beethoven’s music improves Goethe, extracting its humanity and frailty, and Dudamel’s performance probed its profound inevitability of good triumphing over evil. Soprano Elena Villalón added lithe touch to Klärchen’s songs, sung in their original German.

But Beethoven can do little for Harris’ and Blanchett‘s agitprop. Theirs is the necessity of the moment to act rather than indulge an Egmont who has to feel before he can respond. Although Blanchett was the joyless conductor in the film “Tár,” her curious little dance in the organ loft at the moment of musical triumph may have meant recovered joy or simply that the world, in which we are no longer one, has gone crazy.

Equally peculiar was a performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto that served as transition from “Humboldt” to “Egmont.” One of the concerto highlights of Dudamel’s music directorship in L.A. is a performance, eight years ago, of the concerto’s mood-shifting eloquence, for which he and Mitsuko Uchida were in wondrous accord.

This time, the soloist was the stellar emerging pianist Yunchan Lim, who keeps to himself, either lost in dreamy reverie or, like a jumpy teenager, in ferocious attack mode. Having little choice, Dudamel let Lim be. Like Egmont, Lim’s glory may one day arrive when he can express purpose for his actions.

Slowly, LeBron James put on a pair of ice bath toe booties and dipped his left foot and then his right foot into a bucket that had been prepared for him following a Lakers game at Crypto.com Arena. His longtime personal trainer and athletic performance coach, Mike Mancias, next wrapped both of James’ knees and his back in ice.

James closed his eyes for a few seconds and leaned back in his chair as the media gathered around him for his postgame interview.

This was just another step James has taken to care for his body, a step that shows the lengths he takes in the maintenance of his 6-foot-9 frame that has helped him have an illustrious 23-year career, longer than any player before him.

“Obviously I didn’t know it would be 23 years. I didn’t know that, but I know I didn’t want to have no six- or seven-year career. I can’t become legendary in six or seven years,” James told The Times. “I always had a mission. When I knew I could play this game at a high level, like, going to Chicago and playing with MJ [Michael Jordan] and all those guys when I was a sophomore [in high school]. And then when I went up to Cleveland and played against the Cavs when I was a junior and I was like, ‘Oh … I belong. I belong.’ I knew I still had to learn and I still had to continue to get my body right, continue to learn the game and nuances.

“But I was playing against NBA guys for a long time and I was like, ‘If I get the opportunity to crack the league, if I get the opportunity to showcase what I’m able to do, the only thing that can stop me is if I don’t take care of my body. The only thing that can stop me from being the greatest or one of the greatest to ever play this game is if I do not take care of myself.’ I did take care of my body. That’s it.”

James’ dedication to self care has become legendary in the sporting world. He is known to invest moire than $1.5 million annually for a comprehensive approach to keeping his body fine-tuned.

James considers himself a biohacker: someone who uses science and technology to make their body function better and more efficiently.

He talked about using Normatec leg compression boots, hyperbaric chambers to restore oxygen, cryotherapy, red-light therapy and other cutting-edge technologies to maintain elite performances and longevity at the age of 41.

He talked about prioritizing sleep and nutrition, avoiding artificial sugars and fried foods.

When he missed the first 14 games this season because of sciatica, James cut back on drinking wine, one of his passions, in order to get his body back to full health.

“Obviously it’s gotten even more detailed as me and Mike have built a program,” James said. “It’s been 22 years of our program.”

LeBron James jokes with trainer Mike Mancias while sitting out a game with the Cavaliers in 2010 to rest for playoffs.

(Mark Duncan / Associated Press)

It has worked for James to the highest order, as he has become the leading scorer in NBA history with 42,975 points.

Though his streak of being voted as a starter to the All-Star team was snapped at 21 years in a row, James still extended his NBA record to 22 selections when the coaches voted him in as a reserve for the tournament that will be played Sunday at Intuit Dome.

Over his career, James said, he’s received plenty of offers to try new ways to do his physical therapy. For the most part, he has said no.

“It’s all type of … that is presented to you,” James said, smiling. “[People] are always trying to get you to do s—. But once we got the connection, it wasn’t really many people that we allowed to come and be in what we do. We had a couple of guys obviously throughout the process that helped along the way. But, nah, we knew what we wanted to do.”

When James was growing up in Akron, Ohio, and it became obvious he was athletic, he said his uncle, Curt, encouraged him to start taking care of his body immediately. His mother, Gloria, advised him to listen.

“I used to stretch before I went to bed and when I woke up, when I was like 10 or 11 years old,” James said. “My uncle Curt, my mom’s younger brother, used to make me do 100 calf raises a day and he used to make me do 50 pushups and 50 situps a day.”

James shook his head and laughed recalling those moments.

LeBron James glides past Kings forward DeMar DeRozan for a reverse dunk during a game in December.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

“He told me I had to get my calves stronger if I wanted to be great,” James said, smiling. “I never knew what that meant, whatever. But yeah, my uncle used to tell me to do that, and then a good friend of mine used to always tell me to stretch before I got in the bed and after I got out of the bed when I woke up the next morning. I don’t know, man. I’ve been doing this for a long time.”

At no time during all this did James know what that advice would mean for his future.

“No, but I had people that I trusted,” James said. “I was icing after every game my rookie year. I was 18 years old. I was icing after games when I was a high school senior, a high school junior. Like, I was lifting [weights] my senior year.”

James told a story about playing in an AAU tournament with Kendrick Perkins when he was 14 and how some players were sitting in the stands eating fast food.

“They were eating McDonald’s,” James said, smiling, “and I was eating fruits.”

Jason Kidd, the Hall of Fame point guard who’s now coach of the Dallas Mavericks, was an assistant with the Lakers when James led them to the 2020 championship, and the two were teammates on the 2008 USA Olympic team that won the gold medal in Beijing.

Kidd has watched how James is averaging 22 points on 50.2% shooting, 7.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds this season and can’t help but marvel at how he continues to be a highly effective player with so many miles on his body.

“He’s had some injuries, but he’s taken care of his body, he’s always prepared himself for the marathon,” Kidd said. “But I think it’s the mental side. I think that’s the hardest part is to wake up and say, ‘Do I need to go play against a 20-year-old or a 19-year-old?’ He’s won championships, he’s been MVP, he’s been the face of the league. He’s a billion-dollar company.

“So, it’s the mental side. Understanding that he loves competition and he loves the game of basketball. So I think for him to do it at 41 is incredible.”

When the Lakers faced Kidd’s Mavericks on Thursday night, James was back in the lab early getting his body ready about six hours before tipoff.

LeBron James talks with assistant coach Jason Kidd during a 2020 playoff game.

(Associated Press)

It didn’t matter that it was the last game before the weeklong All-Star break. In James’ eyes, if you take care of your body, it will take care of you.

“I woke up this morning, went straight downstairs, got a stretch, did a little activation, like a little small lil’ lift” of weights, James said after the game. “Then I iced after that. Then I used the Normatec to pump my legs for an hour. Then I took a nap in the hyperbaric chamber for an hour and a half. Then I got in the cold tub, again, before I came here. So, I started my process here when I got here at 1:15 and prepared for a 7 o’clock game. It’s just around the clock.”

And as it turned out, all his work led to yet another record for James.

His triple-double of 28 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds made him the oldest player to accomplish the feat, pushing him past Karl Malone, who was 40 when he did it in November 2003.

And now comes another record with the All-Star Game.