performance

In March, Bad Bunny performed his first-ever concert in Asia when he played in from of 2,300 fans in Tokyo as part of Spotify’s Billions Club Live series.

Starting April 8, a filmed version of that performance will be available on Spotify for the “Nuevayol” artist’s millions and millions of fans not in attendance.

The show, officially titled “Billions Club Live With Bad Bunny: A Concert Film,” was billed as a special stop in the Grammy-winning performer’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour” — which kicked off with a November concert in the Dominican Republic and has since sold out stadiums across Latin America and Australia. He notably didn’t include dates in the United States as part of the tour.

Footage of the Japan concert swept social media, as it showed Bad Bunny doing a never-before-seen salsa rendition of his 2018 collaboration with Drake. He also notably sang his 2021 single “Yonaguni,” which features lyrics in Japanese.

The concert film will premiere two months after the “Callaíta” singer nabbed a historic album of the year win at the Grammy Awards and became the first fully Spanish-language act to headline the Super Bowl halftime show — which was lauded for its potent star power and political messaging.

Bad Bunny’s generational run looks to have no immediate end in sight, as he will kick off the European leg of his world tour with a May performance in Portugal before making stops in Spain, England, Sweden, France, Poland and Italy.

But the “Dakiti” artist’s newsworthy year hasn’t been limited to the music world.

In February, it was announced that Bad Bunny will star — alongside Academy Award-winning actor Javier Bardem and multiple-time nominees Edward Norton and Viggo Mortensen — in Puerto Rican rapper Residente’s directorial debut, “Porto Rico.” The film, which has yet to announce a release date, will explore the complicated colonial history of Puerto Rico through Western/historical drama storytelling devices.

British singer-songwriter Lola Young is opening up about the “breaking point” that steered her toward recovery.

The “Messy” hitmaker told Rolling Stone in a recent interview that she was grateful that she fainted onstage late last year, and framed the scary ordeal as a wake-up call. “What do you call that? Like, a breaking point which allowed me to then be able to be here today, allowed me to be better for my fans, better for the future, and better for myself,” she told the outlet.

In September, the Grammy winner collapsed onstage during a performance at the All Things Go Music Festival in New York City. Following the health scare — which drew speculation and worry from fans who’d watched the viral video of Young stumbling and dropping her microphone before falling backward — Young canceled the remainder of her tour, which included a 21-stop North American run.

The tour, in support of her third album, “I’m Only F— Myself,” was expected to conclude with two dates at the Hollywood Palladium in December. Instead, she spent two months seeking holistic addiction treatment in a facility that prioritizes psychotherapy. She’s now attending 12-step meetings and working with a sponsor.

When announcing that she would have to nix forthcoming performances to prioritize her health, Young told fans on social media that she was “going away for a while” and apologized, writing, “I love this job and I never take my commitments and audience for granted so I’m sorry to those who will be disappointed by this. … I really hope you’ll give me a second chance … once I’ve had some time to work on myself and come back stronger.”

Young told Rolling Stone that, naturally, some folks were really angry that she’d canceled her tour. “[I]t was a decision that I had to make, and it was sad that I had to do that. What else was I going to do, die? That was the reality of where my addiction was heading.”

This wasn’t the first health incident for Young, who is known for her chart-topping breakout hit, “Messy.” The budding megastar performed at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in 2025, and during her Weekend 1 performance, she struggled to get through. The heat lingered around 100 degrees, and while Young danced and sang, she began to visibly gag and retch before running off the stage and asking for a bucket.

The acclaimed artist has been candid about her struggles with cocaine and alcohol addiction and often explores those struggles in her lyrics. In the song “d£aler,” a bouncy goodbye letter to her drug dealer, she sings about spending the day trying to be sober but feeling miserable nonetheless: “I wanna get away, far from here / Pack my bags, my drugs, and disappear.” … “Pack my bags and tell my dealer I’ll miss him.”

Young also sat down with the Times UK and said that she didn’t want to say too much but confirmed that she was in recovery for drug addiction. “But what I would say is that recovery is an ongoing process. I’m not the finished article, but I’m doing a hell of a lot better.”

More than a century after the Gilded Age, we have entered another: The gilded age of Trump.

A little over a year after President Trump was sworn into office for the second time, the country has borne witness to a striking aesthetic makeover of the White House and Washington, D.C. A week ago, when the Trump-packed Commission of Fine Arts approved a 24-karat commemorative coin stamped with Trump’s image, that makeover ascended to staggering new heights.

The coin, which breaks with the country’s longstanding tradition of not featuring a living person on its currency, joins a swiftly growing list of other Trumpian imprints on arts and culture, including architectural choices deemed gaudy and garish by experts and laypeople alike.

These include the conspicuous gilding of the Oval Office; the paved-over Rose Garden; the so-called Presidential Walk of Fame along the White House West Colonnade; the bulldozing of the East Wing and the plans for a $400 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom that will dwarf the original building; a proposed 250-foot-tall “Triumphal Arch” to be constructed in Washington, D.C., on a roundabout near the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery; a desire to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building a glaring shade of white; the imminent creation of a Garden of American Heroes populated with more than 250 life-size statues of historical figures including pop-culture icons like Alex Trebek; the addition of Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and the decision to close the beloved venue for a remodel that many fear will rival that of the East Wing.

That’s not to mention his crusade to erase a “woke” mentality from the Smithsonian Institution’s 21 museums by policing what kind of art can and cannot be displayed; his efforts to eradicate mentions of slavery in exhibits staged by the National Park Service; his face alongside George Washington’s on National Park Passes; and the many other places his face is draped on giant banners throughout the Capitol city.

Plenty of people are on guard against these changes. This week a coalition of eight cultural heritage and architectural organizations, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Institute of Architects, filed a lawsuit to require the Trump administration to comply with historic preservation laws and get congressional authorization before making any changes to the Kennedy Center.

“The Kennedy Center is not a personal project of any president. It is a national cultural monument built to honor John F. Kennedy and to serve the American people. Federal law requires transparency, expert review, and public participation before it can be fundamentally altered,” Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, said in a statement.

The same could be said of the White House, the Smithsonian, the NPS and the United States Mint. But Trump doesn’t care about due process, congressional approval or the courts. Time and again he has shown his willingness to go it alone when making big decisions that affect not only America but the world. This includes his actions in Venezuela and Iran. But if he decides he wants to take the Kennedy Center “down to the steel,” as he once threatened, there isn’t really anything that can stop him.

The gilded age of Trump proves that the look of things really does affect how the country sees itself — and how it acts as a result of its new self-image. Golden gaudiness conjures thoughts of empire and imperial rule, but it is also unserious and incidental, bombastic and self-centered. The Trump aesthetic screams, “Me, me, mine!” A willingness to tear down historic structures without care for their symbolic meaning reveals an inability to learn from the past, a tendency that has proved frighteningly perilous.

Will the leader who rises after Trump tear down all that Trump has built? And even if they do, can the damage really be undone?

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt, keeping it small and simple for posterity. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.

FRIDAY

Laura Aguilar
The late trailblazing photographer’s exploration of her queer Chicana identity against the natural backdrops of Southern California and the Southwest is on display in the exhibition “Body and Landscape.” More of the artist’s work will be on display starting Sept. 20 in “Laura Aguilar: Day of the Dead.”
Through Sept. 7. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. huntington.org

Cassandra Kulukundis holds the first-ever Oscar for casting for her work on “One Battle After Another” during the Academy Awards, March 15, 2026.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The Art of Casting
With Cassandra Kulukundis recently winning the first Oscar in the category for her work on Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” what better time to learn more about the subject? The academy’s video presentation goes inside the casting process with casting directors discussing their craft and includes previously unseen auditions and screen tests.
Through July 6. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

Brahms & Beethoven
Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov performs Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 3” as Paavo Järvi conducts the L.A. Phil in Brahms’ “Second Symphony” and Schumann’s “Overture, Scherzo and Finale.”
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

A performance of “Escape.”

(Traj George Simian)

Escape
Diavolo reprises this production featuring its trademark blend of dance, movement and storytelling as 22 artists challenge their abilities against a variety of architectural structures.
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 6 p.m. Sundays, through June 14. L’Espace Diavolo, 616 Moulton Ave. diavolo.org

Arshile Gorky: Horizon West
In the summer of 1941, the Armenian immigrant artist, his soon-to-be wife Agnes “Mougouch” Magruder and the artist and furniture designer Isamu Noguchi drove from New York City to L.A. Gorky was emerging as one of the most important figures in the nascent Abstract Expressionism movement, and his cross-country adventures had an enormous impact on his art, which is explored in depth in this exhibit. A selection of landscapes include Gorky’s rich, surrealistic paintings and drawings from before, during and after the life-changing trip. (Jessica Gelt)
Through April 25. Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood, 8980 Santa Monica Blvd. hauserwirth.com

A New Song: Langston Hughes in the West
The exhibition reveals Hughes’ time spent in California, Nevada and Mexico during the Great Depression, World War II and into the 1950s, when he produced significant work, including lectures, film scripts, plays and his first book of short stories.
Through Sept. 13. California African American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park. caamuseum.org

The White Album
Arthur Jafa’s 2018 30-minute experimental film, a social critique of whiteness, uses found and produced footage to demonstrate how the creative work of Black Americans has been co-opted by white culture throughout history.
Through Aug 30. UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. hammer.ucla.edu

SATURDAY

Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,”starring Takashi Shimura, from left, Toshiro Mifune and Yoshio Inaba.

(Janus Films)

Darkness and Humanity: The Complete Akira Kurosawa
The 1954 classic “Seven Samurai,” starring Toshiro Mifune, kicks off this comprehensive retrospective of the great Japanese filmmaker’s work.
6 p.m. Saturday; series continues through May 30. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

from rock to rock… aka how magnolia was taken for granite
Choreographer Jeremy Nedd’s exploration of the hidden poetry, virtuosic freedom and ownership features five performers examining “the Milly Rock,” a viral dance move.
8 p.m. UCLA Macgowan Hall, Freud Playhouse, 245 Charles E. Young Drive East. cap.ucla.edu

A Queer Arcana: Art, Magic, and Spirit On
The exhibition collects an intergenerational group of Queer artists whose work examines hidden and mystical knowledge to find sources of connection and transformation.
Through Oct. 18. Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 Museum Drive psmuseum.org

Ralph Steadman
More than 140 original artworks and ephemera, including sketchbooks, handwritten notes and personal photographs are included in “And Another Thing,” a traveling exhibition tracing six decades of the artist and illustrator’s career.
Through May 9 Torrance Art Museum, 3320 Civic Center Drive torranceartmuseum.com

Tonality
The vocal ensemble performs “Refuge/Requiem,” a program that includes Caroline Shaw’s 17th-century-influenced contemporary work “To the Hands,” and “1605 Requiem,” composed for the funeral rites of Empress María by Tomás Luis de Victoria. Presented with the Wallis.
7:30 p.m. All Saints’ Beverly Hills, 504 N. Camden Drive thewallis.org

SUNDAY
To Sleep With Anger
Written and directed by the protean Charles Burnett, this film does more than vividly illuminate South-Central’s rarely portrayed Black middle class. A deft domestic horror story, it’s a contemporary tale with a folkloric twist that has old friend Harry (Danny Glover) visiting a married couple and gradually revealing himself to be a trickster with trouble on his mind. With a terrific ensemble headed by Mary Alice and Paul Butler as the couple in question. (Kenneth Turan)
7 p.m. The 35mm screening includes a Q&A with the filmmaker and Ashley Clark, author of “The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films.” Beginning at 6 p.m. Clark will sign copies of the book. Billy Wilder Theater, UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. cinema.ucla.edu

TUESDAY
Philip Glass’ Cocteau Trilogy
Pianists and siblings Katia and Marielle Labèque perform the composer’s triptych inspired by the films of Jean Cocteau. Part of the LA Phil’s “Body and Sound” festival.
8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Mary Halvorson
The contemporary jazz musician, guitarist and composer and new quartet project Canis Major — featuring Dave Adewumi on trumpet, Henry Fraser on bass and Tomas Fujiwara on drums — perform an evening of music designed for deep listening and total immersion.
7 p.m. Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu

Arts anywhere

New releases of arts-related media.

Album cover for “Evening Light: Raga Cycle I.”

(Cantaloupe Music)

Evening Light: Raga Cycle I
The first release of an eight-album series in which American composer and pianist Michael Harrison collaborates with a global assortment of artists combining Eastern and Western musical traditions. Each chapter represents three hours of day or night following the Indian raga time cycle. For “Evening Light,” Quebec-based Brazilian vocalist Ina Filip co-composed the music with Harrison. Also appearing on the album are American composer Elliot Cole on synthesizer, French composer Benoit Rolland on electro-acoustics and Bangladeshi tabla virtuoso Mir Naqibul Islam. Cantaloupe Music: download ($10).

Book jacket for “Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn’t Easy” by Daniel Okrent.

(Yale University Press)

Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn’t Easy
Part of Yale University Press’ Jewish Lives series, Daniel Okrent’s new biography of the award-winning composer-lyricist who took Broadway musicals to new heights “is a brisk, engaging read that avoids hagiography,” writes Julia M. Klein in a review for The Times. “Okrent highlights the emotional frailties that coexisted with the brilliance and generosity. He seeks to liberate Sondheim’s reputation from the encrustation of myth and to demystify his relationships, while offering a succinct analysis of his achievements. That’s a tall order for a compact book, especially given its subject’s long, complicated life. Okrent’s failings are, unsurprisingly, primarily those of omission.” Yale University Press: 320 pages, $35

Martha Graham Dance Company: We Are Our Times
A two-part documentary goes behind the scenes with the troupe as it prepares for its 100th anniversary celebration. Producer-directors Peter Schnall and Cyndee Readdean followed the dancers from rehearsal to premiere on a global tour, capturing their artistic routines and everyday lives.
Episode 1, “American Spirit,” 9 p.m. Friday; Episode 2, ““Athletes of God,” 9 p.m. April 3 on PBS. Streaming at pbs.org and on the PBS app.

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry is photographed in May 2019 with a model of the Grand Avenue Project at his L.A. offices.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Can downtown L.A. still benefit from the vision of late-great architect Frank Gehry, who put so much time and energy into lifting the area up? Times classical music critic Mark Swed says yes in an optimistic column noting that, “So many plans Frank Gehry imagined for L.A. still remain. Gehry bequeathed blueprints and models, sketches and concepts, for his large and devoted team of younger architects and next-generation visionaries equipped to fabricate our way out of angst.” The time to build, Swed writes, is now.

Freelance writer Jane Horowitz got the skinny on the fifth edition of High Desert Art Fair, which arrives in Pioneertown this weekend, transforming “the rooms of the historic Pioneertown Motel into exhibition spaces for 20 galleries and publishers, while expanding into a broader mix of programming — something akin to a mini Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. This year’s edition includes an opening night party with a DJ set by street artist Shepard Fairey, panel discussions, guided meditation and even a sound bath.”

Monty Python” alum Eric Idle poses for a portrait at the Hollywood Pantages.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Malia Mendez sat down with British comedy legend Eric Idle to talk about his spoof musical “Spamalot,” which arrives at the Pantages more than a decade after its last stop at the stage. Over a margarita with a side of chef olives, Idle opened up to Mendez about “his earliest forays into comedy, his legendary run and subsequent break with his former ‘Monty Python’ castmates, and why ‘Spamalot’ arrives in L.A. at the perfect time.”

Times theater critic Charles McNulty headed to the Matrix Theatre to watch Rogue Machine’s production of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 drama “Fairview.” He writes that the play is “a shape-shifting work that eludes an audience’s assumptions at every turn,” and concludes that the new production “may struggle with the slipperiness of Drury’s writing.” The dramatic construction, however, is solid enough to withstand some of the overly broad strokes of the staging.”

Richard Neutra imagined his first Los Angeles project, the Jardinette Apartments, as a prototype for future garden apartment buildings.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Sam Lubell wrote a fascinating story about the painstaking rehabilitation of Modernist architect Richard Neutra’s first L.A. commission: the Jardinette Apartments in Hollywood. The building was hailed a structural and technical breakthrough when it opened in 1928, but it soon dropped from public view and sank into disrepair. The new owner spent more than $5 million on the historic preservation project and the complex may soon go on the market.

The Hammer Museum Gala on Oct. 8, 2022, in Los Angeles.

(Michelle Groskopf / For The Times)

The Hammer Museum has announced the honorees for its annual gala. They are artist Betye Saar and television creator Darren Star. The highly anticipated event, set to take place in the Hammer’s garden courtyard on May 2, aims to honor impactful artists while raising funds to support the museum’s exhibitions and public programs.

The 80th Ojai Music Festival, set to take place June 11-14, recently announced this season’s programming and artistic collaborators. Much of this year’s event will be devoted to unpacking and performing works that have been central to the 2026 festival’s music director‘s artistic life. “Esa-Pekka Salonen is one of the most vibrant and adventurous creative forces in our musical world,” said Executive Director Ara Guzelimian in a statement. “It has been an absolute joy to dream up programs together that focus on numerous personal dimensions — his work as composer and conductor, his rich associations with and remarkable history in Los Angeles, the formative influence of his teachers and the giant musical figures of 20th century music, his deep friendships with many peer composers, and his championing of a new generation of composers.”

Washington National Opera Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, who was instrumental in the company’s decision to leave the Kennedy Center after Trump’s takeover, was inducted into the Opera Hall of Fame at the OPERA America Salutes Awards Dinner on March 20, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Stop the presses: That notorious Chevron gas station in Chinatown is charging $8.71 per gallon!

You thought the Oscars brought awards season to an end? Think again. The iHeartRadio Music Awards took place Thursday night with performances and appearances by Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Sombr, Weezer, Alex Warren, Shaboozey and John Mellencamp, among other stars. Here’s a glimpse at the best looks from the red carpet and the best moments of the show itself, which took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

The Show

Lainey Wilson performs onstage at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Taylor Swift accepts the pop album of the year award onstage at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Miley Cyrus accepts the Innovator Award onstage at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

John Mellencamp, right, performs onstage at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Terry Ellis, from left, Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones of En Vogue perform at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

Red Carpet

Miley Cyrus on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Ella Langley on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Shaboozey and Kehlani on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Cheryl Porter on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Terry Ellis of En Vogue on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Teddi Mellencamp on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Brianna Mazzola and Wennely Quezada of ‘3QUENCY’ on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Sublime on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Brent Smith and Zach Myers of Shinedown on the red carpet for the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Graham Stanush, Sebastian Gonzalez, Matty Bielawski and London Hudson of Return to Dust on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Public murals are among the best ways to honor our heroes, which is why dozens of murals of civil rights icon Cesar Chavez dot California’s landscape. Those images are now deeply upsetting after shocking revelations published in a recent New York Times investigation that allege Chavez sexually abused girls as young as 12 and raped his fellow labor organizer Dolores Huerta.

According to the nonprofit Travel Santa Ana, the Chavez mural, created in 2008 to commemorate the launch day of the city’s KaBoom playground and Jerome Community Learning Garden, is “one of 30 murals around California that was commissioned by a project commemorating Cesar Chavez, initiated by Maria Shriver and former LA Mayor [Antonio] Villaraigosa.”

That’s 30 from a single project — the total number would be impossible to count. It’s hard to overstate the prominence of Chavez’s legacy in California, where his name and likeness are ubiquitous on the sides of bodegas, in parks, on street signs, on schools and memorialized in statues. He was considered a man of the people, which is why murals, created in unassuming local spaces, seemed especially fitting.

It’s now up to the public that revered him and is now grappling with the pain of his misdeeds to decide what should become of his painted image. California lawmakers announced their intention to rename the upcoming Cesar Chavez holiday “Farmworkers Day,” and that idea could be extended to murals of Chavez. These artworks could be remade to instead celebrate the achievements of the many people — especially the women and girls — who marched and fought for the labor movement.

I expect changes to these murals will come swiftly. A statue of Chavez at Fresno State has already been covered and will soon be removed. Maybe it can be melted down to create something new and uplifting. We can paint over the past, but we should never forget.

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt, looking forward to gazing at a mural of Huerta in the very near future.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY
Brokentalkers
Through music and dance, the Dublin-based theater company presents “Bellow,” the story of Irish accordionist Danny O’Mahony as he revisits key moments when mentorship, mastery of the craft and preservation of the art form influenced his path.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

Piano recital with Gilles Vonsattel, solo
Camerata Pacifica presents the third program of “Beethoven 32,” a three-year Beethoven cycle in which principal pianist Vonsattel performs all 32 of the composer’s piano sonatas.
7 p.m. Friday. Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Rd., Santa Barbara. 8 p.m. Sunday. The Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. cameratapacifica.org

Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter
Two of the playwright’s darkly comic one-acts, “Party Time” and “The Lover,” are paired.
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays, through April 26. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

SATURDAY
And the Beat Goes On
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles performs American classics from R&B, Motown, gospel and musical theater with Emmy Award-winning host and GMCLA alum Melvin Robert and soprano Nicole Heaston.
8 p.m. Saturday; 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Saban Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills. GMCLA.org

Cirque Kalabanté’s Afrique en Cirque
A celebration of African culture featuring acrobatics accompanied live Afro Jazz, percussion and kora.
8 p.m. Saturday. Carpenter Performing Arts Center, CSULB, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org; 3 p.m. Sunday. The Soraya, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge. thesoraya.org

Artist Todd Gray has a show at Perrotin.

(Kyungmi Shin)

Todd Gray
A solo exhibition of the artist’s photosculptures, “Portals,” continues his interest in the effects of colonization, the built environment and the natural world. Gray will be in conversation with LACMA chief executive Michael Govan on Tuesday.
Opening reception, 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday; conversation, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; exhibition continues through May 30. Perrotin Los Angeles, 5036 W Pico Blvd. perrotin.com

Convergence: Contemporary Artists of Armenian Descent
More than 20 artists, in work ranging from abstraction to conceptual installations, interrogate the complexities of their cultural identities.
Through Aug. 9. Forest Lawn Museum, 1712 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale. museum.forestlawn.com

Esther Chung and Ins Choi in “Kim’s Convenience” at the Ahmanson.

(Dahlia Katz)

Kim’s Convenience
Playwright Ins Choi stars in this production of his award-winning comedy drama, about a Korean family-run corner store in Toronto, that inspired the TV series. Directed by Weyni Mengesha.
Through April 19. Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Avenue, downtown L.A. centertheatregroup.org

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ singalong
Bop to the beat of this year’s two-time Oscar-winner — animated feature and original song — at this special Academy screening.
11 a.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

Miss Velma in the City of Angels
In the “Religion and Ritual” section of the ongoing Art of the West exhibition, this new installation features a custom-made dress worn by the charismatic co-founder of the Universal World Church in Los Angeles.
Opens Friday. The Autry, 4700 Western Heritage Way. Griffith Park. theautry.org

Ok, Olympia, Let’s Go!
Apollo Dukakis wrote and performs the one-act play “You and Me” alongside Kandis Chappell in a multimedia celebration of his sister, the late Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis. Playwright and filmmaker Graham Barnard hosts with special invited guests.
8 p.m. Saturday. 3 p.m. Sunday. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

Song Of The North
Hamid Rahmanian created this multimedia production using shadow puppetry and projected animation to reimagine the Persian epic “Shahnameh” about a fierce heroine and her quest to save her beloved.
2 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and March 28 to 29; 7 p.m. Saturday and March 29. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave. pasadenaplayhouse.org

The exhibition “Turner & Constable” at the Tate in London is featured in a new documentary on the two British painters.

Turner & Constable
Laemmle’s “Culture Vulture” series presents this documentary on two of Britain’s finest artists — J.M.W. Turner and John Constable — their rivalry as very different landscape painters and the current exhibition at the Tate in London. Directed by David Bickerstaff.
10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday; 7 p.m. Monday. Laemmle Glendale, 207 N. Maryland Ave.; Laemmle Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino; Laemmle Monica Film Center, 1332 2nd St. laemmle.com

Vertigo in Concert
Sarah Hicks conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing the Bernard Herrmann score for Alfred Hitchcock’s classical psychological thriller live to screen.
8 p.m. Saturday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

SUNDAY
Network
The American Cinematheque presents screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky’s prescient 1976 media satire for its 50th anniversary and in tribute to actor Robert Duvall.
7 p.m. Sunday. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com

Yefim Bronfman
The pianist performs selections from Schumann, Brahms, Debussy and Beethoven. Rescheduled from Feb. 11.
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Geoff Elliott in “Death of a Salesman” at A Noise Within.

(Daniel Reichert)

Death of a Salesman
A Noise Within co-artistic director Geoff Elliott steps into the shoes of Arthur Miller’s beleaguered working man.
Through April 19. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena. anoisewithin.org

Ebell + LA Festival: Powered by Women
A free celebration of art, activism and community spirit featuring performances, classes and crafts.
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Ebell of Los Angeles, 741 S. Lucerne Blvd. ebellofla.org

Akinsanya Kambon: The Hero Avenges
A conversation between the sculptor known for his work inspired by the Black diaspora, African histories and mythologies, and Hammer curator Pablo José Ramírez, plus the premiere of a new eponymous documentary directed by Gabriel Noguez and Sean Rowry and a book signing of the monograph “Akinsanya Kambon: The Hero Avenges.”
2 p.m. Sunday. UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. hammer.ucla.edu

MONDAY
Lang Lang Plays Beethoven
The piano virtuoso joins the Pacific Symphony for performances of Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 3” and Egmont Overture, plus Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, “From the New World.”
8 p.m. Monday. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. pacificsymphony.org

TUESDAY
Gerald Barry’s ‘Salome’
Thomas Adès conducts the L.A. Phil in the U.S. premiere of Barry’s new opera, based on the Oscar Wilde play.
8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

WEDNESDAY
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The illustrious troupe performs two alternating programs as part of its exclusive multiyear Southern California residency under the leadership of new Artist Director Alicia Graf Mack.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday to March 28; 2 p.m. March 28 to 29. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. musiccenter.org

THURSDAY
Level Up!
A trans tween feels like she can only be herself in her virtual world in the Latino Theater Company’s world premiere of a resonant, family-friendly play by Gabriel Rivas Gómez. Directed by Fidel Gómez.
Previews through April 3. Opens April 4 and runs through May 3. Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., downtown L.A. latinotheaterco.org

Arts Anywhere

BroadwayHD
Don’t get out to the theater as much as you’d like? This decade-old streaming service could be a viable supplement to your live theater habit. It offers a nice variety of shows from Broadway and the West End, off-Broadway, plays, musicals and virtually anything in between. BroadwayHD: $20 per month or $200 per year.

“Future Relic: Failures, Disasters, Detours, and How I Made a Career as an Artist” by Daniel Arsham.

(Simon & Schuster)

Future Relic: Failures, Disasters, Detours, and How I Made a Career as an Artist
Part memoir, part how-to, contemporary artist Daniel Arsham’s new book shares pragmatic advice on things like how to get a gallery, why you need a great lawyer, how to run a creative business and the importance of building a network of successful people. Bursting onto the scene more than 20 years ago with a bold vision across multiple mediums and accruing an eclectic list of big-name collaborators, including Merce Cunningham, Pharrell Williams, Pokémon, Tiffany & Co. and Cleveland Cavaliers, he quickly found both critical and commercial success. In a 2014 review of the artist’s work, Times contributor Sharon Mizota wrote, “Daniel Arsham’s casts of everyday or recently obsolete objects in sand, volcanic ash or various kinds of rock are like premature fossils, or perhaps eerie premonitions of ruin to come.” At a time when everything in the world is starting to feel obsolete, including us, “Future Relic” could find a place on the bookshelves of many would-be creatives. (Think of it as a companion to Rick Rubin’s “The Creative Act: A Way of Being.”). Authors Equity: 320 pp. $30.

Out of Vienna
The acclaimed Berlin-based chamber ensemble Leonkoro Quartet, formed in 2019, has released its stellar debut recording after winning a string of prestigious awards across Europe. An exploration of early 20th-century modernism in the Austrian capital, the album features compositions by Alban Berg, Anton Webern and Erwin Schulhoff. Alpha Classics: Available on CD ($19) or download ($9.25).

— Kevin Crust

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Spring is here, and with it many arts and culture entertainment choices.

Team Arts is publishing its Spring Arts preview this Sunday and we have been rolling out the stories online this week, beginning with a roundup of 26 of the most exciting L.A. concerts, theater, art and dance events this season. Theater critic Charles McNulty sat down with three of the city’s most prominent regional theater leaders to talk about how they are working to reimagine live theater in order to boost attendance and morale for the art form during this perilous time of dwindling attention spans and political instability. We also compiled a roundup of this year’s biggest museum openings to illustrate just how huge a year it is for art in L.A.

McNulty has been extra busy lately and has delivered a series of reviews. Harry Potter fans will enjoy his take on Daniel Radcliffe in Broadway’s “Every Brilliant Thing,” which McNulty calls “an ingenious and touching solo performance piece written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe on the subject of suicide — or more precisely, on the ordinary joys that militate against such a drastic step.”

McNulty also dropped in on the Geffen Playhouse to catch “Dragon Mama,” the second installment in a trilogy written and performed by Sara Porkalob about her Filipina American family. “To be frank, I wasn’t sure I was up for a trilogy on Porkalob’s family history. But after ‘Dragon Mama,’ I can hardly wait for ‘Dragon Baby,’ the third and final segment,” McNulty writes.

Pierre Adeli and Adam J. Jefferis in “The Adding Machine.”

(Bob Turton Photography)

Finally, McNulty checks in with the Actors’ Gang, which is running a production of Elmer Rice’s 1923 expressionist satire, “The Adding Machine.” The story, about “an accountant drone aptly named Mr. Zero who, after losing his job to an adding machine, kills his boss and is sentenced to death,” shares uncomfortable modern-day parallels with the threat to workers currently posed by AI, McNulty writes.

Classical music critic Mark Swed got the scoop on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new season — its first without revered music director Gustavo Dudamel. “For the first time in 64 years, the L.A. Phil will be without a music director, and with no one in waiting in the wings. But you may barely notice. In little more than three months, Dudamel, although newly installed as music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic, will be saying hello once again to his old band at Walt Disney Concert Hall for two weeks of Beethoven,” Swed writes.

Workers install the Francis Bacon 1969 “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” oil painting in the David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

I got to watch workers hang a $142.5-million Francis Bacon triptych on the walls of LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries. The paintings were gifted to the museum by its late trustee, Elaine Wynn. LACMA’s director, Michael Govan, said that part of her interest in supporting the new building was because she wanted the paintings to eventually belong to the public.

Dance writer Steven Vargas penned an interesting profile of choreographer Jacob Jonas and how his battle with Stage 4 lymphoma deepened his connection to his craft.

The news from the Kennedy Center does not stop coming. Late last week, we learned that President Trump had replaced Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell, who presided over the unfolding chaos at the center for a little over a year, with Matt Floca, the vice president of facilities operations at the center. This week, the Trump-appointed board voted to officially close the venue for two years. Trump had already announced his intentions, so the vote amounted to little more than a rubber stamp.

Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts — better known as the Soraya — on the campus of Cal State Northridge.

(The Soraya)

The Soraya announced its 2026-27 season, which includes six major debuts: singer and actress Audra McDonald, the Grammy Award-winning Snarky Puppy ensemble, Emmet Cohen’s jazz trio, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the National Symphony Orchestra (which will be roving in the wake of the Kennedy Center closure) and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. Also arriving at the Soraya, according to a note from its publicist, “Domingo Hindoyan leads the LA Phil and soprano Sonya Yoncheva in the world premiere of a new, LA Phil-commissioned song cycle from Miguel Farias. Farias’ incandescent new work is paired with Barber’s ‘Medea’s Dance of Vengeance’ and Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony.”

The first-ever museum survey of the legendary Chicana artist Ofelia Esparza (“Ofelia Esparza: A Retropective “) at Vincent Price Art Museum has been extended through May — now you have no excuse to not get yourself out to see it.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

In an incredibly detailed and truly impressive investigation, Reuters unmasked the legendary British street artist known as Banksy. I have mixed feelings on that one, which I may explore in a future newsletter.

This Morning presenter Alison Hammond has confessed to an ‘awful’ moment on Strictly Come Dancing.

Alison Hammond has revealed a mortifying Strictly Come Dancing confession, admitting to an embarrassing incident during her time on the programme.

The This Morning host shot to prominence on Big Brother in 2002, and has subsequently featured on shows including Strictly, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, and as presenter of The Great British Bake Off.

Alison graced the Strictly dance floor in 2014, paired with Aljaz Skorjanec, with the duo placing 10th overall. She has now owned up to “breaking wind” during the competition.

The 51-year-old recounted a particular incident from the show whilst appearing alongside Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar, comedian Richard Ayoade and Ready or Not 2’s Kathryn Newton on The Jonathan Ross Show, broadcasting tonight (Saturday).

She recalled performing to Robin Williams’ Friend Like Me during week seven of the competition, hoisting Aljaz off the ground at one stage, before confessing: “Oh, it was awful. At the time he couldn’t lift me so we thought don’t worry I’ll lift you, I can do it,” reports Birmingham Live.

“There is a moment where he does a cartwheel and I had to kind of pick him up and then help him over. He goes into this cartwheel and I pick him up and I break wind. I look at him and I go, ‘Let’s never talk about this again.’

“I didn’t realise that he’s quite a heavy guy – it literally took the wind out of me.” Alison has previously spoken about her experience on Strictly, and her bond with her former dance partner, Aljaz.

Amid several scandals Strictly has faced in recent years, including Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice being dropped from the professional line-up, Alison said: “I had Aljaz Skorjanec and he was absolutely incredible and as you know going back into Strictly.

“He was so amazing to me and gentle as well and kind. I’ve never experienced anything bad really.”

Elsewhere on The Jonathan Ross Show, Alison speaks about her new programme, Your Song.

She explains: “Your Song is exactly that. It’s your song that you feel emotionally attached to – it got you through a rough time at school or you know, it reminds you of someone who has passed on. A song that really means something to you.

“People come from around the country and perform it on a stage. People go on stage who have never sung before and they sing a song to a random audience. It’s just one of the most beautiful shows ever.”

The Jonathan Ross Show airs tonight from 10pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

Despite Liverpool’s dominance, the talk at half-time was of Mohamed Salah’s missed penalty. For a man who rarely misses, it was an unusually weak attempt and one that would certainly have got the headlines had Liverpool not progressed.

By now, Salah’s hunger for success is clear and it spoke volumes that instantly after his miss, he forced a save from Ugurcan Cakir.

And the Egyptian was involved in all three of Liverpool’s second-half goals to cap off a terrific all-round display.

First, Salah teed up Hugo Ekitike and it was Ryan Gravenberch who finished after Salah’s strike was saved, for Liverpool’s third.

The goal to make it 4-0 was a work of art as the 33-year-old used his left foot to curl a sublime effort into the top corner from outside the box.

“It says a lot about his mentality,” said Slot. “That was a difficult moment [when he missed the penalty] but then to come out in the second half with a great assist for Hugo and then score a trademark goal coming inside and finding the top corner.

“That tells you a lot about his mental strength, so credit to him and the whole team because adversity is something we can talk about when it comes to this season.”

Salah could have easily had more on a night where he became the first African to score 50 Champions League goals and recorded his 200th and 201st goal involvements for Liverpool at Anfield in all competitions (140 goals, 61 assists) in just 211 appearances.

There was some concern when Salah asked to be substituted in the 74th minute, with Slot saying afterwards that he had felt something.

But this was another timely reminder of his sheer class. Salah’s numbers alone are stupendous and whether or not he is still a Liverpool player come next season, there is little doubt that Liverpool have a stronger chance of knocking out PSG with him fit and firing.

Rainelle Krause, a coloratura soprano who went viral for singing a signature aria while hanging upside down from aerial silks, has died after a short hospitalization, her family announced “with immense sadness” Tuesday on social media. She was 37.

“Rainelle was a force in our lives, a brilliant talent defined by grit, fearlessness, curiosity, intelligence, integrity, and resilience,” the family said in a statement on Instagram. “Onstage, her voice matched the breathtaking power of her spirit. Offstage, she was a loving, caring soul whose vibrant energy lit up everyone around her. Our hearts are full from the years we shared, even as we’re shocked that her skyrocketing career was cut short.”

The family gave no further details about the circumstances of her death but said they were grateful to have Krause’s “preserved performances” to revisit. They said they would be planning a celebration of life “at a later date” but wanted to share the sad news now with friends and fans.

“Rainelle always gave her very best, pouring her heart into her art and those she loved,” the family said. “The best way we can honor her memory is by living her values every day. We encourage you to keep her memory alive by sharing her beautiful performances.”

Krause, whose website dubbed the Queen of the Night in “The Magic Flute” as her signature role, debuted in that role at the Metropolitan Opera over the holidays. She did the same last fall at Opera Atelier in Toronto.

“Although we knew Rainelle for only a matter of months, we will never forget her astonishing talent. We were awed by her bravery and daring and deeply moved by her willingness to draw all of us into her circle of friends,” Opera Atelier said Wednesday on social media. “Beautiful, generous, talented and kind, Rainelle is irreplaceable and will always hold a unique place in our memories.”

Born in Florida, Krause graduated from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with a bachelor’s in music and a master’s degree in music in vocal performance. The English National Opera said she trained with the Sankt Goar International Music Festival and Academy in Germany, the OperaWorks Advanced Artist Program in Los Angeles, Opera Las Vegas, the Taos Opera Institute and Opera Nova Costa Rica.

She performed with opera companies in Nashville and Atlanta, and in Texas she sang with the Dallas Opera, with symphony orchestras in Irving and Plano, and with a master chorale in Amarillo. She was set to debut with the Santa Fe Opera in May.

Internationally, Krause’s “The Magic Flute” performances included gigs in Berlin, Copenhagen and elsewhere. Roles outside of the Queen of the Night included the title role in “Lucia di Lammermoor,” the princess in “The Snow Queen,” Zerlina in “Don Giovanni” and Pat Nixon in “Nixon in China.”

As for her viral acrobatic performances, those appeared to have been on hold in the year before her death.

“I can’t even begin to express how much I miss aerial work,” Krause wrote last March on social media. “I’ve been dealing with horrendous shoulder impingement for months, I’ve been in physical therapy since last summer, I’m continuously learning new ways to attempt to build strength and fluency in order to support my VERY hypermobile joints.

“I am in pain most days,” she continued. “But I’m not giving up, I’m seeing incremental improvements, and I will fly again — this time working in concert with the body I have, instead of forcing myself to ‘just put in the work’ with all the wrong pathways.”

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.