The first ever FIFA World Cup halftime show attracted a mixed reaction from sports fans – with Wayne Rooney declaring the best part was when it ended, despite Madonna, Justin Bieber and more taking part
The 2026 Fifa World Cup halftime show sparked a mixed response from fans and critics(Image: FIFA via Getty Images)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup final halftime show has been brutally panned despite including performances from the biggest names in music. On Sunday night, Argentina faced off against Spain to fight for the official World Cup trophy, which was delivered to the pitch at the beginning of the match inside a Louis Vuitton case.
But the footballers were not the only major stars to appear on the pitch as a host of big names lined up to perform during the halftime interval. Anticipation was high as the musicians prepared to take centre stage in the first halftime show of its kind in the FIFA tournament’s history.
Pop music legend Madonna kicked off the celebrations with a lively performance of her 2000 single Music – weaving in elements of her recent hit, Bring Your Love. While Bring Your Love duet partner Sabrina Carpenter was nowhere to be seen during her performance, Madge had other major stars at her side to give her appearance an extra punch.
She sat in a pink jeep with Brazilian football legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho at the wheel as they drove into the stadium and took a bow after the chart superstar repeated her infectious chorus, “Music brings the people together.” Cameras then cut to members of The Muppets on stage performing an instrumental version of the White Stripes’ classic song “Seven Nation Army,” with help from Gustavo Dudamel.
Korean pop kings BTS then took over the spectacle, belting out their song Dynamite – before cameras cut to Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt in character as Ted Lasso and Coach Beard. The duo then introduced Canadian pop prince Justin Bieber, who took to the field to strum out his single, EVERYTHING HALLELUJAH.
As the halftime show continued, Shakira took to the centre of the stage alongside Burna Boy and an army of backing dancers to belt out Dai Dai – the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This was then followed by Coldplay and PS22 Chorus, who sang the uplifting track We Believe in Love – before all the performers and dancers took their final bow.
While no one can dispute that the halftime show was packed with major stars, some felt that the show was a disjointed mess – and they made their feelings very clear.
Wayne Rooney was among those to put the boot in. Asked what his favourite part of the show was, he deadpanned: “Mine was when it finished.”
He added: “I like a lot of those artists but I thought it was crap. I did, honestly, it just didn’t get me going, I wanted the football to come back on.” He later explained that he believed Justin Bieber’s performance was “flat”. He fumed: “I liked Burna Boy, I like Bieber, I like Shakira, but that was too flat.”
Liam Gallagher also shared his thoughts, wading in to praise Justin Bieber for his performance of Everything Hallelujah – but hinted he didn’t fully enjoy it. While he said Justin “rules”, he added: “This is like a bad trip… It’s a good job I’ve got my spiritual socks on or that halftime entertainment could have tipped me over the edge.”
However, many fans were thrilled by the halftime show, with one on X, formerly known as Twitter, remarking that the entrance of Madonna alongside Ronaldo and Ronaldinho was “Iconic”.
There was more music before kickoff, with a fun-filled closing ceremony show. IShowSpeed took to the stage to sing their song, Champions. And Post Malone thrilled fans with a trio of hits; Chrome Heartbreaker, Wow., and the song Sunflower – featuring Swae Lee.
As the kick-off grew closer, Jennifer Hudson appeared to give a powerful performance of the United States National Anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, while Spanish Brass performed La Marcha Real and Maria Becerra belted out the Argentinian national anthem. And amid all the celebrations, there was even time for Robbie Williams to join Laura Pausini and Nicole Scherzinger to sing the Fifa song, Desire.
Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where we’ve reached the “statement” portion of the summer.
After a busy wave of free agency, the Lakers made many of their offseason moves official this week: Jaden Hardy, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton and Kevon Looney are in; Austin Reaves is back; Deandre Ayton is out to Washington.
The onslaught of announcements, photo ops and new social media graphics bring us one step closer to our opening day roster. With the veteran pieces in place, we’ll take a look at how the young players are shaping up.
All things Lakers, all the time.
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Summer league showtime
Adou Thiero hurt his right wrist on a hard fall during the Lakers’ second summer league game this month. The bigger injury risk might be slamming his hand too hard on a dunk.
In his second season and his first summer league, Thiero wants to break into the rotation for the new-look Lakers. The high-flying forward’s progression after an injury-plagued rookie season is one of the key stories of the Lakers’ summer league.
Thiero did not make the strongest summer impression. During the first game at the California Classic in San Francisco, the 22-year-old looked like he was playing in fast-forward. Not in a good way.
Going three-for-10 from the field with nine points and multiple out-of-control drives to the rim, Thiero did not look like the returning NBA player on the Lakers’ summer league roster. He missed the team’s last game in San Francisco because he took a hard fall in the prior game.
Two months after he last played in a competitive game, Thiero said he was just so eager to play in the California Classic that he needed to “take it back a couple of notches and slow my game down.”
Thiero slowed down and soared higher in Las Vegas, where he had 20 points, four rebounds, three steals, two blocks and no turnovers in the Lakers’ Las Vegas summer league opener. The tape on his right wrist didn’t hold him back from slamming dunk after dunk after (windmill) dunk against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Gotta put on a show,” Thiero said on the Amazon Prime broadcast of his windmill dunk. “Lakeshow for a reason.”
Thiero, who is still working on improving his three-point shot, could add an athletic, energetic boost to the Lakers offense. With Walker Kessler filling the much-needed lob-catching center role, the Lakers have potential to be one of the league’s best offenses. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are just that good.
It’s on the defensive end that young players, including Thiero and rookie Cameron Carr, will need to prove their value. The Lakers, who added Ziaire Williams on a one-year deal Monday in their 15th roster spot, are looking for more defense on the wing.
Thiero said he has had conversations with the Lakers coaching staff about growing into an aggressive point-of-attack defender. His instructions are to “cause havoc,” he said. Thiero has delivered with a team-high nine steals during four summer league appearances.
Cameron Carr shoots over Lachlan Olbrich of the Golden State Warriors during a summer league game.
(Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
Carr has four blocks, including several on jump shots. With a 38-inch vertical and an 8-foot-8 standing reach, Carr used his length and athleticism to lead Baylor with 45 blocks last season.
But as he makes the transition to the NBA level, Carr said there’s still a lot for him to learn. The 184-pound guard plans to make the weight room his second home. He can get deflections but gets beat on drives. Catching up on the court starts with catching up to the speed of the game mentally.
“[In the NBA] they kind of rely on being smarter up top, and so it’s just trying to be ahead of everybody, trying to be ahead of the play, and be in the same space they’re in. We all flow as one,” Carr told reporters in Las Vegas. “I feel like right now, I’m a little bit behind because I’m a little bit younger. I mean, this is my first time practicing, this is the first time playing with them, so it was a little bit just trying to catch up.”
On offense, Carr is already showing important skills that could earn him a rotation spot. His jumper is pure and smooth. He went 11 for 32 from three-point range in his first four summer league appearances, averaging 17 points. He missed the second game in Las Vegas because of a minor thumb injury. At 6-foot-5 with a high, consistent release, Carr had Stan Van Gundy gushing about his shooting on the Amazon Prime broadcast in Las Vegas.
While eyes are fixated on the two most recent draft picks, the Lakers’ leading summer league scorer is unheralded Arthur Kaluma.
The South Bay Lakers forward had a standout 34-point performance against the Dallas Mavericks and is averaging 20 points in four summer league appearances. In Vegas, he’s shooting 76.2% from the field and 59% overall this summer.
Kaluma averaged 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for the South Bay Lakers last season. The 6-7 forward is a versatile scorer who can stretch the floor with his three-point shot. He shot 37% from three-point range in the G League last season and made six of 10 threes against the Mavericks in his summer league statement.
The 24-year-old, like many of his summer league teammates, is battling for his NBA dreams. Each team is allowed up to three two-way players at a time, and the Lakers have already announced their maximum allotment. Guard Chris Mañon, who finished second in G League defensive player of the year voting last season, re-signed, and rookies Peter Suder and AK Okereke got their first professional contracts.
But that doesn’t mean all three are locked in for the season. Last year, the Lakers waived Christian Koloko five months after re-signing the center to a two-way deal to add Drew Timme in his spot.
“The G can get grimy, you know what I’m saying?” Kaluma said to reporters in Las Vegas. “It’s a time where everybody is trying to fight for a position and there is a certain hunger that you have to have in order to be successful in the G. And I feel like that drive that I had my first year in it pushed me into this summer to really get better and work on my game and come here and have the opportunity to perform.”
These summer league games don’t officially count. For many in the league, the annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas is more about off-court schmoozing than the on-court product.
But with players trying to make a name for themselves and fighting for their jobs, don’t tell anyone these games don’t matter.
“In these summer league settings, there’s 29 other teams that are looking and watching these games,” Lakers summer league coach Ty Abbott said, “and this is opportunities for all of them. So there’s no room to not take a game seriously. Every possession matters, every rep, every drill, every practice.”
Poll results
Last week, we asked if you would like to see the Lakers retire LeBron James’ jersey. Here are the results:
Yes: 32 No: 54
Programming update
Summer league is winding down and I’ll be on vacation this week so the Lakers newsletter will rest for at least one week. Thus no new poll question for now. But if you like the polls — or have poll questions you want to ask your fellow newsletter subscribers — email me your thoughts at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com.
Favorite thing I ate this week
The bánh cuốn đặc biệt plate at Bánh Cuốn Lưu Luyến in Garden Grove.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
My Instagram algorithm has been feeding me unrelenting videos of Vietnamese food and this is the rare instance in which I’m not mad at social media platforms tracking my movements. At least they’re delivering something I want.
After being subjected to dozens of videos of people making Vietnamese steamed rice rolls (bánh cuốn), I decided to hunt some down for myself at Bánh Cuốn Lưu Luyến in Garden Grove. The bánh cuốn đặc biệt — a combination plate with plain steamed rice sheets, sheets stuffed with ground pork and mushroom and pieces filled with shrimp — satisfied my internet FOMO cravings. Every plate is complete with an egg roll, tofu, ham, mung beach shrimp cake and vegetables. I think even my mom would approve of this restaurant.
Yo-Yo Ma closed his eyes as he drew a bow slowly across his cello, playing the first notes of the Catalan lullaby “The Song of the Birds.” But this venue wasn’t like any vaulted concert hall he had toured globally.
At Maywood’s Riverfront Park, Ma was accompanied by the vroom of nearby traffic, cascade of a yucca rainstick and burbling hum of a water synth. An oblivious biker pushed past the world-renowned classical musician. The music flowed on.
Ma’s pop-up show in Southeast Los Angeles was part of his ongoing efforts to highlight people’s relationship to nature through music. He is among a new wave of artists who have been hosting shows along the L.A. River, a waterway with a complex history.
Yo-Yo Ma plays cello for a small group of artists and environmental advocates as part of the L.A. Phil Insight program, which aims to spark conversations around the arts.
(Halline Overby for InsightLA)
The river once terrorized Angelenos; its unconstrained flow was prone to flooding until most of its 51 miles were lined with concrete starting in the 1940s. While it’s been neglected, trashed and often forgotten over time, myriad governmental and nonprofit groups have been working for years to restore habitat, add park space and establish recreational elements (sometimes in conflict over the vision). And recently, creatives and activists, who dream of transforming it into a hospitable greenway, have been hosting arts events.
“Awareness around the river itself is changing,” said Maria Meija, executive director of L.A. River Arts, one of the organizations bringing attention to its history and cultural significance through public programming. She sees the serpentine stretch of the river as a natural highway that connects Angelenos from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. “We believe that if the river is properly activated as a green and cultural landscape, then Angelenos will fundamentally also get to experience Los Angeles in a different way.”
The River Solstice Festival was a family affair, with guests lounging on picnic blankets, watching puppet and opera performances and participating in birdwatching.
(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)
Visions of those possibilities were realized on the summer solstice in mid-June at L.A. River Arts’ inaugural River Solstice Festival at an Elysian Valley park abutting a soft-bottomed area of the river known as the Glendale Narrows.
Children and parents applauded the performances by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater and opera singer San Cha at Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park in what’s otherwise known as Frogtown. Attendees also gathered for guided bird-watching along the bike path by the water. Four-year-old Juni Wahab was entranced by the sight of the swallows and cormorants swooping low overhead and the rushing twists of water.
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1.Bob Baker Marionette Theater performs at the River Solstice Festival, clockwise from top left. Meanwhile, attendees enjoy the park and river as skateboarders roll down the bike path. (Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)
“It’s going so fast,” Wahab said, wiggling and pointing as her aunt held on tightly for safety. “There are so many waves.”
A quick stroll upstream, a group of DJs unaffiliated with the family-friendly festival hosted a day party aimed at Gen Z and millennial attendees, perched on one of the channel’s outcrops. Roughly a dozen people at the if-you-know-you-know event grooved and shuffled to EDM music while kayak enthusiasts paddled by and locals fished for carp.
Dominic Tsoi drove from Orange County to spin at the open decks hosted by the DJ collective Helipad Society. “This event really resonated with me, because it mixes two things that I really love, music and being a part of nature,” said Tsoi, adding the commute was worth it. An indoors club setting can feel stifling, but outdoors is where Tsoi feels free.
DJs have been putting on pop-up events like this one at the L.A. River and sharing videos of their sets on TikTok.
(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)
Just up the sloped bank, Antonio Solano and Erick Torres were sweeping outside their tent, where they live under the Glendale Freeway. Torres started noticing events at the river increase over the last three years.
“It gets people together,” said Torres, who’s been living above the river for over a decade. The music is a source of pleasure even as Torres and Solano stay vigilant to avoid city encampment sweeps. “It’s good, we enjoy it.”
Social media has driven interest in these DIY events as artists playing ambient music against a backdrop of verdant green have gone viral on TikTok.
“The attention has expanded to people who otherwise wouldn’t have given the L.A. River a second thought,” said Noah Klein, a lifelong Angeleno who has hosted popular river jams over the last two years through his Living Earth public art series.
Erika Apelgren wears a flower crown that she made at the River Solstice Festival.
(Ariana Drehsler/For The Times)
People don’t need approval to host these impromptu gatherings, said Dash Stolarz, director of public affairs at the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. The park agency oversees commercial use of the L.A. River recreation zones in Elysian Valley and the Sepulveda Basin, another section of soft-bottomed riverbed.
In her 25 years on the job, this was the first time Stolarz had heard of people using the riverfront for mini concerts. She was excited by the ingenuity of artists; as long as people aren’t charging for events, they don’t need permission.
“It’s exactly how we envisioned people enjoying the river,” Stolarz said. “We want people to use the river like a park.”
Though unlike a regular park, the L.A. River is primarily treated as a flood control channel, so park rangers carefully monitor for rain when the recreation zones open for leisure, like kayaking, during the summer.
While appreciating the L.A. River can be a good thing, social media algorithms can flatten the context around the waterway, particularly when it comes to demographic changes in nearby neighborhoods.
“The City of L.A.’s greatest skill is the erasure of its own history, and the L.A. River kind of feels like the perfect encapsulation of this,” Klein said.
Once home to mostly working-class Latino families, neighborhoods along the river in northeast L.A. have seen home prices surge for years. To preserve the history of these neighborhoods, Clockshop, an arts organization, has been collecting interviews with locals as part of a multimedia oral history project since 2023. The project includes everything from videos of an Indigenous musician performing a song about water in the Tongva language to brothers worrying about the future of their family’s 60-year-old pickle business in the face of gentrification.
Jon Christensen, director of the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies at UCLA, said river revitalization can be part of a “green gentrification cycle” as new development pushes out old communities. Like the chicken-and-egg paradox, it’s hard to tell which comes first: the amenities surrounding the L.A. River or the more affluent people seeking them.
Yo-Yo Ma, who hosts a podcast called “Our Common Nature,” chats with attendees at his intimate river concert. Human connection to the natural world is among his passions.
(Halline Overby for InsightLA)
Christensen hopes artists engaging with the river spurs conversation for more equitable green investments that benefit communities and the environment. “When people are more connected to nature, they want to support nature more,” Christensen said of his studies on how people connect to the outdoors. “It’s really kind of a virtuous cycle there.”
Cindy Donis, a water organizer with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, said artwork can also raise awareness around inequities. While there are aspirations to turn the river into a greenbelt, nightmarish pollution incidents have still haunted Southeast L.A. communities.
Ma’s performance was nearly canceled in May due to 25,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled into the L.A. River after a pipeline rupture in Boyle Heights. Weeks later, the Lineage warehouse fire sent even more debris and pollution downstream. Donis said multiple people reached out with complaints of a foul smell emanating from the river. Miles away, some at the River Solstice Festival wore masks due to poor air quality caused by the fire.
Charles Kelley with his daughter Zirah Kelley pose along the L.A. River bike path near the River Solstice Festival.
(Ariana Drehsler/For The Times)
Earlier this year, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice held an exhibition at Art Space Huntington Park called “We Are Water” to uplift local Indigenous artists. “Art really allows and embraces healing,” Donis said. “It’s another tool that allows us to process these feelings and get closer to the solutions as a community.”
The L.A. River inspired Arturo Gonzalez to found his arts education nonprofit that focuses on gang intervention among young people in East L.A. As Ma performed in the park, Gonzalez stood in the river basin, spray-painting in neon-pink blockbuster letters the name of his organization, East Side of the River, onto pillars under Slauson Avenue.
As a teenager in the early 2000s, Gonzalez was involved in gangs that would tag the gray walls of the L.A. River, but his passion for graffiti and Chicano art eventually led him out of those circles.
“The river was a safe place to paint, where you could sit and spend the day learning colors, composition,” he said of illicit tagging as a teenager, which eventually led to his public art work. “There’s a thin line between vandalism and art.”
Arturo Gonzalez spray-paints the name of his organization, East Side of the River, which focuses on gang intervention.
(Halline Overby for InsightLA)
This time, Gonzalez arrived with permission from the county and painted on a detachable fabric in case the mural needs to be removed.
“The opportunity to get into the river and paint again was like a dream,” he said. He seeks the input of local residents in his planned projects so they can participate in beautifying their neighborhoods. “We call it wall medicine for the community.”
Richard Montoya of Culture Clash doesn’t mince words when it comes to politics, current events or the state of mainstream Hollywood. But he does sugarcoat his technological limitations as a 67-year-old comic in the dreaded age of video calls with a punchy Chicano twist.
“I’m a low-tech Aztec,” he writes via email when requesting a Zoom link to our Monday interview.
Culture Clash — which includes members Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Sigüenza — arrived on the scene as a guerrilla sketch theater group from the San Francisco Mission District in 1984. By that time, the Chicano movement had reached its peak, thanks to the United Farm Workers labor movement, as well as student activist organizations like Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), which advocated for Chicano unity, political empowerment and educational access.
Luis Valdez, founder of El Teatro Campesino — who began putting on social justice-oriented plays for the striking Delano farmworkers in 1965 — backed the slapstick satire troupe, considering the trio “the cutting edge of fresh, new Latino comic genius.”
Culture Clash stood out in a time when Chicanos became more vocal and visible — and its members challenged an entertainment industry that has historically lacked Latino representation. Between 1993 and 1996, Culture Clash hosted its own self-titled TV show on the syndicated Fox network. The show, which was filmed at the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, is widely considered the first Latino sketch comedy to air on American television.
Throughout the last four decades, Culture Clash has parodied nearly every prominent Latino figure in history, including Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo, Ritchie Valens, Rita Moreno, Edward James Olmos and others. Its members have mocked hard-shell cholos and gangsters, often by placing them in funny scenarios. For instance, take this clip, in which the trio take on cholo characters and reimagine what it would be like to surf on the Southern California shore.
But they’ve also taken on more serious topics in their classic “Chavez Ravine” play, which looks into one of the darkest chapters in L.A. history: the forceful removal and displacement of families, mostly Mexican, in the 1950s under eminent domain. Recently Montoya attended a live reading adapted by Somos El Teatro, led by Xolo Maridueña, Mariana da Silva and Angel Villalobos at Elysian Park.
“It gives us so much life that people are finding the issues of swindlers, whether it’s gentrification, the taking over of settlements,” says Montoya. “The generational trauma of losing your home in L.A. has never gone away.”
But not every Culture Clash joke or skit has been safe from criticism. Montoya still remembers how a conservative pundit chastised the group for using light humor to discuss the 1992 riots, when LAPD officers were acquitted for using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King.
“By looking at it and treating it as dynamite, exploding it and then by bringing some levity and a whole lot of seriousness to the Rodney King matter allows us a moment, a fraction of time to look at the issues a little bit differently,” says Montoya. “That laugh allows us a moment to examine it differently.”
On June 27, Culture Clash will return to Grand Performances, a free summer concert series at California Plaza in downtown L.A., with comedic sketches colored by political and social satire. The show, titled “American Payasos! Culture Clash’s End Times Cabaret” will be co-presented with De Los.
While their 40-year-plus legacy might merit a show reminiscent of old goofball skits — like their early 1989 show “The Mission” that poked fun at the problematic Spanish Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra — this will not be an “oldies but goodies show,” as Montoya put it. “We are highly pissed off about a lot of stuff right now.”
“ We’re thinking a lot about the Mexican American patriarchy, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and it’s time to address some of these things,” says Montoya. “ We want to look at the service workers of Los Angeles, the people that sell cotton candy in MacArthur Park, the people that sell ice cream in Echo Park and the people working the World Cup.”
For the veteran comic, son of the late Chicano poet Jose Montoya, it is also impossible to ignore the immigration enforcement raids that have rattled Los Angeles communities in recent years.
“This is a very strange moment for satirists,” says Montoya. “We have a responsibility to use those tools to say what’s going on in our city and country and provide these moments where we can do a little bit closer examination because the people in power aren’t telling us what’s going on.”
In the last five years, Montoya has fiddled around with digital media, creating sporadic videos featuring old clips of the troupe, as well as videos of Latino media, to connect with technologically diverse audiences of all ages. (One example is a video calling on people to get out the vote, that features clips of Speedy Gonzales and honors political figures like Huerta.)
Although Montoya believes Culture Clash is nearing the end of its career, there’s a question lingering inside his mind: What does a graceful exit look like for a group like Culture Clash, which has never been fully integrated into mainstream Hollywood and still left such a profound legacy in the world of Latino entertainment?
The answer to that might still be unknown, but like any Culture Clash project, it will likely be wickedly satirical and punchy. Says Montoya: “We’re ready to go out with a huge, loud bang that can say something against the power structure.”
Culture Clash will take center stage on June 27 at Grand Performances, in partnership with De Los. Also performing is the retro cumbia-quebradita musician É Arenas (bassist of Chicano Batman), the cumbia-fusion, luchador-masked cumbia group La Nueva Ola de Cumbia, as well as DJ Dali.
There’s something delightful about plays about grand divas in crisis.
The prima donna in extremis in Pearl Cleage’s “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous,” which is having its Los Angeles premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, has an air of Bette Davis extravagance to her. When Anna Campbell (Charlayne Woodard) struts around her elegant hotel suite in Atlanta, she can’t resist delivering one of Davis’ signature lines: “What a dump!”
She’s not at all dissatisfied with the accommodations. She’s just frustrated that the weather isn’t cooperating with her upcoming outdoor performance and agitated that this might be a bad omen for her big American comeback.
More than 30 years ago, Anna and her manager and trusted companion, Betsy Samson (a formidable Denise Burse), fled to Europe on the heels of a highbrow scandal. Anna made waves when she performed “Naked Wilson,” a protest piece that had her delivering male monologues from August Wilson’s plays while standing stark naked before a divided audience.
The idea was to call attention to the way women have been de-centered in the male canon, but some felt it was sacrilege to subject Wilson’s work to a feminist stunt. Acting opportunities dried up, and Anna high-tailed it to Amsterdam, where her histrionic grandeur was put to good use in European classics.
Charlayne Woodard in “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” at Geffen Playhouse.
(Jeff Lorch)
Woodard brings Anna to life with a smokey voice, a statuesque presence and an arch demeanor. When her arms are in flamboyant motion, she leaves the impression of a seductive windmill that might slice you to bits if you come too close.
The sumptuous production, directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson with solidarity for Cleage’s characters, provides a marvelous showcase for Woodward to slink around on Beowulf Boritt’s glamorous five-star set in costume designer Emilio Sosa’s inspired Pucci-esque outfits. Her Anna doesn’t do much but give attitude. Ah, but what delicious attitude she gives!
Cleage’s play, it must be said, is hamstrung with exposition. More time is devoted to setting up the dramatic situation than to activating it. Author of “Blues for an Alabama Sky,” a 1995 abortion drama still ahead of its time, Cleage is telling a backstage story that’s clearly close to home. She’s also spinning an intergenerational tale of Black women groping past their initial distrust to a deeper understanding of what they have in common.
The intentions are noble and the themes are handled with admirable complexity, but the writing is sluggish. The plot is like an old car whose engine just refuses to start on a cold winter morning.
Anna has returned to Atlanta to headline a festival that is rebooting her “Naked Wilson” piece. She’s worried about disrobing at her age, but it turns out that she’s only being honored for her work. A much younger and far less experienced performer has been cast in the part that made her a cause célèbre.
Denise Burse, from left, Deborah Joy Winans, Charlayne Woodard and Olivia Washington in “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” at Geffen Playhouse.
(Jeff Lorch)
Precious Watson (Olivia Washington), who goes by Pete, has not only never performed in a Wilson play but she’s never even seen one on stage. She’s a stripper whose only real dramatic experience has come from the adult entertainment industry. (Don’t call her a porn star, not because she’s ashamed of the films she made but because she’s too modest about her screen credits.)
Anna, her hauteur hardening like a protective shell, is aghast. She’s also fearful about her future. She’s run out of money, and this festival was to have launched her return to the U.S.
Betty, whose fate is tied to Anna’s, has been dangling the prospect of a national tour. But when Kate Hughes (an appealingly grounded Deborah Joy Winans), the producer of the festival, hears of this idea, she thinks it’s completely unrealistic.
“I love Anna,” she tells Betty. “ I’m honoring Anna, but there just isn’t an audience for the kind of presentation you’re talking about.”
Time marches on, and one era’s sensational renegade becomes a footnote in the next. But Anna can’t believe that all she holds sacred — study, discipline, seriousness, commitment — is of little value in the social media world.
Deborah Joy Winans, left, and Denise Burse in “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” at Geffen Playhouse.
(Jeff Lorch)
Pete (whom Washington plays with impressive self-possession) doesn’t seem at all bothered about what she doesn’t know. Anna keeps prefacing her remarks with the words “no offense,” but Pete can’t help being offended by her pointed disdain. Their standoff energizes the play, but this jolt of momentum comes a little too late.
“Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” is not just the title. It’s also a plot summary. The gorgeous part is the richness of Cleage’s characters, radiantly realized by all four actors under Jackson’s warm direction.
Cleage gives the women plenty of substance, though her novelistic mode — more telling than showing — deprives her drama of style. The elegant staging tries to compensate, but the performers have to rely a little too heavily on their own charms to make up the difference in a play that swerves unexpectedly at the end into a cutesy fairy tale.
‘Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous’
Where: Gil Cates Theater at Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., L.A.
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. (Check for exceptions.) Ends July 12
In “The Little Sister,” a teenager tries to hide in plain sight. Although everyone comments on her beauty, 17-year-old Fatima prefers to tie her hair back in a ponytail, her bright eyes buried underneath a black ball cap, her body concealed in unflattering tracksuits. As played by first-timer Nadia Melliti, who won the actress award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Fatima is encased in a kind of armor, an outward manifestation of her hesitancy to share her sexual orientation with a world she knows will judge her. This graceful film chronicles the process by which Fatima gradually sheds that reserve.
Adapted from Fatima Daas’ 2020 novel “The Last One,” a work of autofiction detailing the French author’s own coming out, “The Little Sister” takes place over five seasons, observing Fatima as she completes grade school and begins attending university. An adept athlete with a tomboyish demeanor, Fatima disappears inside a friend group consisting of immature teen boys who treat her like one of the guys, including her in their raunchy sex talk. Fatima has a boyfriend, Adel (Ahmed Kheloufi), but the relationship feels vestigial, with him constantly complaining that she should dress more feminine. Just as upsetting to Adel: When he tells Fatima that he loves her, she doesn’t respond in kind.
This is the third feature from French actor and director Hafsia Herzi, who herself made an acting splash in 2007’s “The Secret of the Grain.” For “The Little Sister,” Herzi takes a cue from Daas’ book, mapping Fatima’s inner journey as a modest series of tentative steps forward and anxious steps back. Fatima has reason to be skittish. The youngest of three daughters in a loving French-Algerian Muslim family, she conceals any hint of her sexuality from her mother, father and sisters, anticipating their disapproval. Many queer coming-of-age movies position the character’s awakening as an act of defiance. For Fatima, a practicing Muslim who adores her parents, the stakes feel even higher. Melliti’s performance is one of silent suffering, illustrating Fatima’s deference to her family.
But as much as she smothers her desires, others can sense them. An altercation between her friends and a gay male classmate gets heated once the classmate accuses her of being closeted, which she vehemently (and violently) denies. Soon after, Fatima secretly joins a dating app, hoping to understand her queerness. Her first date, in which she uses a fake name, focuses on learning terminology such as scissoring, and she approaches each new encounter like a fact-finding mission. Melliti keeps the shy teenager’s reactions neutral, Fatima’s stoicism a strategy to prevent exposing her inexperience.
That’s when she meets Ji-Na (Park Ji-min, the free spirit of “Return to Seoul”), a physician’s assistant who practically glows in her presence, overwhelming Fatima’s cautious nature. Ji-Na and Fatima’s love story — its blossoming, its unraveling, its possible resuscitation — forms the heart of “The Little Sister,” which also received the Queer Palm at Cannes. Melliti and Park exude a frisky, lusty chemistry, but it’s a film as much about self-love, as Fatima seeks to become comfortable in her own skin. Ji-Na is open and confident while Fatima remains closed off, her shame about her sexuality deeply culturally ingrained. When our main character starts lowering her defenses, however, that’s when she’s hit by a jolt that sends her spiraling.
Herzi’s slender, unassuming drama contains few emotional crescendos or grand insights, although this is the rare French film to center on a Muslim lesbian as its protagonist. “The Little Sister” grows even more intriguing once the love affair runs aground, forcing Fatima to flounder in her heartache. Her odyssey will lead to threesomes and lonely nights, but also difficult questions regarding how her faith and family may leave her perpetually adrift.
“The Little Sister” leaves much unspoken, which is fitting for a protagonist who rarely expresses herself in clear terms. Even during a touching scene near the finale, as Fatima sits at the dinner table weeping, upset over the end of a relationship, she and her mother (Amina Ben Mohamed) engage in a nimble dance: Fatima doesn’t feel safe explaining precisely why she’s crying, while her supportive mom chooses her words carefully, perhaps knowing more about her daughter than she dares say aloud. But despite the character’s rocky path to sexual awakening, Herzi navigates toward a hopeful conclusion that doesn’t peddle phony uplift. Fatima still faces a community that won’t embrace her true self. But maybe, at last, she’s willing to be seen.
‘The Little Sister’
In French, with subtitles
Not rated
Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes
Playing: Opens Friday, June 12 at Laemmle Glendale
Now in its 40th iteration, Grand Performances will celebrate this milestone with dazzling performances all summer long at the California Plaza in downtown L.A.
The free concert series kicks off with a performance by the Latin hip-hop funk band Ozomatli on June 13. Tropicalia group Healing Gems and the Afro-Latin fusion band Jungle Fire will also make special appearances, all while DJ Liza Richardson keeps the groove going.
“For 40 years, Grand Performances has been a gathering place where Los Angeles comes alive through music, culture, and shared experience,” said Rafael González, president and CEO of Grand Performances, in a press release. “This year, we honor that legacy by continuing to open our stage, free and for everyone, so that every Angeleno can find themselves in the experience and feel part of something larger.”
On June 27, the Chicano troupe Culture Clash will return to the Grand Performances stage with comedic sketches colored by political and social satire. The trio — which includes Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Sigüenza — formed in 1984 in the San Francisco Mission District. Through its avant-garde live skits, the group has weighed in on topics like race, immigration and politics, including the 2016 election race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Also joining the comedy show are retro cumbia-quebradita musician É Arenas (bassist of Chicano Batman) and the cumbia-fusion, luchador-masked cumbia group La Nueva Ola de Cumbia, as well as DJ Dali. (Editor’s note: De Los is co-presenting the Grand Performances on June 27.)
This summer will also pay tribute to a host of musical legends.
There will be an intergenerational dance party on July 18 with DJ Spinna on the booth, in honor of 76-year-old R&B-pop artist Stevie Wonder — who performed a memorable summer concert in 2013 alongside Ozomatli and La Santa Cecilia.
On Aug. 1, a 12-piece jazz ensemble will gather in tribute to the late Roy Ayers, the pioneering jazz-funk vibraphonist and godfather of neo soul.
Chicano trailblazer Ritchie Valens, best known for classic rock tracks “La Bamba,” “Donna” — will also get his due on Aug. 22, with a stacked program that features live music, narration and archival visuals honoring the late Pacoima legend. There will be performances by Nick Waterhouse, Shannon Shaw (of Shannon & the Clams), Joey Quiñones (Thee Sinseers), Bryan Ponce (The Altons), Denise Carlos & Hector Flores (Las Cafeteras), Angie Monroy (The McCharmlys), Irene Diaz and Jose Varela (Cutty Flam).
The season will wrap up on Aug. 29 with Mexico City cumbia punks Son Rompe Pera, joined by the all-femme percussion ensemble Bloco Obini and violinist Quetzal Guerrero, also known as QVLN (Q-Violin).
Grand Performances has hosted free outdoor performances annually since 1987. The organization’s focus is on giving a platform to both global and local performers, including previous headliners iLe, Adrian Quesada and Ana Tijoux. The full 2026 lineup can be found here.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It was championship weekend for Southern Section baseball and softball. And there were some crazy moments and performances.
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Greatness on display
This photo says it all about the passion and determination of Jack Champlin, headed to UC Irvine. His walkn up song should be Tom Petty’s I Won’t’ Back Down. Photo by Craig Weston. pic.twitter.com/6beQNTXonH
It’s tough enough to win one Southern Section Division 1 baseball title going through the gauntlet of top teams. St. John Bosco did it back to back in a 2-0 win over Norco.
Julian Garcia turned in one of the best pitching performances in championship game history. He gave up a first-inning double to Codey Brown and that was the last hit by a good-hitting Norco team. He struck out 14 and walked none. Here’s the report from Cal State Fullerton.
The superintendent intervened and asked them to stay because Ganesha would have faced severe sanctions from the Southern Section. All the players showed up Saturday and the team beat Loyola 6-3. Here’s the report.
Mira Costa, which lost its top two pitchers to injuries before the season and early in league, rallied from a 6-1 deficit to beat Agoura 9-7 to win the Division 3 title. Quite an achievement for coach Andy Diver and his players.
Despite lots of teams opting out, the Southern California regional championships begin this week. St. John Bosco is playing to defend its regional title and was seeded No. 1 in Division I.
JSerra High ace Liliana Escobar strides forward as she windmills a pitch against La Mirada in the Southern Section Division 1 championship game on Friday night.
(Nick Koza)
JSerra won its first Southern Section Division 1 championship in softball behind pitcher Liliana Escobar, who was the best all season. The Lions defeated La Mirada 3-2. She struck out 12. Here’s the report.
Whittier Christian went into rally mode to defeat Mater Dei 5-3 in the Division 2 final, getting two-run home runs in the seventh and eighth innings from Mia Camacho and Bella Perez.
Carson came away as City Section Open Division champions with a 12-1 win over defending champion Granada Hills. The Colts and Highlanders have met the last four years in the final, with Carson prevailing three times. Home runs by Anaiyah Popoalii and Ashannalee Titialii keyed the win.
Jonah Jeovany Vasquez of Cathedral has made it to the state track championships in the 1,600 in his first year running track.
(Vasquez family)
Things didn’t go as well as Cathedral’s Jonah Vasquez had hoped at the CIF track and field championships. He just missed qualifying for the finals in the 1,600.
But his story is just beginning in his first season running track.
Mateo Fuerbringer, center, celebrates with his Mira Costa teammates following a five-set win over Loyola on March 20, 2026.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
It was a season to remember for Mira Costa’s volleyball team, which won the state championship Saturday in Fresno.
The Southern Section Division 1 champions faced top teams all season and prevailed, with junior Mateo Fuerbringer stamping himself as the top player for his class in the nation.
End of an era
Tom Meusborn announced his retirement as head baseball coach at Chatsworth.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Tom Meusbornand Spud O’Neil, two high school baseball coaching giants, have retired from head coaching duties.
Meusborn coached for nearly 35 years at Chatsworth and Sierra Canyon. His eight City Section championships remains the most by any coach in City Section history.
“It’s time,” he said after four seasons at Sierra Canyon.
O’Neil, the head coach at Lakewood since 1984, lost in the Southern Section Division 6 playoffs and retires with 985 career victories.
Notes . . .
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-#Cardinals 1st-round QB Josh Rosen has officially earned his MBA from Wharton School of Business.
Rosen is now working as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan.
Former St. John Bosco and UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen has received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business….
Damien has begun a search for a new baseball coach. AJ LaMonda was head coach for five years….
The Southern Section says there is no transfer czar. They have just hired a new assistant commissioner, Orange AD Alicia Seevers, who will join four others in checking transfers.
Devin Davis is the new baseball coach at Castaic….
Ernest Baskerville is the new basketball coach at Pasadena….
Western quarterback Chance Thomas is transferring to Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, which opens the season hosting St. John Bosco in August….
Tight end Luke Karby of Mission Viejo has committed to Duke….
Kevin McCaffrey has been dismissed as baseball coach at Corona del Mar after eight seasons….
Kevin Nichols is the new football coach at Garden Grove…
Katey Thompson has stepped down as boys volleyball coach at Corona del Mar….
Standout junior pitcher Justin Kirchner (11-0) of Harvard-Westlake has committed to Vanderbilt. He was previously committed to Yale….
Brad Willis is the new boys basketball coach at Villa Park. He had been coaching girls basketball at the school….
Standout quarterback Dane Weber of Chaparral has committed to Cal….
Tight end Luke Gazzaniga of Santa Margarita has committed to Kansas….
Defensive end Elyjah Staples from Marquez has committed to Cal….
Matteo Huarte of Mater Dei won the Southern Section individual title. He’s the grandson of Heisman Trophy winner and Mater Dei grad John Huarte….
Makena Cook, the top flag football quarterback for Orange Lutheran, is transferring to Sierra Canyon, which is starting a flag football program this fall….
Cole Kim of Sunny Hills won the Southern California Regional golf tournament last week and will be the player to beat at the state championships Wednesday at San Gabriel Country Club….
Pitcher Jake Brande of Rancho Christian has committed to Cal Poly….
Laura Browder has resigned as boys and girls volleyball coach at La Canada.
From the archives: Kaniya Bragg
UCLA shortstop Kaniya Bragg was a star at Garden Grove Pacifica.
(Nick Koza)
Kaniya Bragg, who was The Times’ softball player of the year in 2024, is living up to expectations and more for UCLA this season.
She entered this week as a key player for the Bruins in the College World Series with a .387 batting average and 18 home runs.
From Texas, a school district continues bureaucratic hurdles for media trying to cover high school sports.
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Palisades pitcher Mason Edwards becoming an ace for USC.
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on Zoe Thompson, an eighth-grader at Harvard-Westlake who might be the best soccer player in a famous family of soccer players.
Tweets you might have missed
Boys Volleyball: Congratulations To All Student-Athletes Selected To 2026 LAVCA All-Academic Team. Grant Chang (Chatsworth) & Sam Engelen (Venice) Were Named Co-Academic Players Of The Year W/ 4.36 GPA. @CIFLACSpic.twitter.com/IWo5Xr04Bk
These are softball opt outs for state playoffs so far:
JSerra Catholic Cathedral City Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks Lutheran/Orange Northwood La Mirada Pacifica/Garden Grove San Clemente Warren Elsinore Kennedy ML King
Chaparral is on the rise in football. Chaparral won both the seven on seven tournament and lineman competition hosted by the Rams. Eagle Rock won the girls flag football tournament.
Oxnard Pacifica QB Taylor Lee bleached his hair for baseball playoffs. They’re over, so it’s full focus on football. Portland State is making big run recruiting him. pic.twitter.com/qdisidYrrl
SHOCKING: A growing number of middle school athletes — mostly boys — are intentionally repeating 8th grade to delay their start in high school, giving themselves another full year to get bigger, stronger, and faster, which in turn dramatically boosts their chances at elite high… pic.twitter.com/rTkzXPq2GQ
• Didn’t hold back ✅ • Didn’t attend a workout academy ✅ • Didn’t play for a super youth team ✅ • Doesn’t go to camps ✅ • Doesn’t play at an elite HS program ✅ • Doesn’t get validation from others ✅
Put it down on your calendar. July 11. Edison’s Battle at the Beach seven on seven passing tournament. Great lineup of teams as always. pic.twitter.com/wV1tZATIQV
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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