Bombs are in and art is out as the Trump administration’s proposed 2027 budget requests $1.5 trillion in defense spending (up 44% from last year), while again attempting to snuff out the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The budget proposal released earlier this month calls for just enough money to permanently wind down the operations of each agency: $29 million for the NEA (down from $207 million); $38 million for the NEH (down from $207 million); and $6 million for the IMLS (down from $291.8 million).
Congress has the final say about whether or not these cuts actually get made, and Sept. 30 is the deadline to pass next year’s budget. (Failure to do so could result in yet another government shutdown.) It’s worth remembering that Trump tried to defund these organizations last year and was thwarted by Congress. But the administration did successfully choke off funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which ceased operations in January.
It’s hard to know how this renewed threat to agencies that collectively support thousands of arts programs and initiatives across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., will play out, especially because the only constant in this administration is its mercurial temperament. Plus, Congress doesn’t have a great track record of keeping Trump in check (see Venezuela, Iran, the White House East Wing, the Kennedy Center, etc.). The ongoing war in Iran, which pundits warn could last until the midterms, may also impact how Congress decides to vote.
In times of conflict and chaos, we need the arts — a sentiment so obvious it normally goes without saying. But this moment somehow feels different. There were many alarming moves that Trump wanted to make during his first term that the so-called adults in the room allegedly kept him from achieving. Those adults are gone and he is now surrounded with enablers. This means the unthinkable is now possible — as we have seen time and again over the past 15 months.
In a country without the NEA, NEH and IMLS, hundreds of small local arts groups would likely cease to exist entirely — and with them, the community, education and enlightenment that underpin our increasingly fragile, fractured society. We can close our eyes until it happens, or we can start urgently ringing the alarm bells. I vote for the latter. Here’s a link to get you started.
I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt banging a gong. This is your arts and culture news for the week.
Dispatch: mots take on AI at Flux Festival
A participant experiences “The Pledge,” part of artist duo mots’ acclaimed “AI & Me” series, on view April 25 at Blum Gallery, Culver City, as part of Flux Festival.
(mots / Daniela Nedovescu and Octavian Mot)
Artist duo mots is staging one of its exploratory AI-centered exhibits — “The Pledge” — at the upcoming Flux Festival at Bloom Gallery in Culver City (April 24 and 25). Last year, mots received quite a bit of attention for its U.S. premiere of “AI & Me,” part of Tribeca Festival’s Immersive Program. That piece, according to mots website, “dives into the weird dynamics between humans and artificial intelligence,” by placing people in a confessional style booth while AI tells them exactly what it thinks of them.
“The Pledge” takes that concept further by inviting participants to stand on a stage while AI-generates a statement about them— one that is solely based on appearance. The person then must decide whether to read the AI feedback aloud into a microphone or leave. If you decide to share, you become part of the permanent video installation.
In this moment of deep AI anxiety, the mots’ work is tapping into more than just a playful back and forth between man and machine.
“On one hand, we’re thrilled to see people lining up to interact with the pieces we build; on the other, we’re trying to gather the courage to destroy them and stop this madness before it’s too late,” the mots write on their website.
— Jessica Gelt
Dispatch: Monster Party
The adult-centric interactive melodrama “Monster Party,” at Rita House through April 25.
(Clint Keller)
“Monster Party” starts with a moment of ecstasy. Then the adult-centric interactive play gets demented — a bit demonic, even. We meet characters shrouded in mystery. Guests at a cocktail party, there’s a writer working on a book about supernatural creatures, a vacuum salesman with a closely guarded secret, a repressed religious fanatic and more. None of them can remember how or why they ended up at this soiree, hosted by the confidently cryptic Baroness, a character who clearly delights in creating sin and madness. We’ll soon find out this isn’t an event for the lucky.
But that’s not just what makes “Monster Party” special. Remounted after a short theatrical run in 2024, the work from immersive creator Matt Dorado intermixes the personal and political. Lurid, humorous and sexy, “Monster Party” is also a scathing critique of how political systems can drive one mad.
Set during the Lavender Scare, the anti-communist purge of LGBTQ+ people from the U.S. government in the 1950s, “Monster Party” opens with camp and then descends into very real horrors of life in the United States. You’ll drink, play parlor games and gradually uncover one dark skeleton after another.
The intimate production is limited to 50 guests per showing, and cocktails are included in the $159.45 ticket. Come ready to socialize.
8 p.m. Thursdays and Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, through April 26. Rita House, 5971 W. 3rd Street monsterpartyshow.com
— Todd Martens
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY Chaya Czernowin Monday Evening Concerts presents the U.S. premiere of the Harvard-based Israeli composer’s “Poetica,” which she describes as “a journey of one into themselves,” performed by percussionist Steven Schick and the percussion ensemble Red Fish Blue Fish. 8 p.m. Zipper Hall at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. mondayeveningconcerts.org
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot O.C. theater companies the Wayward Artist and Larking House team up for Stephen Adly Guirgis’ bold, darkly comedic courtroom drama set in Purgatory. Directed by Lizzy McCabe. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and April 23-35. Irvine United Congregational Church, 4915 Alton Pkwy., Irvine. thewaywardartist.org
Harry Fonseca “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Coyote,” an exhibition of more than 30 paintings, prints and works on paper, follows the path of the late Native artist’s alter-ego, the Trickster Coyote, an exploration of his own identity and a means of challenging existing narratives. Also being exhibited is “Sedej Tuulémisé (Blood Relations),” featuring paintings by emerging artist Deerstine Suehead. Noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through July 3. PDC Design Galleries, 750 N San Vicente, West Hollywood. pacificdesigncenter.com
Ryan Bancroft will conduct the L.A. Phil this weekend at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
(Carlin Stiehl/For The Times)
Shostakovich & Sibelius Ryan Bancroft conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic with cellist Alisa Weilerstein playing one of her specialties, Shostakovich’s “Second Cello Concerto.” 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Liu Xiaodong For the work presented in the exhibition “Host,” the figurative painter trained his eye on a Detroit tattoo artist with a penchant for medieval battle recreations. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturday, through June 13. Lisson, 1037 N. Sycamore Ave., L.A. lissongallery.com
SATURDAY Back to Oz MUSE/IQUE salutes a truly American fairy tale through music with pieces from “The Wonderful Wizard,” “The Wiz,” and “Wicked,” performed by Carmen Cusack, LaVance Colley, Nathan Granner, DC6 Singers Collective and the MUSE/IQUE Orchestra. 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Thursday and April 24; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. April 25; and 2:30 p.m. April 26. Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. muse-ique.com
Colored People’s Time: A History Play From Civil War to civil rights, Leslie Lee’s drama, directed by Ben Guillory, examines the lives of Black Americans through a century of struggle. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays, through May 17. Los Angeles Theatre Center, Theatre Four, 514 S. Spring St., downtown L.A. therobeytheatrecompany.org
The Expanding Field: MOCA’s Collection from the 1940s to 1970s Works by Mark Rothko, Luchita Hurtado, Piet Mondrian, On Kawara, Robert Rauschenberg, Betye Saar, Anne Truitt and others illustrate the breadth of the museum’s holdings. Saturday through Sept. 20. Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. moca.org
Falstaff Craig Colclough stars in LA Opera’s production of the energetic Verdi comedy about two wives turning the tables on an unwanted suitor in merry olde England. 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. April 26; 7:30 p.m. April 30, May 2 and 6; 2 p.m. May 10. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laopera.org
Steven Culp and Joey Stromberg in “For Want of a Horse” at the Echo Theater Company.
(Cooper Bates)
For Want of a Horse Olivia Dufault’s comedy about an unusual love triangle involving a horse opens Echo Theater Company’s 2026 season. Directed by Elana Luo. Opening night, 8 p.m. Saturday; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 4 p.m. Sundays; 8 p.m. Mondays, through May 25. Echo Theater Company, Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. echotheatercompany.com
Hear Now Music Festival A chamber concert doubleheader (separate admissions): The matinee features Lyris Quartet, Brightwork Ensemble and HEX performing Hugh Levick’s “No Pasaran” for brass quintet; Ania Vu’s “Small Tenderness” for vocal ensemble and string quartet; Liviu Marinescu’s “String Quartet No. 1”; Bryan Chiu’s “Anthology” for piano and horn; and Tom Flaherty’s, “Recess” for string quartet. Lyris Quartet and Brightwork Ensemble return for the evening show with mezzo-soprano Peabody Southwell, and the music of Peter Knell, “Canciones de Agua” for mezzo-soprano and violin; Sean Heim, “there is no such thing as time” for mixed ensemble; Vera Ivanova’s “The Firebird’s Feather,” for flute solo; and Jordan Nelson’s “Join” for string quartet. Chamber Concert 1, 3 p.m. (2 p.m. preview); Chamber Concert 2, 8 p.m. (7 p.m. preview). First Lutheran Church of Venice, 815 Venice Blvd. hearnowmusicfestival.com
Claudia Keep In the exhibition “Water, Water, Everywhere,” the painter finds fascinating details in the life-giving liquid and all its forms, including rivers, ocean waves, clouds and afternoon coffee. Opening reception, 4-6 p.m. Saturday; the exhibition runs through May 30. Parker Gallery, 6700 Melrose Ave., L.A. parkergallery.com
Kinship & Community: Selections from the Texas African American Photography Archive The exhibition, a collaboration between Art + Practice and the California African American Museum, shares the work of Black photographers who documented life in the urban neighborhoods and rural villages of eastern Texas from 1944 to 1984. Saturday evening, exhibition curator and NYU professor Nicole R. Fleetwood and Getty Research Institute curator LeRonn P. Brooks will discuss the exhibition and the volatile time of great change that it captures. The exhibition opening is 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and runs through Sept. 5. Art + Practice exhibitions space, 3401 W. 43rd Pl. L.A. Conversation, 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday. Art + Practice programs space, 4334 Degnan Blvd., L.A. artandpractice.org
Majestic Tango Directed and produced by Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo, this program features 13 dancers and six musicians using music, movement and storytelling to convey the passionate energy of Buenos Aires. 8 p.m. Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Dr. thebarclay.org
Richard Mayhew, “West Bay,” 2004 Oil on canvas 36” x 48’.
Richard Mayhew “Understory” surveys the artist’s work created between 1960 and 2023, when he saw his expressive landscapes as “an artistic reclamation of the land stolen from his Black, Shinnecock, and Cherokee-Lumbee ancestors.” Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Saturday; exhibition runs through May 30. Karma, 7351 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. karmakarma.org
Natural HERstory Drag performance meets real science in this 30-minute STEAM musical, developed by Drag Arts Lab and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and designed to engage elementary-aged learners. 11 a.m. Annenberg Community Beachhouse, 415 Pacific Coast Hwy., Santa Monica. eventbrite.com
Parsons Dance David Parsons’ New York City-based troupe marks its 40th anniversary with a program set to the music of Milton Nascimento; Giancarlo De Trizio; Champion, Four Set & Skrillex (featuring Naisha); Miles Davis; Sheila Chandra; and Yusuf/Cat Stevens 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. BroadStage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. broadstage.org
The Storyteller of East LA The Latino Theater Co. has the world premiere of Evelina Fernández’s magical realist drama about a 90-year-old woman with dementia and the challenges faced by her family and caregivers. Directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, through May 17. Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S Spring St., downtown L.A. latinotheaterco.org
Verdi in España The Verdi Chorus performs sequences from the composer’s operas “Don Carlo,” “Il Trovatore,” “La Traviata” and “Ernani,” alongside Bizet’s “Carmen” and selections from Spanish composers Catán, Granados, Giménez, Torroba and De Falla. 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 4 p.m. Sunday. First Presbyterian Church, 1220 2nd St., Santa Monica. verdichorus.org
SUNDAY Mozart’s Requiem Grant Gershon conducts the Los Angeles Master Chorale in Mozart’s final masterpiece, plus the West Coast premiere of Fanny Mendelssohn’s “Oratorio on Scenes from the Bible.” 7 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org
TUESDAY Yuja Wang and Mahler Chamber Orchestra The celebrated pianist continues her long-standing collaboration with MCO for a program featuring works by Segei Prokofiev and Alexander Tzfasman. 8 p.m. Tuesday. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Dr., Palm Desert; 8 p.m. Wednesday. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa; 7 p.m. Thursday. Granada Theatre, 1214 State St, Santa Barbara; 8 p.m. April 25. The Saroya, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge. mahlerchamber.com
WEDNESDAY Khorus Harmonia Katey Sagal and Kurt Sutter are producing ten performances of this choral concert to benefit the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and The Wounded Warrior Project. 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays; 4 p.m. Sundays, through May 2. Hudson Backstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. onstage411.com
This Ends Badly The theater collective Frank’s presents an evening of short plays by Frank Demma, Marlane Meyer, John Pellech, John Pollono, Benjamin Weissman and Sharon Yablon. 8 p.m. Wednesdays, through May 13. Echo Theater Company, Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. echotheatercompany.ludus.com
Arts anywhere
New and recent releases of arts-related media.
The British Museum in London.
(Kin Cheung / Associated Press)
British Museum As excitement builds for the opening of the new Geffen Galleries at LACMA on Sunday (for priority members; May 4 for the general public), one’s appetite may be whetted to visit other museums. Why not start in London with the British Museum? The sprightly 273-year-old institution boasts a collection of eight million works and draws more than six million visitors each year. But there’s no need for a plane ticket or a Tardis to see it. Google Arts & Culture offers virtual tours that allow you to wander the halls and grounds for free (and it won’t rain!). artsandculture.google.com
Philip Glass
Two opportunities to see the work of one of the finest American composers will soon be available with the click of a button or a tap of a screen. First up is “The Complete Philip Glass Piano Etudes featuring 10 Pianists” (which was performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2024) streaming live from the 3,500-seat Hill Auditorium on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. 4:30 p.m. Saturday and on demand through April 28. youtube.com
Six days later, the Paris Opera offers its current, sold-out production of “Satyagraha,” Glass’ revelatory, triptych portrait of Gandhi. Directed by choreographers Bobbi Jean Smith and Or Schraiber, with a cast including Anthony Roth Costanzo and Davóne Tines — all four members of AMOC*, American Modern Opera Company — the show will be presented live on the Paris Opera Play streaming platform (for $14) at 10:30 a.m. April 24. POP’s live broadcasts are typically available on demand for 30 days following transmission. play.operadeparis.fr
— Kevin Crust
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Pooya Mohseni, from left, Ava Lalezarzadeh, Tala Ashe and Marjan Neshat in “English” by Sanaz Toossi at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
(Joan Marcus)
With the U.S. at war with Iran, “This is an important moment to experience ‘English,’ Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, set in an English-language classroom outside of Tehran in 2008,” writes Times theater critic Charles McNulty. “The play, now having its L.A. premiere at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, reminds us of the lives — the hopes, the dreams, the sorrows — on the other side of the headlines.”
It’s been an anxious journey for Bob Baker Marionette Theater since 2019 when it was forced out of its downtown home of 55 years. After a lengthy search, the nonprofit signed a 10-year lease for a former cinema-turned-Korean Church in Highland Park. With that, however, came the accompanying stress of being renters in L.A. But good news has arrived: the beloved theater “has entered into an agreement to purchase its [current] home at the corner of York Boulevard and North Avenue 50,” reports Times features columnist Todd Martens.
The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center is a major expansion of the California Science Center.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
California Science Center has completed construction on its new $450-million Samuel Oschin Air & Space Center, which houses the Endeavor shuttle. Staff writer Malia Mendez headed onsite to get the scoop on the, “sleek 20-story, 200,000-square-foot new building rising over Exposition Park,” nearly doubling the museum’s exhibition space.
Architecture writer Sam Lubell put together a fascinating Q&A with Peter Zumthor in which the Geffen Galleries’ architect addresses a number of ongoing criticisms about his creation, including its loss of square-footage.
In case you missed it: Pop singer Pink has will host the 79th Tony Awards. “The award ceremony returns to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on June 7, with nominations announced May 5,” writes Times reporting fellow Iris Kwok.
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It’s been a decade since the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts began awarding Infinite Expansion Grants to local contemporary arts organizations. The money has always mattered, but means even more during a time of great uncertainly about federal support for the arts (as I wrote in my newsletter intro). This year’s round of grantees was just announced, with nine L.A. contemporary arts groups sharing $400,000 in support. These groups, a news release says, “exemplify risk-taking, critical inquiry, and community engagement,” and include Art in the Park Community Cultural Programs; Color Compton; Cal State University, Northridge Foundation on behalf of CSUN Art Galleries; Barnsdall Art Park Foundation on behalf of Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG); Los Angeles Performance Practice; Monday Evening Concerts; Clockshop; Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA); and the Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation.
Big change is coming to the Soraya and California State University, Northridge. Artistic and Executive Director Thor Steingraber, is leaving his position after 12 years to become president and chief executive at Vivo Performing Arts in Boston. The Soraya has also announced Steingraber‘s replacement: Chad Hilligus. Hilligus arrives at CSUN from the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto where he served as chief executive and curated more than 100 multidisciplinary live performances.
And another leadership shakeup has come to the Los Angeles Master Chorale, which announced that its current president and chief executive, Scott Altman, will step down on June 5 to become executive director of Miami City Ballet. Master Chorale board member William Tully will serve as interim president while the group launches a national search for a replacement.
There’s a couple somewhere in Los Angeles who unknowingly inspired the second season of “Beef.”
Lee Sung Jin, the creator of Netflix’s anthology drama that swirls in the consequences of class struggles, resentment and the absurdity of life’s curveballs, once again found himself inspired by a tense interaction playing out before him. A road rage incident at a stoplight in Hollywood a few years ago, triggered by Lee’s delayed response to a green light, became the catalyst for the first season. An early idea to write about a men’s doubles partnership gone awry lost its luster after “Challengers,” Luca Guadagnino’s drama about a love triangle between tennis pros, came out. But a heated argument coming from a house in Lee’s neighborhood became the next spark that lit a narrative fuse.
“I told the story to people — it caused a little stir in the neighborhood,” he says. “And what I found fascinating was the different reactions. When I told younger folks, I’d get, ‘Did you call the police? Should you go check on them again?’ Very concerned, having an ideological view on relationships. When I told the story to older friends and couples, they were just kind of like, ‘Who among us hasn’t?’ I thought the idea of juxtaposing these couples at different stages felt like ripe ground.”
The overheard in L.A. moment inspired the eight-episode season,
Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac square off with Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny in Season 2 of “Beef.”
(Netflix)
The twist-filled, darkly comic thriller kicks off when a young couple, Ashley and Austin (Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton), who work at a Montecito country club, witness the explosive altercation between their boss Josh (Oscar Isaac) and his wife, Lindsay (Carey Mulligan), an interior designer, the night before the club’s new Korean billionaire owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung), takes over. She has her own mess to tend to involving her husband (Song Kang-ho), a doctor whose health is affecting his work on patients. The calamities each couple faces spin out into a web of favors and coercion in this tale of broken systems and characters going to great lengths to get what they want.
“The idea of cycles felt interesting,” he says. “A lot of shows and movies cover marriage through the lens of one couple, you don’t really see that multigenerational juxtaposition.”
Speaking from his office on the Raleigh Studios lot in Hollywood, Lee discussed the season’s Montecito setting, the financial anxiety that drives the story and the four-legged breakout star of the show. These are edited excerpts from the conversation, which includes many spoilers.
Why did you want to set this season in Montecito?
Just writing what I know. My goddaughters — their parents are my best friends. They live in Montecito. The dad is my oldest friend in LA. He has a membership to Montecito Club, which is where we shot the exterior of our show. I was house-sitting for him during the writing of all this. He let me use his membership. I remember when he told me about the membership, I was like, “You pay how much? That’s insane, dude.” But then you start using the membership. This idea of hedonic adaptation — how humans so quickly adapt to this new comfort, this new stimulus — it felt like an interesting thing. I was observing how all the members seemed to be mostly boomers and Silent Gen; then all the workers were Gen Z and millennial. I thought: What a perfect metaphor for society right now. No matter how hard the Gen Z and millennials work, they’re never going to get to be members of this club because, as Austin says, “everyone grabbed the bag before they could.” That’s what made me want to set it at a Montecito country club.
Oscar Isaac as Josh Martin and Carey Mulligan as Lindsay Crane-Martin. Cailee Spaeny as Ashley Miller and Charles Melton as Austin Davis. The second season of “Beef,” follows the two California couples from different socioeconomic backgrounds — though both are struggling — as they spiral into a high-stakes feud.(Netflix)
That feeling of survival and resentment and entitlement really looms over this season. There’s speeches about love, but also capitalism. The anxiety about finances is so prevalent right now.
We certainly didn’t set out to make a season about capitalism. But if you’re constantly trying to chase truth as writers, I don’t know how you say anything in the modern era, in 2026, and not have capitalism be a huge variable because it permeates every aspect of life. It’s like going to get gas. Gas is almost $7 right now. You have to fill your tank and there goes $140? That’s crazy. And relationships face so much stress — everyone is being hit by all these curveballs and trying to keep your head above water — how can you enjoy each other?
It became very obvious to us that if you’re going to write a season about marriage and love to these two couples, financial implications have to be a big factor. There’s a lot of talk about the disappearance of the American dream right now. Birth rates are declining. No one’s owning homes anymore. But then you also see headlines about everyone’s scamming. CVS has everything locked down. You’re like, “Yeah, no wonder.” Everything’s connected. We wanted to really show how that survival instinct, the desperation, is starting to come for everyone. I don’t think it’s going to get easier, especially with AI moving on the horizon, and with leaders who refuse to put checks and balances in place.
Part of Ashley’s story is using the video of the fight between Josh and Lindsay as blackmail to get health insurance so she can afford treatment for her endometriosis. And that moment where she’s waiting in the ER for hours and it’s not until she collapses that they realize she needs emergency surgery — her big concern is whether she has to pay the deductible.
I wrote that episode in a literal day because it was based on an experience I had in an ER with my daughter’s mother. She had this illness fall upon her. We spent 12 hours at the ER and, the whole time, I had my Notes app out and was just writing down everything I saw. Almost everything in that scene is stuff that happened in real life. Our healthcare system is absolutely insane. It’s, again, unhinged capitalism and … felt like it really unlocked so much of the season.
There’s a moment where Josh has to sell some of his prized possessions to pay a gambling debt. Have you been there, needing to sell things to cover your financial obligations?
I’ve been there multiple times. I obviously struggled to find my way for a long time, even after becoming a writer. If you’re in a writing partnership, in a staff job on a show — first of all, this is what the guild has been fighting, trying to get these longer-term employment windows because these jobs sometimes are only … maybe eight to 12 weeks. You’re splitting a staff salary in two [if you’re in a partnership], and you probably haven’t qualified for health insurance by the end of that run. Sure, you’re a working writer, but I remember [by the time I landed at] “Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” my first real writing job, I had amassed so much debt, half of which were from parking tickets. I just didn’t have the money to pay these tickets, and so I just let them run rampant. So, yeah, I’ve been there. There’s this one guitar that I loved; it was the first guitar I bought with my own money after college — it was a Fender Telecaster. I think I bought it for $1,200. I ended up selling it for $300. I’ve sold collectibles. I’ve sold anything that had gold in it. I’ve scrapped to just find anything because you’re desperate.
Song Kang-ho as Dr. Kim, Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park in “Beef.” Recalling the opportunity to direct the pair, Lee says: “It just makes me feel like a little kid again. It stops feeling like work and starts feeling like play.”
(Netflix)
You directed this season. Is there a moment that stands out with this cast?
A peak of my career that I think about daily is the moment in Korea where we were shooting at Amorepacific. It’s one of the most beautiful buildings in Seoul. I’m shooting the scene between the great Youn Yuh-jung and the great Song Kang-ho — two of not only my favorite Korean actors, but favorite actors period. They have never been in a scene together in any Korean film ever. They’ve been in a movie together, but never acted together. And here we are making Korean history by having them shoot that breakfast scene and, while I’m in the middle of shooting that scene, director Bong Joon Ho surprises us on set. He comes over laughing, pulls up to me, looks at my monitor, gives me stage fright, then elbows me and says, “You sure you want to frame it like that?” He was teasing. Then we started shooting the scene, it’s all in Korean, and I look back at video village and Bong’s just doubled over in laughter. He is just cracking up. Younger me, and present me, is looking around like: Here I am in Korea, in this building I’ve always wanted to shoot in, two of the greatest living actors and the greatest living director — what is happening? What a crazy sentence to say. It just makes me feel like a little kid again. It stops feeling like work and starts feeling like play.
How did you want race and identity to figure into this season, particularly through Austin?
Charles was the first piece of the whole thing. After Season 1, I got to go to Korea multiple times. I shot a music video for one of the members of BTS. I was experiencing Austin’s journey of being courted by this level of Korea that I’d never been exposed to before and feeling warm and allured by it — I’m having dinners with K-pop idols, like what is happening? So, I knew I wanted to have that element of elite Korea involved. The writers and I discussed a lot whether it should be a Korean American that’s being pulled. We had covered a lot of Korean American ground in Season 1, [but] one of the things we didn’t get to cover is the half-Korean experience. Several of the writers on staff are either half-Asian or half-Korean. We don’t want to repeat things, but let’s do explore a half-Korean character who is about to have a child suddenly get this pull toward Korea.
Carey Mulligan as Lindsay acting alongside Jones, the dog who plays Burberry, in “Beef.” “Jones is the best dog actor I’ve ever worked with,” Lee says. “A24 is making Burberry merch. There’s going to be a Burberry shirt.”
(Netflix)
There are some pretty gross, petty and violent acts of revenge. One is Ashley swirling her period blood in Josh and Lindsay’s pitcher of orange juice. The other takes place during a flight — Lindsay wiping gunk from the toilet seat and transferring it to the rim of the cup Ashley drinks from. Please explain how you arrived at these acts. Were there any left on the cutting room floor?
Episode 4 was pouring out of me. And I remember I got to the point where Ashley snooping through the house [where Lindsay and Josh live]. Initially, I had her scratching up the trophy. She opened Josh’s pomade and blew a snot booger into it. I was thinking of juvenile things. But I had the thought of her going to the kitchen and having the thing that happened to her being the expression of her revenge. I remember I was so nervous to show the [writers’] room. The way I wrote it, I had her crouching over the pitcher and Anna Moench, as the main female writer on the show, was like, “Sonny, I don’t think you know this works.” So, we revised it. That’s how the OJ one happened. With Episode 7 [and the toilet seat], we wanted to have a bodily episode on a plane, and there’s just such limited ways to get revenge on a plane. But given the OJ drink — there’s so many mirrors between the two couples, we thought it’d be fun to mirror that with a drink from Lindsay to Ashley. The only place to do that on a plane is bathroom. We shot it on stage with a fake toilet and Carey was almost vomiting. She came to me after that scene, and she goes, “Sonny, in all my years in this business, that is the most vile, disgusting thing I’ve ever had to do.”
The final moments of the finale jumps eight years. Did you always know you wanted a time jump? And did you always know Ashley and Austin were going to repeat the cycle?
The Ashley and Austin side, I knew the inverse graph for both characters would be very satisfying — to me, at least. I didn’t know whether that happened in a time jump or not. That’s something we discovered later. There was great debate in the room. I had a couple writers plead with me, “Why aren’t you ending with the kiss? It’s so sweet. It’s so good. I feel so good at the kiss. Can we just end it at the kiss?” I took it very seriously, but then it felt very similar to Season 1’s ending. Taking two people who start apart and they finally discover that connection but too late. I didn’t want to leave with the same feeling. How we can make it different is the “what happens next?” Life comes at you fast. He’s [Josh] still in prison. She’s [Lindsay] got to move on. Once I started heading down that thought experiment, I’m like, “Whoa, you could do a whole coda showing the literal theme of the show, the cycles, that’s where we can show Ashley and Austin becoming Josh and Lindsay.” That’s where we show, even though they found a connection, it’s lost between Josh and Lindsay — even if they’re still hanging on to the past a little bit. You show Troy and Ava still together [laughs] — they have it all figured out. Then you show the billionaire who, even with all the money in the world, is crying at the graveside of her first love, filled with regret.
We didn’t see where Eunice (Seoyeon Jang)ends up.
I wanted to leave it open. I’m very curious what people think. She really put her neck out there. Austin burned her bad. I don’t know where Eunice is at but it’s probably not good.
Charles Melton as Austin Davis in “Beef.”
(Netflix)
We can’t talk about “Beef” without discussing the needle drops. When you have Austin listening to Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” it was over for me.
The needle drops are usually pre-picked even before we shoot. The source music that’s playing diegetically, usually we discover in the edit. Before, as scripted, it had him scrolling Instagram and it was [the song playing on] his Instagram feed — you know how those Reels have music overlayed on a POV? It just wasn’t that funny to me in the edit. He’s so down and out and I wanted to find different source music in there. One day, I told my editor, “Can you rip ‘What Was I Made For?’ And can you just temporarily do it where, as she opens the door, he’s like, pressing the volume up, being like ‘sh— … sh— …’ [intending to make the volume go down]?” Our AE [assistant editor] did the ADR temporarily of the “sh—, sh—,” filmed it on my phone and I texted it to Finneas [O’Connell, the show’s composer, who is Eilish’s brother and collaborator] being like, “Hey, is it cool if we do this?” And he was dying laughing. [O’Connell also makes a cameo in the season.]
Ahead of Season 1, you gifted the writers “The Sopranos Sessions” and also assembled a Letterboxd list of films that served as reference points. What guidance did you provide for Season 2?
I sent another Letterboxd playlist. For inspo, we got “Handmaiden,” “Phantom Thread,” “Force Majeure,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “The Informant.” For some reason, I have “Margaret” on there, the [Kenneth] Lonergan film. I also had “Michael Clayton,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” “Burn After Reading,” and lastly, it’s a deep cut, there’s this movie called “Like Crazy,” starring Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin.
Also, can we take a moment for Burberry’s acting?
Oh my god, Jones! Jones is the best dog actor I’ve ever worked with. He would hit his mark. He would listen. He would look at people when he’s supposed to be looking. It was his first time acting. Crushed it. A24 is making Burberry merch. There’s going to be a Burberry shirt.
Back when late-night TV sets were still the primary route for a comedian to reach a mainstream audience, Ari Shaffir found a different way to make his mark. It started with creating a show where comics could tell completely uncensored, unhinged real-life stories. What started as a live show grew into “This Is Not Happening” on Comedy Central, and later, into “Ari Shaffir’s Renamed Storytelling Show,” building a loyal fan base along the way, with clips still making the rounds 15 years later.
Supporting shows leads to new opportunities, and while Shaffir’s latest chapter may close the book on his storytelling run, his final offering is certainly a strong one. Aptly titled “The End,” and taped live at the Box NYC, this seven-part series will be released and available for purchase through YMH Studios on Thursday , and it’s jam-packed with comedians that quite literally might kill you. Especially one.
The lineup is too stacked to leave anyone out, so buckle up for wild, unforgettable stories from Shaffir, Tom Segura, Ali Siddiq, Nate Bargatze, Tony Hinchcliffe, Ms. Pat, Shane Gillis, Sam Tallent, Steph Tolev, Jim Breuer, Robert Kelly, Chris Distefano, Big Jay Oakerson, Jordan Jensen, Joe List, Steve Simeone, Mark Normand, Duncan Trussell, Roy Wood Jr., Jessa Reed, Sarah Tollemache, Dan Soder and Colum Tyrrell.
Dan Soder, left, and Shane Gillis appear in Chapter 6.
(Troy Conrad)
Everyone’s stories are so next–level, and I almost choke-laughed and died during Ms. Pat’s. It also looks incredible, tell me everything about the room.
Ari Shaffir: The room is called the Box, and it’s this burlesque place. Or maybe you call it modern burlesque because it’s not just those feathers. I really don’t know, but I feel like burlesque has evolved and that’s what this place is. It’s kinda crazy, and it’s definitely a night out. Dave Chappelle used to have these “comedian balls,” which were so cool because he would just invite comics. Like, all of the comics. He’d invite everyone out and pretty much without saying it was like, talk to each other and trade ideas about the industry. It was just so cool in there, and we scouted a bunch of places, but the look of this place, it was just right.
It makes so much sense that the room is called the Box now, visually.
What you saw wasn’t even color-corrected, so I appreciate it. I went to test the sound because we put the stage in a different place. It moves around and we just thought it looked better with all the red, but I wanted to hear what the sound was like when they were not on the stage too. They were like, oh the emcee will have a cordless as they move around, and I watched it, and it was great. But man, I was so f— up on molly that I was grinding my teeth so hard that I cracked a molar, so yeah, that place rules!
Ali Siddiq appears in Chapter 7.
(Troy Conrad)
Well, the room took my breath away, kinda like the lord took your solid tooth away. It’ll make sense to fans of your podcast You Be Trippin’ that ‘The End’ is produced by YMH Studios, but how did this series even end up happening?
Tom [Segura] and I have a relationship, we were openers for Rogan together, and we were kinda broke together, so we just talk about things. He’s so funny and prolific and I like talking things out with him. I talked to him about doing my special “Jew” too, but they were busy with the show, and you know back then, people weren’t jumping on getting into YouTube specials. So I had a chance to think about doing this show over the pandemic and finally was like, alright, let’s start working on this, and they said, “Come talk to us about it because we can help you now.” They have a great infrastructure there, and a streaming service too, so it’s like they already have everything built in, and Tom was like, “Dude, this show meant a lot to me, and we should make it again.” It’s not going to be a huge moneymaker for Tom, you know, it’s like pro bono work for lawyers, so it’s really cool of them. Another cool thing about this is the way the staff kicked in too. They’re all super talented, and kind of wasting their time on podcasts because they’re more talented than that, but it’s cool to work with a family and I liked the way they really took ownership of the work they did.
They’re a well-oiled machine of fun over there! With so many wild stories in the mix, is there anyone you are especially excited for people to see?
I’m excited to show some people new people. Even with the live shows, it’s always like, let me show you two headliners you know, a mid-level guy you’ll know and let me show you two people that you just don’t know. That’s what stand-up is in New York, L.A. and even Austin. There are some killers no one has ever heard of, and they’re destroyers. So I’m excited to show people Colum Tyrrell because he rules, he’s so funny, and his story is great. Tony Hinchcliffe’s story was really good, he’s just a monster storyteller in every sense of the word now. I just rewatched all of these a few times in a row for sound, and Roy Wood Jr. is so smooth it makes me feel like I’m needy and insecure on the stage. He’s just so calm and so good you’re like, “Damn, I’ve never been this smooth.” Sam Tallent is going to be one people talk about, Jim Breuer is so great, Steph Tolev crushed it with something fun and interesting and wow, this is really tough. Every time I’m doing a promo for this show it’s like, but what about this person, and this one?
It was also nice to see past killers on, definitely love to see the classics doing something new.
Yeah, having Big Jay [Oakerson] back was a key because he’s on the Mount Rushmore of this show, and we have three of those on “The End.” Jay, Ms. Pat and Ali Siddiq. We couldn’t get Sean Patton out because he was shooting something, and Bert [Kreischer] had a movie or something with his daughter moving or maybe it was a graduation…
Ms. Pat, from left, Ari Shaffir, Dan Soder, Duncan Trussell, Shane Gillis and Colum Tyrrell.
(Troy Conrad)
What a funny world, though, if Bert Kreischer paid to have a graduation moved so he could do your show.
Yes! Just pay the school to move the graduation for a week! Don’t you make like $50 million a year? It’s so funny how it used to be crazy to think of someone making $100 million and now there are like 10 comics who make at least half of that. And without doing press! It is really cool, though, I haven’t paid for lunch in so long. And Ali Siddiq has become so huge, he’s like the success story of this storytelling show in its entirety. Everyone got helped a little bit, but Ali kind of broke off of these stories and to see him so successful and still so smooth, it’s really cool. You can’t be “niche” doing arenas, and there’s this independent boom that’s not going to wait for anybody. So it’s another big win for us, it’s our turn in the whole story of this.
So then is this really “The End” or could it be a new start?
There is a very, very small percentage of a chance that it comes back. The plan is that this is it, and that’s why we called it that. I’m just glad you liked the show. I’m glad you liked the look and the intimacy, and that you picked up on all of that. It feels so long ago that you forget, but that’s so awesome to hear because it was a lot of fun. I think comedy fans that knew about the show before will want to see more of it because it’s just this funny televised storytelling, and they missed it. And everything turns over every five years anyway, so new people can now be like, actual stories being told like this in front of an audience? What is this cool new thing?
History textbooks often include the story of the Underground Railroad, an organized network of secret routes, places and people that guided enslaved populations from the South to abolitionist Northern states.
However, less is known about the underground railroad that ran southbound to Mexico. But one live-looped musical is unearthing that hidden history, one beat at a time.
Co-created and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, “Mexodus” tells the fictional story of Henry, who evades his capture by fleeing Texas across the Rio Grande. After a near fatality, he is saved by Carlos, a farmer and former combat medic battling his own trauma from the Mexican-American War. Together they form solidarity, despite social, racial and political strains plaguing both sides of the border.
Following its off-Broadway run at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City, the hip-hop and bolero-infused musical directed by David Mendizábal will open at the Pasadena Playhouse stage July 8 and run until Aug. 2. But for history buffs and musical enthusiasts alike, a sonically richer version filled with sound effects of the musical airs exclusively on Audible today, April 16.
The idea for “Mexodus” first came to Brian Quijada — playwright, actor and composer behind “Where Did We Sit on the Bus?,” “Kid Prince and Pablo” and “Somewhere Over the Border” — when reading a 2018 article on History.com about the estimated 5,000 to 10,000 enslaved individuals that escaped the American South for freedom in Mexico, though some researchers estimate that number to be higher.
“My parents crossed the border undocumented in the late 1970s, so I think I’ve always been fascinated with writing immigration stories,” Quijada said. “The reason that this story attracted me was because it’s like a reverse border story, but I also knew that it wasn’t my story to tell so I sat on it for a long time.”
Quijada bookmarked the article until he met Robinson — a performer at Berkeley Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Shakespeare Theater Company, Mosaic Theater and writer and composer of “Santa Claus Is Comin’: A Motown Christmas Revue” and “R&J: Fire on the Bayou” — at an actor-musician conference weeks before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were the only actors-musicians of color in the room, listening in on conversations about how one should audition for musicals like “Once,” “Million Dollar Quartet,” which typically center white storylines.
“We kind of looked at each other and we’re like, ‘we don’t really belong here,’” said Quijada, who invited Robinson to take part in “Mexodus” during the pandemic shutdown. The first iteration of the project was as a mixtape.
The musical edge of “Mexodus” hinges on live looping, a recording and playback technique where a sound is repeated and then layered (think Justin Bieber’s solo performance of “Yukon” at the 2026 Grammy Awards). Physically, both Quijada and Robinson’s characters have to pick up a guitar, record it, then play the drum set and run to the bass. “ It’s pretty labor-intensive,” Quijada said.
“I think Brian and I are artists in this way, like various people of color, where it’s like, no one else is gonna do it for me, so I can do it all by myself,” Robinson said.
There’s also a more dramaturgical, meta reason for the loop, which follows a four chord structure throughout the piece, set in both 1851 and present day.
“The looping shows you that there’s not much difference between 1851 and 2026,” Robinson said. “We just keep finding ourselves in a loop and like maybe a sound is in that wasn’t there before. Maybe another sound is added, but it’s still the same four chord structure that has been happening in this country for all existence.”
In 2010, the U.S. National Park Service outlined a possible runaway route stretching on the Camino Real de la Tejas between Natchitoches, La., to Monclova, Mexico. Still, it is unclear how organized the underground railroad heading to Mexico truly was, the Associated Press reported in 2020, with archives destroyed in a fire and sites along the path abandoned.
In 2024 the Jackson Ranch Church and Martin Jackson Cemetery in San Juan, Texas — which are part of a ranch owned by interracial couple Nathaniel Jackson and Matilda Hicks — were recognized by the U.S. National Park Service for serving as a gateway to freedom in Mexico.
Other Texas couples alongside the border— including interracial abolitionist couple Ferdinand Webber and Silvia Hector — aided enslaved people in their pursuits to reach Mexico, which had abolished slavery in 1829, while Texas was still part of the country.
Fears surrounding the Mexican government’s attempts to abolish slavery led to the formation of the Republic of Texas in 1836 and its eventual annexation to the United States by 1845; records also show that American slave owners would head down to Mexico to kidnap formerly enslaved individuals, according to USC historian Alice Baumgartner, who wrote about it in her 2020 book “South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War.”
A database by the Texas Runaway Slave Project, which found listings for 2,500 runaways across various Texas newspapers from the 1840s through the 1860s, also documents the frequented journey to Mexico.
Slavery in the U.S. wouldn’t be officially abolished until 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
“I was also really intimidated by the amount of research that I would have to do to write this piece because at the time back [between 2017 and 2020], [researchers] were just beginning to uncover a lot of this,” Quijada said.
Themes of racism — including anti-Blackness in the Latino community — oppression and resistance are woven throughout “Mexodus,” which since its debut in 2023 at the Baltimore Center Stage/Mosaic Theater Company in Washington, D.C., has been making viewers aware of the little-known history.
Robinson recalled how one Black woman came up to him after the show to let him know she believed in Trump’s border wall.
“I got nervous, but she was like, ‘after seeing this, I’m realizing that there’s something trying to convince me of that.’ And I’m like, yes!” said Robinson. “I’m like, this is good. This is good. We started you somewhere. Wow.”
The pair hope that amid all the dark news circulating around the world — and the traumatic, historical themes interlaced in “Mexodus” — the existence of this piece of art can be a glimmer of hope and joy for the future of both Black and brown communities.
“ I need you all to see the truth, but we’re gonna try and dance anyway,” Robinson said.
Anyone who has jumped out of a plane with a parachute deserves respect, but to do it 36 times, that’s worthy of a salute.
Saul Pacheco, who turns 88 in November, is sitting in a lawn chair at the Arcadia Invitational with his friends, the starters dressed in red suits who fire pistols to begin races.
That’s when he mentions how he was in the 82nd Airborne Division and jumping out of planes in the 1960s after graduating from Wilmington Banning High and UCLA.
“I was a jump master who became in charge of the parachute troopers,” he said.
Then he talks about becoming a teacher and wanting to return to his alma mater, Banning, which had no openings, so he ends up at rival Carson and coaching the offensive line for Hall of Fame coach Gene Vollnogle for more than two decades. Vollnogle was football coach from 1963 to 1990, winning eight City titles.
Pacheco also became a track starter in 1977. He was already well trained to fire a pistol. It was learning all the rules required in track and field that needed to be mastered.
He apparently did just that, because he’s been at it for 49 years and plans to retire as a track starter this spring. For 25 years, he was a starter for the Arcadia Invitational. Then he became the meet referee to settle any disputes. The respect he has earned can be seen in the way other starters appreciate him for helping them learn the ropes.
He’ll be inducted into the Carson Hall of Fame this fall for his contributions as a coach and athletic director.
His story is pretty amazing. He was one of 13 children. His parents apparently wanted enough siblings to form a football team. His father was a carpenter helping build minesweepers at Terminal Island for the Navy. His mother stayed home and took care of everyone. The first seven kids born were boys. He was No. 5. Imagine the competition for food at dinner time.
“Everbody came in to eat at different times,” Pacheco said. “My mother did a great job having stuff ready.”
But what about 13 children together for Thanksgiving?
“We had a lot of laughs. We all got along.”
Five of the brothers are still alive, including a 90-year-old. All three sisters are alive. One of his brothers, Henry, was football coach at San Pedro for 12 years. Henry was drafted and ended up in the Vietnam War, where environmental issues might have led to the illness, lymphocytic leukemia, that took his life in 1991.
Two of his brothers worked for the LAPD. Two other brothers became firefighters. He has a grandson who’s a deputy sheriff in Riverside.
Pacheco has worked five state track championships and numerous City Section championships.
Like an umpire in football who calls a holding penalty, the only time anyone notices a starter in track is when there’s a false start.
“If there’s a false start, someone complains,” he said.
So why spend 49 years as a track starter?
“The fun part is watching all the athletes compete and being around all the other officials,” he said. “The officials are tremendous and dedicated trying to do a good job.”
All this came out by just happening to stop by and say hello to the starters who are always pleasant and enjoy talking. Unless you ask a question, you’ll never find out about someone’s background.
So why wasn’t Pacheco wearing a red suit like the rest of his friends at Arcadia?
“I brought it just in case,” he said. “I was an alternate.”
Pacheco is always prepared, whether jumping out of planes or teaching life lessons to football players.
Miami-based US District Judge Darrin Gayles said on Monday that Trump did not meet the “actual malice” standard that public figures must clear in defamation cases.
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That means public figures must prove not only that a public statement about them was false, but also that the media outlet or person who made the statement acted with reckless disregard for the truth or should have known that it was false.
“This complaint comes nowhere close to this standard,” Gayles wrote. “Quite the opposite.”
The judge noted that reporters from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reached out to Trump for comment beforehand and printed his denial. That allowed readers to decide for themselves what to conclude, cutting against Trump’s assertion that the newspaper acted with actual malice, the judge said.
Gayles said Trump could file an amended version of the lawsuit by April 27.
In his lawsuit, Trump called a birthday greeting that he allegedly sent to Epstein, a convicted sex offender, a “fake”. The US president sought $10bn for what he called damage to his reputation. News Corp’s Dow Jones & Company, the WSJ’s parent company, defended the accuracy of its July 17, 2025 article.
Trump filed the lawsuit after promising to sue the paper almost immediately after it put a new spotlight on his well-documented relationship with Epstein by publishing an article that described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper said bore Trump’s signature and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday.
A birthday letter that US President Donald Trump allegedly wrote to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than 20 years ago is seen as presented by Democrats in the US House of Representatives on their X account on September 8, 2025 [Handout via Reuters]
The letter was subsequently released publicly by the US Congress, which subpoenaed the records from Epstein’s estate.
The ruling marks yet another blow in the Trump administration’s efforts to manage fallout over its release of the Epstein files and the president’s attempts to use the legal system to curb reporting that he finds critical of him.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request by AP for comment.
Starring Penelope Wilton and Jonathan Pryce, the broadcaster‘s upcoming four-part series is titled Mavis Eccleston and will tell the story of a woman who was arrested and charged with murder after the death of Dennis, her husband of nearly 60 years.
Mavis and Dennis Eccleston decided to end their lives together when 81-year-old Dennis received a terminal cancer diagnosis and declined treatment to avoid prolonging his suffering. He’d had cancer twice before and knew the toll the invasive treatment would take on him and his family life.
Their family tried to dissuade them from taking a lethal cocktail of medication, but they were determined to leave the world together. After taking the overdose they were both rushed to the hospital, where Dennis died, but Mavis survived.
She and her family then had to process the grief of having lost their husband and father, whle also facing the prospect of Mavis spending the rest of her life in prison.
Downton Abbey star Penelope said it was a “true honour” to be playing Mavis in the drama.
“Mavis was devoted to her husband, Dennis, their enduring love for each other clear to see to all,” she said.
“They lived life on their own terms and when the time came, she wanted to respect his wishes. The fact she then faced the very real prospect of spending the rest of her life in prison for acting out of love is simply unimaginable. To be asked to bring her experience to life is a huge responsibility and true honour.”
Jonathan, who is playing Dennis, added: “This is a powerful and timely story of an extraordinary, devoted couple as they face the painful dilemma of assisted dying. We will hopefully honour their deep love for each other and their bravery.”
Grantchester actor Tom Brittney is also involved in the project, as he took it to producer Corestar Media after gaining the trust of the Eccleston family, who have given the ITV drama their blessing.
“When I first read about Mavis and Dennis in 2018, I was struck by the extraordinary love at its heart and the profound injustice their family endured,” said Tom.
“I felt their story, told with care and humanity, could be a powerful drama and a worthy contribution to a debate that remains urgent and deeply complex. Having worked with ITV, I knew they’d be the perfect home as an institution that champions powerful, social justice stories.”
Director Bruce Goodison added: “What excites me about this series is the towering humanity and dignity of this lively Cannock-based working-class family. There is joy in the pain this family suffered during this horrendous ordeal.
“They are the perfect lightning rod for the assisted dying debate.”
Mavis Eccleston will begin filming in Bristol in June this year.
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
Alice Oseman’s fictional world, where LGBTQ+ teenagers freely explore love, friendship and identity, expanded first to graphic novels before being turned into a hugely popular Netflix series.
The rom-com, which debuted in 2021, is part of a growing portfolio of young adult book adaptations that have flooded streaming platforms in recent years. Hulu’s college drama “Tell Me Lies” and HBO Max’s hockey romance “Heated Rivalry” have become pop culture sensations, joining hits like Amazon Prime Video’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and the “To All the Boys” trilogy on Netflix.
“We really thought it was going to be quite a niche show that was seen by a specific group of people,” Oseman said of “Heartstopper.” “It kind of blasted up beyond our expectations.”
After three seasons on the streaming giant, the British coming-of-age series will conclude with a film later this year.
Corinna Brown and Kizzy Edgell starred in Alice Oseman’s queer romance “Heartstopper.”
(Teddy Cavendish / Netflix)
These adaptations often tell tales as old as time of young love and emotional turmoil, but it’s the diverse representation that draws audiences in, said Yalda T. Uhls, founder and chief executive of UCLA’s Center for Scholars & Storytellers.
Audiences gravitate toward authenticity, Uhls added. Young people increasingly want to see stories that reflect their lives, according to a survey administered by Uhls’ nonprofit last year.
“It has to resonate and feel authentic to the time,” Uhls said. “This generation really sees stereotypes pretty quickly … they’ll see inappropriate behavior quickly, and they will call it out.”
Viewers are hungry for diverse casting and storylines across Hollywood. Last year, audiences showed up to the theater at higher rates for movies that had people of color in the cast, according to the annual UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, released in March.
Netflix’s focus on YA adaptations has paid off, driving more than 1.2 billion total views worldwide in 2025. Audiences are drawn to the platform’s fresh and inclusive interpretations of the genre, said Jinny Howe, Netflix’s head of scripted series for the U.S. and Canada.
“It is still harder to get marginalized stories sort of made and seen by people, but ‘Heartstopper’ is part of that journey,” said Oseman, who also serves as series creator and executive producer.
Lovie Simone plays track star Keisha Clark in “Forever,” a reimagining of Judy Blume’s 1975 novel.
(Elizabeth Morris / Netflix)
“Forever,” a reimagining of Judy Blume’s 1975 book that debuted on Netflix last year, follows two young Black protagonists who fall in love in Los Angeles. The audience had “such a fervent passion for that story, I think, because of the specificity of those perspectives,” Howe said. “Los Angeles was really seen through these eyes.” The show’s second season will reportedly start filming in May.
Young adult adaptations are at the core of the platform’s broader efforts to champion diversity in storytelling, said Peter Friedlander, Prime Video’s head of global TV.
“We’re always looking for shows that give a reflection or a window into other people’s stories,” said Friedlander, also former head of U.S. and Canadian scripted series at Netflix. “This business has been building for a long time, and it’s exciting to see what’s coming out of it.”
Representation in these shows, however, is still far from perfect, said Nicholas Rickards, a doctoral candidate at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, whose research focuses on YA adaptations. Many shows that center a woman of color often still feature white male love interests, he said.
“Studios aren’t totally prepared to tell that story yet,” he said.
Filling a YA void
Streaming platforms’ focus on YA adaptations came as cable TV, which previously dominated the genre, tapered off.
Then the entertainment landscape changed. Social media and streaming became preferred modes of content consumption for young audiences, paving the way for platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+ and HBO Max. Diverse storylines, coupled with the global reach of streaming platforms, have reignited an explosion of YA adaptations, and it’s a race that isn’t slowing down.
Younger generations are often difficult to attract, and YA reimaginings are just one way platforms are trying to break into the teenage demographic, said Jennifer Hessler, an assistant professor of cinema and media studies at the University of Southern California.
Lola Tung’s Belly is in a love triangle with Gavin Casalegno’s Jeremiah and Christopher Briney’s Conrad in “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”
(Erika Doss / Prime Video)
Netflix’s initial breakout success in the genre came with the release of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” a movie trilogy adapted from books written by Jenny Han, who’s also behind “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” The movies became massive hits and continue to drive viewership, drawing more than 55 million views globally last year, nearly eight years after the first film’s release, according to Netflix.
Younger generations are the target demographic of YA series at Prime Video, but the shows attract audiences of all ages, Friedlander said. Identifying and helping cultivate fresh storylines driven by relatable characters are integral to that success.
“If you really make the best version of a story, it can ripple out among different fandoms,” Friedlander said. “I do think that’s the ability of what streaming platforms can achieve as well, because you can really introduce the narrative to wider audiences.”
Made for streaming
Netflix doesn’t have a formula for a breakout success, Howe said, but strong voices that feel universal must be at the show’s core.
Jeff Norton, whose work focuses on book-to-screen adaptations, said he looks for characters he can fall in love with when choosing books to pitch for development.
“That’s the most important thing — to find a main character or a set of characters that I think the audience will resonate with,” said Norton, who is an executive producer of Netflix’s “Geek Girl,” which was greenlit for a second season.
The structures of young adult novels “lend themselves really nicely” to short TV series, Howe said, because it allows fans “to have more time as they’re living inside of these worlds and these experiences — it’s just that much more enriching.”
Streaming platforms usually release shorter seasons, often with six to 10 episodes — about half the episode order of a typical cable TV series.
Balancing the expectations of a book’s existing fandom while trying to attract a new audience is a major component of Friedlander’s role, he said, adding that “the television medium will often demand that you do change some of the journey along the way so it fits the rhythm.”
Norton, the showrunner of Netflix’s “Finding Her Edge,” said much of that show’s plot diverges from Jennifer Iacopelli’s novel. However, he focused on maintaining the book’s tone and found “the readership is actually very forgiving if you keep the characters whole and intact, but give them more to do.”
Oseman’s shift from novelist to TV writer — and now screenwriter — came with a steep learning curve. The growing pains were worth it, she said, because her story reached audiences who might never have picked up her books. Visual media has been crucial in bridging that gap.
“I want young queer people to be able to see themselves in the stories that they’re consuming,” she said. “I really hope that the existence of ‘Heartstopper’ will encourage people who are commissioning TV and movies … to take a chance.”
This week saw the publication of The Times’ tremendous package on the imminent opening of Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen Galleries. The nearly $724-million new building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, which opens to members on April 19, with general admission beginning May 3, has been a lightning rod for split opinions for nearly two decades — and it seems not much has changed.
Each article attracted its fair share of reader comments — for and against — the new building. I’m rounding up nine that best reflect reader consensus. (Note: Comments don’t have formal names attached.)
1. “Ugh. I hate that building. It does nothing to activate the street itself and Wilshire should be an active urban street with thousands of people walking. The design is a puddle of oil seeping high above and across the boulevard that conflicts with its surroundings. For all of that gross amount of money spent it should be universally positively recognized. But it’s not and most of the citizens that have commented about it don’t appear to be too happy with a building its creators expect to exist for hundreds of years. What a blotch.”
2. “One will always wonder: what would Frank have done if he had ended up with the commission for replacing LACMA’s core campus. Did he ever venture to tell anyone what approach he might have pursued?”
A high priest of design has given Los Angeles a plebian concrete maze (period) which demands that visitors ascend one story above the ground plane for the sake of art. Rather than the prospect of random wandering, this respondent wonders whether Mister Gehry may have otherwise had no fear of paying homage to the classical idea of hierarchy, would have elevated our better angels and given us a singular or particular reason (aspiration) to go upwards at a far greater extent, first off, then return to the ground plane mixing formal and random paths.
With Disney Hall he became an emotional hierarch of the city and his discountment from this project will always remain a great tragedy. He understood us.”
3. “I love LACMA’s collection and have been going several times a year for a long time. Very excited to check out the new galleries. Contrary to a lot of other commenters, I find the architecture of the new building fresh and exciting, and I appreciate how it hangs over Wilshire in a manner that incorporates the museum directly into the city.”
4. “I loved the old museum. I really hope I’m wrong, but I’m afraid the new one will be disappointing. Less display space, chaotic organization and galleries that on paper look like warehouse spaces make me wonder how successful the new museum will be. I look forward to visiting and finding out for myself.”
5. “I’m amazed that it is almost 11:00 AM and I am posting the first comment here. Does nobody reading the L.A. Times care about this very expensive reimagining of our County Art Museum, $125 million of which was funded by our taxpayers? What I want to know now is whether any these 17 pieces are adjacently-placed in some idiosyncratic curatorial thematic scheme that will elude both common sense and intuition of most museum visitors? How is this reduced gallery capacity with ever-changing displays providing access to art to the people that helped to fund it?”
6. “I look forward to visiting this museum and experiencing its uniqueness.”
7. “It’s one of the worst decisions in art-world history. Destroy perfectly functional galleries and spend hundreds of millions on smaller galleries. And they are ugly. It’s a mockery of art to place a beautiful painting on those concrete walls.”
8. “I knew there would be a bunch of negative Nellies in the comment section lol. I LOVE the new building and interior spaces (as pictured) I can’t wait to see and experience the unique curatorial displays!”
9. “How exciting for Los Angeles! I can’t wait to see it and love that we now have such a world class forward thinking art museum in L.A. Money well spent.”
I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt, getting the conversation started. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY Blue Kiss An SAT tutoring session takes unexpected twists and turns when a teacher learns his student is not who she claims to be in this drama by playwright Stephen Fife. Directed by Mike Reilly. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, through May 17. Ruskin Group Theatre, 2800 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. ruskingrouptheatre.com
Camerata Pacifica Principal pianist Gilles Vonsattel performs his second solo recital of the season featuring three piano sonatas by Beethoven. 7 p.m. Friday. Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara; 8 p.m. Sunday. Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. cameratapacifica.org
Danish String Quartet and Danish National Girls’ Choir Two of Denmark’s cultural treasures team up for an evening that includes a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang. 7 p.m. Friday. Granada Theatre, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. artsandlectures.ucsb.edu; 8 p.m. Saturday. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. philharmonicsociety.org
Lise Davidsen and Freddie De Tommaso The celebrated opera singers return backed by an all-star orchestra of classical musicians. 7:30 p.m. BroadStage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. broadstage.org
History of the Tango Violinist Martin Chalifour, in musical dialogue with guitarist Mak Grgic, reveals the evolution of Argentina’s iconic style. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org
Installation view, “Instant Theatre: Rachel Rosenthal and King Moody,” 2026. Roberts Projects, Los Angeles.
(Paul Salveson/Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects)
Instant Theatre: Rachel Rosenthal and King Moody Archival material and design elements set the scene for this exhibition exploring the experimental theatre movement founded by Rosenthal in 1955 and continued with her husband into the 1960s, an antecedent to the performance art of the 1960s and 1970s. Through May 23. Roberts Projects, 442 S. La Brea Ave. robertsprojectsla.com
Spectacular Brooding Writer, dancer and experimental filmmaker Harmony Holiday explores Black grief in this multimedia exhibition involving the preparation of a solo dance piece. On Wednesdays at noon, Holiday will take Katherine Dunham Technique classes with choreographer Bernard Brown in the gallery. Noon-6 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday; Through July 5. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org
Turangalîla Australian conductor Simone Young leads the L.A. Phil, featuring Jean-Yves Thibaudet on piano and Cynthia Millar on the theremin-like 1920s instrument ondes martenot, in Olivier Messiaen’s symphony inspired by the tragic romance of Tristan and Isolde. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Tyshawn Sorey Trio Featuring the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist, pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Harish Raghavan, this modern jazz ensemble riffs on original compositions and breathes new life into the American Songbook. 8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu
SATURDAY The Baptist Witches of Shelbyville Mamie Gummer and Gigi Bermingham star in a new Southern Gothic comedy written by Julie Shavers and directed by Daniel O’Brien. 8 p.m. Saturday; April 17-18, April 25, May 1. Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks. whitefire.stagey.net
The Ifugao people of the Philippines leaving a harvest, from the immersive exhibition, “Mountain Spirits: Rice and Indigeneity in the Northern Luzon Highlands, Philippines.”
(Fowler Museum)
Mountain Spirits: Rice and Indigeneity in the Northern Luzon Highlands, Philippines An immersion into the world of the Ifugao, an Indigenous Filipino group known for high-altitude farming, via this exhibition’s carved guardians, ritual bowls, woven blankets, farming tools, soundscapes and video installations. Opening, 6-9 p.m. Saturday; Walkthrough, 1 p.m. Sunday; “Decolonizing Philippine History” talk, 6-8 p.m. Wednesday. Fowler Museum at UCLA, 308 Charles E. Young Drive North. fowler.ucla.edu
Mutate L.A. Dance Project presents this selection of multi-medium performances curated by Masha Cherezova, whose relationship to dance changed dramatically when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. The evening includes performances from Skylar Campbell, former principal dancer of Canada National Ballet, and dancer Jaclyn Oakley, USC BFA student Garris Munez in a world premiere choreographed by Cherezova, and comedian and breast cancer survivor Julia Johns, plus film screenings from various artists. All profits will be donated to Blood Cancer United. 8 p.m. 2245 E. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. ladanceproject.org
OperaFest LA The diverse festival returns to celebrate the city’s rich opera community. Participating companies and venues include Beth Morrison Projects, LA Opera, Long Beach Opera, Overtone Industries, Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater, Synchromy, the Industry, the Wallis, and USC Thornton School of Music. The opening week features selected performances from various groups and a panel discussion at the Wallis; Long Beach Opera commemorates the release of the first commercial recording of Anthony Davis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning opera “The Central Park Five,” which was commissioned and premiered by LBO in 2019 and remounted in 2022; and the Industry presents composer Veronika Krausas and Her Rogue’s Gallery performing selections from her work, including “Hopscotch,” “Ghost Opera,” “The Mortal Thoughts of Lady Macbeth.” Kickoff Panel & Performance, 4 p.m. Saturday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. 6 p.m. Saturday. “Celebrating the Central Park Five Opera,” 440 Elm, 440 Elm, Long Beach. Veronika Krausas, 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Monk Space, 4414 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles. OperaFest LA continues through May 30. operafestla.org
Temporal Echoes The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and music director Jaime Martín are joined by violinist Anne Akiko Meyers for the West Coast premiere of Eric Whitacre’s “The Pacific Has No Memory” and Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending.” a timeless ode to lyricism and light. Music Director Jaime Martín unveils Juhi Bansal’s celebratory new work for Sound Investment’s 25th anniversary, followed by the searing intensity of Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony and the sparkling brilliance of Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony. A program of passion, poetry, power, and unforgettable resonance. 7:30 p.m. Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laco.org
A Weekend with Bong Joon Ho The Oscar-winning filmmaker hosts screenings of the 2007 thriller “Zodiac,” with special guest, director David Fincher, and his own 2025 sci-fi satire “Mickey 17.” “Zodiac,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday; “Mickey 17,” 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
SUNDAY Chamber On The Mountain The duo Dyad — violinist Niv Ashkenazi and bassoonist Leah Kohn — performs their own arrangements of selections from Ernest Bloch, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Niccolo Paganini, Irving Berlin, Bruce Babcock, Johann Sebastian Bach, Camille Saint-Saëns and George Gershwin. 3 p.m. Logan House at the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, 8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Road, Ojai. chamberonthemountain.com
Eat Me The world premiere of a play, written by Talene Monahon and directed by Caitlin Sullivan, about a group of foodies in search of fulfillment; part of SCR’s annual Pacific Playwrights Festival. Previews, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; Opening night, 7:30 p.m. April 17; continues through May 3. South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scr.org
Poetry in the Garden: Scores National Poetry Month and Earth Month find a natural juncture at this free, daylong event, co-presented with Dublab, featuring live poetry and music inspired by “The Scores Project: Experimental Notation in Music, Art, Poetry and Dance 1950-1975 .” The project is shaped by midcentury experimental artists like Yvonne Rainer, John Cage and Benjamin Patterson. Performers include contemporary DJs. musicians and poets. 11:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu
MONDAY
Ruben Ochoa, “Class: C.” The Ochoa family’s former tortilla delivery van transformed into a mobile art gallery.
(Ruben Ochoa)
Breakdown/Breakthrough: Art and Infrastructure Part 1 of this two-part exhibition probing the ecological cost of L.A.’s human-made landscape presents the photography of Ruben Ochoa alongside works by Carlos Almaraz and Pat Gomez. Part 2 is “Class: C,” a pop-up gallery created by Ochoa, who transformed his family’s Chevy van into a mobile studio and exhibition space while a student at UC Irvine, and now repurposes it to present work by the school’s current students and alumni. An artist talk with Ochoa is scheduled for April 18. “Breakdown/Breakthrough: Art and Infrastructure,” 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays–Saturdays, through May 16. UC Irvine Langson Museum Interim Gallery, 18881 Von Karman Ave., Irvine. “Class: C” pop-up gallery, Monday-April 18 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre Plaza, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine; Artist Talk with Ochoa, 2 p.m. April 18. UC Irvine Langson Museum, 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. imca.uci.edu
TUESDAY
John Waters
(The Luckman)
Going to Extremes: A John Waters 80th Birthday Celebration The boundary-pushing cult filmmaker and raconteur holds court with behind-the-scenes tales and commentary on the brink of his becoming an octogenarian (April 22). 8 p.m. The Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA, 5151 State University Drive. theluckman.org
THURSDAY
An image from Barbara Kopple’s “Harlan County, U.S.A.’
(American Cinematheque)
This Is Not A Fiction The American Cinematheque’s celebration of documentary filmmaking kicks off with the 50th anniversary premiere of a 4k restoration of Barbara Kopple’s L.A.”Harlan County, USA” and a Q&A with the filmmaker. The festival continues with screenings and appearances by Ross McElwee (“Sherman’s March,” “Photographic Memory”) and Gianfranco Rossi (“Notturno”), plus anniversary screenings of “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” and “Jackass Number Two” and more. 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. The festival runs through April 24 at the Aero; Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd.; Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave. americancinematheque.com
Arts Everywhere
New and recent releases of arts-related media.
Alice Neel: I Am the Century The catalog for the American artist’s first major retrospective in Italy, presented by the gallery Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin through May 4, provides an artistic and biographical profile of the Pennsylvania-born painter (1900-1984). Neel defied the abstract expressionism of her contemporaries with a distinctive style of portraiture that exposed the psychological truth of her subjects. The bilingual text (English and Italian) features contributions from curators, scholars and artists, alongside 60 of Neel’s works and archival documents. Mousse Publishing: 272 pp. $50.
Daniel Radcliffe, left, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez in the movie “Merrily We Roll Along.”
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Merrily We Roll Along Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez star in Maria Friedman’s film of her acclaimed 2025 revival staging of the Stephen Sondheim musical that originally flopped in 1981. “Captured at the Hudson Theatre last year during its Tony-winning Broadway run, this ‘Merrily’ is stirring evidence of a hit production,” wrote Robert Abele in his December review for The Times when the film had a theatrical run. Its story, of a “tight-knit trio of New York creatives whose friendship, depicted backward across decades, feels like a shattered vase being reassembled so that we appreciate the cracks and cohesion.” Netflix, streaming.
Tyshawn Sorey
(John Rogers / Fully Altered Media)
The Susceptible Now Can’t get a ticket to the Tyshawn Sorey Trio’s gig at the Nimoy tonight? No problem. Check out their latest album from 2024, which features covers of some of Sorey’s favorite music. The four tracks, which range from 15 to 22 minutes in length, include “Peresina,” the McCoy Tyner classic from the album “Expansions”; Joni Mitchell and Charles Mingus’ collaboration, “A Chair in the Sky,” from her album “Mingus”; “Bealtine” from the Brad Mehldau Trio; and contemporary soul group Vividry’s “Your Good Lies.” Pi Recordings: Available on vinyl ($35), CD ($14) or digital download ($13).
— Kevin Crust
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Compton artist Fulton Leroy Washington — known as Mr. Wash — at his studio.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Painter Fulton Leroy Washington — known as Mr. Wash — recently opened a new exhibit, “The City of Compton: Then & Now,” which serves as a fundraiser for a $15-million community arts center that Mr. Wash plans to build on his property. “The Art by Wash Studio & Community Center … is being designed to provide housing, studio space and support for formerly incarcerated artists with artistic talent,” writes contributor Jane Horowitz about the Morphosis Architects-designed complex.
Times classical music critic Mark Swed got the scoop on the latest Los Angeles Philharmonic appointment. “With Gustavo Dudamel’s final season as music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic reaching its homestretch, the orchestra has announced the appointment of its latest not music director. Anna Handler, a former Dudamel fellow and rapidly rising young conductor, will be given the new title of conductor-in-residence for the next three seasons,” Swed writes.
On a recent trip to New York City Swed noticed how much the Big Apple owes to L.A. for its current cultural offerings. L.A. artists are reshaping New York’s major institutions, Swed writes, noting that Gustavo Dudamel is revitalizing the New York Philharmonic and Yuval Sharon of the Industry is directing the Met’s “Tristan und Isolde.”
Director Knud Adams is photographed at the Wallis in Beverly Hills.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Times theater critic Charles McNulty sat down for an interview with theater director Knud Adams, who has staged world premieres of back-to-back Pulitzer Prize-winning plays — both of which are heading to Los Angeles. “English” opened Thursday at the Wallis Annenberg Center, and “Primary Trust” will land at the Mark Taper Forum on May 20. “He has become one of the most prized directors of new work in the country, and now Los Angeles will get a sample of his textually nuanced, scenically surprising excellence,” McNulty writes of Adams.
Finally, Malia Mendez wrote a piece about the upcoming two-year closure of the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. Your last day, to visit is July 6. “Prior to closing, the Tar Pits will host a free public KCRW Summer Nights event June 12 and a members-only, disco-themed dance party June 27,” Mendez writes, noting that the closure will facilitate the “first significant overhaul in [the museum’s] 50-year history.”
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CineVita near SoFi Stadium is staging “Teen Beat Live,” an immersive concert experience, through May 17.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Remember CineVita — the 15,000-square-foot Spiegeltent at Hollywood Park next to SoFi Stadium? It’s staging a glitzy tribute to the upbeat, universally loved (or at least known) music of 1980s cinema, running through May 17. Called, “Teen Beat Live,” the immersive concert experience is sure to have you racing to find your old VHS copies of John Hughes films.
Did I tell you about the golden toilet installation on the promenade near the Lincoln Memorial? It was placed there by the satirical arts group Secret Handshake as a criticism of President Trump’s White House renovations. “This toilet, spray-painted gold and set on a faux-marble pedestal, is the latest in a series of protest artworks and installations taking aim at President Donald Trump and his administration. A plaque on each side of the structure reads: a Throne Fit for a King,” writes the Washington Post.
WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump is denying ties to Jeffrey Epstein and knowledge of his crimes, saying Thursday that the “stories are completely false” and calling online accusations that she was somehow involved “smears about me.”
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation,” she said.
Reading an extraordinary statement at the White House, she denied any association with Epstein and said, “My attorneys and I have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success.”
The first lady also called on Congress to hold a public hearing centered on survivors of Epstein’s crimes, with a chance to testify before lawmakers and have their stories entered into the congressional record.
“Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes,” she said. “Then, and only then, we will have the truth.”
Her out-of-the-blue message came just as her husband, President Donald Trump, and his administration had finally appeared successful in moving beyond the Epstein controversy, which had sent shockwaves through the nation’s politics for months.
The case had begun to be overshadowed by the war in Iran and other major issues — but the first lady’s comments might push it back into the political spotlight.
The first lady said she was not friends with Epstein or Maxwell but was in overlapping social circles in New York and Florida. She described an email reply she sent to Maxwell as “casual correspondence” without elaborating.
“My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trifle,” she said.
“The Cowleys were different as after years of bargain basement managers we actually went out and did the research and found them,” said Whiley.
“The excitement was there and I remember the event where they first met the fans they were cheered into the room.
“We can look at this season and see promotion to the Championship as the best thing the club has done, but those three seasons, two promotions, FA Cup quarter-final, winning a trophy at Wembley. That changed it all.
“They brought a buzz back that we hadn’t seen since Keith, and they were like Keith in that they would find players on the way up, scour non-league and find the future stars.
“The fact is, that even after the Cowleys left to join Huddersfield, the energy stayed.
“It sticks with me that Danny said to me he didn’t want to see kids in Lincoln wearing the shirts of Premier League clubs, he wanted to see them kicking a ball in the park wearing a Lincoln City shirt.
“The success, the work that was done means that is a reality. I see it all the time when I go round the city, people wear their colours with pride.”
While Mark, Leigh and myself have covered parts of Lincoln’s recent history, one man who has been the stalwart has been BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Michael Hortin.
His first game was in 1999, and he was there in the commentary box as Lincoln gained promotion to the Championship.
“This promotion is the culmination of a long-term plan,” said Hortin. “This is about a chairman and board who have been thoughtful with their investment.
“Lincoln’s FA Cup run earned them a lot of money and they did not spend it on players, they spent it on a whole new training set-up.
“The Cowleys were the start of a transition from the old way of doing things, to a set-up that is very much part of the modern game.
“Under them a sporting director was brought in to support recruitment and player development and now we really do have a true ‘head coach’ in Michael Skubala.
“It is about finding those raw players, developing them, selling them, and it is paying off as it has allowed them to secure players on better deals.”
Lincoln have, as Hortin describes, recruited ‘experience’ to the squad. Their head coach, though, is a man who had limited time in the professional game, but Hortin said Skubala’s ability to learn and adapt has been impressive.
“I remember the first game Skubala took was against Stevenage, and it was a bit of a shock, but he was quite cool and his reaction was more ‘huh, this is what it is about’, and he learned,” said Hortin.
“The way the team has adapted and what Skubala has done is create a team that is hard to beat.”
A team that is hard to beat. A club that has been learning, developing, recruiting, all building up to where Lincoln are now. But what next?
Hortin is confident that the club will remain realistic. “The first goal will be survival, but the thing is they had a plan to become an established League One club, and now they will be working on another plan for what comes next.
“The one thing is that new owner Ron Fowler will likely go about it the same as Clive Nates. It will be done in a quiet, steady, thoughtful way. That has become the Lincoln way.”
1. The Night We Met (Indie Exclusive Edition) by Abby Jimenez (Hachette Book Group: $30) Friendship, missed connections and life-altering split-second decisions converge after one fateful night.
2. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Crown: $28) A lifelong letter writer reckons with a painful past.
3. Kin by Tayari Jones (Knopf: $32) The bond between two lifelong friends in the South is tested as they take different paths in life.
4. Heart the Lover by Lily King (Grove Press: $28) A woman reflects on a youthful love triangle and its consequences.
5. Vigil by George Saunders (Random House: $28) A spirit guide must shepherd the soul of a dying, unrepentant oil tycoon into the afterlife as he confronts his legacy of corporate greed all while supernatural visitors demand a reckoning.
6. Brawler by Lauren Groff (Riverhead Books: $29) A collection of short stories tackling the relentless battle between humanity’s dark and light angels.
7. Judge Stone by James Patterson and Viola Davis (Little, Brown & Co.: $32) The bestselling author and Oscar-winning actor team up for a small-town legal thriller.
8. Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy (Ballantine Books: $30) A teenager embarks on a secret relationship with her teacher.
9. Once and Again by Rebecca Serle (Atria Books: $27) A family of women have an astonishing gift: the ability to redo one moment in their lives.
10. Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict (St. Martin’s Press: $29) A young woman in the 1920s unearths the truth about a forgotten pharaoh, rewriting both of their legacies forever.
…
Hardcover nonfiction
1. A World Appears by Michael Pollan (Penguin Press: $32) An exploration of consciousness and a meditation on the essence of our humanity.
2. Strangers by Belle Burden (The Dial Press: $30) A woman explores her marriage, its end and the man she thought she knew.
3. The Best Dog in the World by Alice Hoffman (editor) Fourteen authors celebrate the life-changing bond with their canine companions in a collection of essays. (Scribner: $22)
4. Young Man in a Hurry by Gavin Newsom (Penguin Press: $30) The California governor tells his origin story.
5. You with the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate (Little, Brown & Co.: $32) The actor opens up about her tumultuous childhood, her five-decade-long career and the MS diagnosis that upended it all.
6. Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! by Liza Minnelli (Grand Central Publishing: $36) The entertainment legend shares her story.
7. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (Knopf: $28) Reckoning with what it means to live in a West that betrays its values.
8. Lessons From Cats for Surviving Fascism by Stewart Reynolds (Grand Central Publishing: $13) A guide to channeling feline wisdom in the face of authoritarian nonsense.
9. History Matters by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster: $27) A posthumous collection of essays from the Pulitzer-winning historian.
10. Writing Creativity and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd (Knopf: $29) A look at the mysteries, frustrations and triumphs of being a writer.
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Paperback fiction
1. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Ballantine: $22)
2. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (Atria Books: $20)
3. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Ace: $20)
4. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Vintage: $20)
5. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (Transit Books: $17)
6. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (Ecco: $20)
7. Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (Carina Press: $19)
8. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Vintage: $19)
9. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (Grand Central: $20)
10. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Riverhead Books: $19)
…
Paperback nonfiction
1. The Beginning Comes After the End by Rebecca Solnit (Haymarket Books: $17)
2. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (TarcherPerigee: $24)
3. The Wager by David Grann (Vintage: $21)
4. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Simon & Schuster: $20)
5. All About Love by bell hooks (William Morrow Paperbacks: $17)
6. The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson (Crown: $22)
7. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (Vintage: $21)
8. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $18)
9. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions: $22)
10. When the Going Was Good by Graydon Carter (Penguin Books: $22)
This story contains spoilers for “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
Everybody’s favorite fearless and super capable princess is back for another adventure — along with the denizens of her kingdom and a pair of New York plumber brothers — in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
Now in theaters, the follow-up to the 2023 blockbuster “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” sees Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi and Toad joined by some new yet also very familiar faces as they try to thwart yet another evil plan by a member of the Bowser clan. The result is some intergalactic travel and family-friendly action.
Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who also helmed the first film, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” formally introduces into Nintendo’s movie universe the cosmically powerful Rosalina and her flock of star-shaped Lumas, Bowser’s ambitious mini-me, Bowser Jr., the insatiable dinosaur-like Yoshi, ace pilot Fox McCloud and more video game fan favorites. (That includes Mr. Game & Watch, one of Nintendo’s earliest playable characters.)
These introductions, of course, don’t stop when the film’s main story ends.
Much like the first installment, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” features a couple of bonus scenes that are shown after the credits begin to roll. The first is a mid-credits scene that involves a breakout character from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” and the second, shown after the credits end, introduces another Nintendo royal.
Many Lumas appear in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
(Nintendo and Illumination)
The mid-credits scene is justice for Lumalee
Lumalee quickly won audiences over in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with his cheerfully nihilistic one-liners while imprisoned by Bowser. The blue Luma doesn’t appear during the main story of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” but the star-shaped creature steals the mid-credits scene.
The bonus scene takes place sometime after the movie’s main story ends at the prison where Bowser and Bowser Jr. have been locked up. After Fox teases a possible sequel or “Star Fox” spin-off by mentioning he is finally “heading home” as he approaches his ship, audiences get a glimpse of what’s in store for the Bowser duo’s foreseeable future.
Peace may not be an option, because their prison guard is former Bowser captive Lumalee. And the role reversal — complete with uniform — doesn’t appear to have changed Lumalee’s outlook on life in any way.
The blue Luma said it best in the first “Mario” movie: “Life is sad, prison is sad, life in prison is very, very sad.” Just how sad things might get for the Bowsers will be up to Lumalee.
Peach fights off some Ninjis in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
(Nintendo and Illumination)
The second post-credits scene introduces a new princess
The final bonus scene in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is more of a teaser for what could come in a future “Mario” installment.
This stinger takes place back at the hub known as the Gateway Galaxy. The mischievous thieving monkey Ukiki is once again trying to make off with the belongings of a passerby when he is stopped by another traveler: Princess Daisy.
Daisy is a character that first appeared in the 1989 Game Boy game “Super Mario Land.” Much like Peach in the first “Super Mario Bros.” video game, Daisy was the princess players were trying to rescue. She has since become a Nintendo regular, being featured as a playable character in “Mario”-related titles including in the “Mario Kart,” “Mario Party” and “Super Smash Bros.” series of games as well as the latest main series installment, “Super Mario Wonder.”
Although Daisy does not have any lines in the film, the video game incarnation of her is known to be energetic and feisty.
This brief glimpse of Daisy is another indication that there is more to come in the Mario movie franchise. Audiences will have to wait to see if (or when) a third movie is officially announced.
After his October 2015 overdose at a Nevada brothel, Lamar Odom says, he had “12 strokes and six heart attacks. All my doctors say, like, I’m a walking miracle.”
Now, more than a decade later, the Love Ranch brothel has been demolished, but Odom is still around.
The former Laker and onetime husband of Khloé Kardashian is telling his story for “The Death and Life of Lamar Odom,” the newest episode of Netflix’s documentary series “Untold,” along with Kardashian, former coach Phil Jackson and others who were around during his Oct. 13, 2015, health emergency. The episode premiered Tuesday.
“You know what’s funny?” the 46-year-old former player told Sports Illustrated in an interview published Monday. “I haven’t even watched it yet. You know why? Because I lived it.”
Odom, who just got out of another month of rehab in February, insists that the 2015 episode was not a mere overdose but a “hit,” an attempt on his life.
“Right when I signed the divorce papers, I was like, ‘I’m gonna get it in.’ The Bunny Ranch I used to always see on TV, but I don’t have any coke to take,” he says in the documentary. “ … It’s crazy when you think about [how] one decision, so big or so minor, could be so pivotal to you and to people that you really love.”
The late Dennis Hof, owner of the Bunny Ranch, where HBO’s “Cathouse: The Series” was shot, owned other Nevada brothels. Odom set off that October for Hof’s Love Ranch in Crystal, about 80 miles outside of Las Vegas.
“It was pretty rare that a celebrity — certainly anybody above the D-list — would be actively trying to come out to one of the brothels,” former Love Ranch manager Richard Hunter says in the “Untold” episode. “This was kind of a myth. This was something Dennis perpetuated.”
But, Hunter said, “Lamar Odom actually began contacting several of the girls from the Love Ranch on Instagram. … Being a professional athlete, there’s a lot of easier ways to do this than to drive an hour outside of the city into the desert, walk into a brothel, such as it was, and want to live there for a few days.
“As the days progressed, I remember that him or one of his handlers … actually contacted the brothel and wanted a car to pick him up. So it definitely became real when he gave us the address of where he was at.” The driver called the Love Ranch and let them know his passenger really was Odom. They put him in a house behind the brothel, Hunter said, where they put folks who were “spending enough money.”
Odom told USA Today in an interview published Monday that what transpired at the Love Ranch — which was demolished in November 2024, after Hof’s 2018 death — “was like a hit. Obviously they missed. I don’t know if they want to finish the job.”
Kardashian explains in the episode that her divorce from Odom came as a result of an ultimatum she was told to deliver during a planned intervention: a three-month rehab stint or a split. Odom surprised them, she said, when he said that all he wanted was his passport — and the divorce.
“I was like, looking around like, ‘Wait. Wait. I — I don’t want the divorce,’” she said. “‘You guys [who assembled for the intervention] told me I have to say this.’”
Odom and Kardashian had signed their papers before the OD, but a judge hadn’t yet signed off on the dissolution, which allowed her to keep him insured and, as his wife and next of kin, to make decisions regarding his health. Kobe Bryant, Odom’s Lakers teammate and Kardashian’s close friend, flew to Nevada to help her decide whether to proceed with surgery to fix Odom’s lung that had collapsed. She said yes, even though there was only “like a 10% chance” that it would work and that he would survive the procedure.
Odom made it through, recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Bryant died in a helicopter crash less than five years later.
After the OD, Kardashian never left the hospital. She put their divorce — finalized in 2016 — on hold. When Odom awakened from his coma, he couldn’t control his bowels and needed six hours a day of dialysis, according to the documentary. “So you can understand the humility … I’ve won two championships. I’m Lamar Odom. I can’t walk, can’t talk. And they come in to check my diaper.”
He was 35 at the time. The next summer, he was removed from a flight at LAX before takeoff while drunk and vomiting, having been seen earlier slamming beer and whiskey in the Delta Airlines lounge.
So what would Odom tell his younger self, if he could, after suffering a dozen strokes and six heart attacks after that visit to the Love Ranch?
“Stay away from your weakness. And my weakness, obviously, was drugs because I’m a drug addict,” he told SI. “It could have been passed down to me from my father. But I’m not blaming anybody. Makes no sense to blame anybody. On or off the court, you have to work with what you’ve got. And I had an incredible stat line in terms of skills and how to play the game.
“And just work on being the best player that you can be. Anybody who offers you that s—, drugs, whether it be coke, pot, alcohol, they probably ain’t your friend. And to choose my friends wisely, because they could affect you on or off the court.”
Odom also wasn’t sure why Netflix had tapped him at this moment, but hopes that by telling his story he might help other people who are trying to get out of addiction.
“I was telling my girlfriend on the way here, it’s like swimming in a cesspool of trauma,” he told USA Today, mentioning a partner who has not been identified. “And I’m trying to get out of it, but the story reels me back into that pool every time. But I just know I’m bigger than the situation, and I hope to help a lot of people by giving my testimony. Not just with the story, but just in life, that we can all overcome addiction.”
That and, well, “Netflix had a good paycheck, bro,” he told SI with a laugh. “No, but it’s a time and place for everything. I don’t know what made me relevant now.”
Earlier this year, the Bronx-born Dominican actor reprised her breakthrough TV role as Carla Espinosa on the reboot of the beloved ABC medical sitcom, “Scrubs.” For just four episodes, she returned to Sacred Heart Hospital as head nurse and an exhausted mother of four daughters, whom she parents alongside her onscreen hubby, chief of surgery Dr. Christopher Turk (played by Donald Faison).
While fans only caught a quick glimpse of Carla — who is said to be picking up extra shifts elsewhere — her name lingers in the script.
“I’m like the Lord,” said Reyes on a recent video call with The Times. “Just when you think you’re getting away with something, there’s Carla!”
In reality, Reyes has been splitting her time on set with another ABC workplace drama. Now in its second season, “High Potential” sees Reyes leading a top-notch team of crime solvers as Lieutenant Selena Soto, opposite Kaitlin Olson and Daniel Sunjata. “I don’t know any other way to be!” she said of the role. “Latinos are lieutenants and nurses and doctors, et cetera!”
When The Times connected with Reyes, she was crouched down backstage at the Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College in the Bronx. We spoke merely hours before the debut of “Freestyle: A Love Story,” a stage production that follows two lovers who meet at a freestyle show — then reconnect at a concert 20 years later.
Created and directed by George Valencia, with Reyes as one of the executive producers, the story interlaces the history of freestyle music: a Latin hip-hop and pop hybrid genre popularized in the 1980s by acts like Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, George Lamond and Judy Torres.
“Our very existence is political no matter what. Our joy is a problem for a lot of people,” said Reyes. “It’s really important for us to tell our stories.”
Between the passion project and two highly-rated Hulu shows, which continue to stream on the platform despite eventual plans to merge into the Disney+ app, Reyes is not taking her spotlight for granted — especially amid a sinking Hollywood industry model that’s made it difficult for some to find work — “I’m milking it for all it’s about,” she said.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
How were you able to film both the “Scrubs” reboot and Season 2 of “High Potential”? ABC was willing to make it work. “Scrubs” had been in the works for a long time. From Zach Braff and Donald Faison doing their podcast [during the pandemic], to the T-Mobile commercials … A whole new generation became interested in and got hitched to “Scrubs.”] It just so happened at the same time that “High Potential” was happening. My manager was wonderful about making sure [filming] was accommodating.
“I’m so honored and so thrilled to be part of what I consider a television history,” said Judy Reyes of her role as Carla Espinosa on the ABC medical sitcom “Scrubs.”
(Jeff Weddell / Disney)
Did it feel natural to return as your character Carla on “Scrubs”? It did. They did right by making all these characters older. We were all older with each other. We’re all friends that don’t necessarily talk to each other every day [except] Zach and Donald — they’re pretty much married — but it was like we never left.
What has changed in Carla — and what hasn’t changed? What’s changed in Carla is that she’s got four kids and she’s tired and she’s older. The consuming passion of her work is not what it used to be because it’s physical. Life is catching up. Her kids are older, so everything changes and she’s not able to work her ass off the way she used to and she has to confront that.
In season 2 of “High Potential,” your character Lieutenant Soto faces a moment of defeat when she’s not chosen to be captain. What thoughts popped into your head as you rehearsed the scene? It’s extremely well-written. Defeat is very relatable as a woman — [and] as a woman of color, as a woman of a certain age and as a woman of a certain position. I think we can all, as actors, relate to not getting something you are sure you deserved. But there’s also the surrendering. It’s opening up to all the [possibilities] because if you don’t do that, then you get paralyzed. It stops you in your tracks. “Well, what if I feel this defeat again?” You might, you know, but what’s your alternative? You gotta eat s— to move ahead.
Judy Reyes portrays Lieutenant Selena Soto in “High Potential,” leading a top-notch team of crime solvers opposite Kaitlin Olson and Daniel Sunjata.
(Jessica Perez / Disney)
There are some moments in “High Potential” when your character is holding up a mug with the Dominican Republic flag. How do you find other ways to incorporate your Latinidad in the story? When we did the “High Potential” pilot, the props department said I got a mug in the scene and if I wanted anything on it. I was like, “Hmm, no one ever asked me before. Can you do a Dominican flag?” That was in Vancouver and I’ve had it since. The Dominicans lose their f— minds on social media and I love it. It fills my heart.
The other stuff is just being me, which is the purpose of being an artist. I don’t know how much sense it makes to throw in the Spanish word, unless you have other Latino people with you.
Latinos haven’t historically been represented as leaders in Hollywood. Has it evolved? Things progressed before DEI collapsed. There was an active attempt and pursuit of putting people of color in leadership roles. I’m grateful it’s happened. I’m sad it’s retreated a little bit, but I think it has to start behind the camera. We need to champion writers, directors, producers and the stories or get risky and daring with casting.
What has changed in Hollywood and what has not changed in your perspective? Many things have changed from the way we view television. Everything is streamed. Now everything is a limited series. There’s such a political impact in what gets seen and what doesn’t. It’s very hard for people right now and I feel challenged to say how it is better, because I’m working. I see how hard it is. The best thing I can do is seize the platform and connect with other creatives who want to go ahead and take a chance and make investments in stories.
Now with the growing monopolies in the entertainment industry, I’m sure that’ll likely change Hollywood too. It continues to affect the workforce. The workforce is gonna be severely impacted. The more you merge, the more people you fire and the more machines you put in their place. It’s a frightening moment.
I’m grateful I saw Noah Wyle represent against the [Paramount-Warner Bros.] merger. I’m motivated, because I think we ultimately have to protect each other and protect the art for as long as we can.
What grounds you and your art in an era that is often trying to strip you away from your creative liberties? My company GoodTalk Films, myself and my partner and husband George Valencia are working with the Watford F.C. Women’s League to launch a Latina Women’s Football Club here in L.A.. We [want to] train Latinas to be coaches. That’s another way to reach out to the community and help people see themselves. That keeps you grounded in the creative process.
I see a lot of theater. I make a lot of trips to New York. I just saw [the Broadway adaptation of] “Dog Day Afternoon,” produced by Stephen Adly Guirgis. My kid is in the arts and I hang out a lot with him and help him sing and perform. The process is what brings joy in working with other people interested in the same thing.
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6. Once and Again by Rebecca Serle (Atria Books: $27) A family of women have an astonishing gift: The ability to redo one moment in their lives.
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8. Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser (St. Martin’s Press: $29) A reimagining of the myth of the evil stepmother at the heart of “Cinderella.”
9. Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami (Knopf: $30) The tumultuous bonds of sisterhood are explored in the gritty Tokyo of the 1990s.
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You might expect a screenwriter working in the horror genre to be relatively difficult to scare, but Haley Z. Boston, the creator and executive producer of Netflix’s harrowing new limited series “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen,” insists that is not the case.
“I’m afraid of everything,” Boston, 31, said during a recent Zoom conversation. “I’m afraid of horror movies, but that’s why I love them so much, because they scare me. A lot of horror people are desensitized and looking for something to shake them. I am the opposite. I am easily afraid.”
The easily frightened — and the recently engaged — might be advised to approach Boston’s new series, which premiered Thursday, with caution. A haunting fusion of David Lynch surrealism and “Rosemary’s Baby” paranoia, “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” traces the peculiar and ominous events that unfold in the week leading up to the nuptials between wary Rachel (Camila Morrone) and trusting fiancé Nicky (Adam DiMarco), as overseen by Nicky’s mother Victoria (Jennifer Jason Leigh).
Faced with inexplicable truths about Nicky’s family and her own past, Rachel becomes convinced that saying “I do” has the potential to prove deadly, and she comes to fear what might take place when she walks down the aisle.
Camila Morrone as Rachel Harkin in Netflix’s “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.”
(Netflix)
“I’d seen people in their wedding, in their vows, say, ‘I never once had a doubt,’” Boston said. “I’m like, ‘How could you not constantly question everything?’ It felt very natural to me to explore that idea in a horror show where the doubt is the horror.”
Horror has long been a preoccupation for Boston. The Oregon native has a tattoo of the phrase “Carrie White burns in hell” to commemorate her favorite film, Brian DePalma’s landmark Stephen King adaptation, “Carrie.” She distinguished herself writing episodes of weird, atmospheric series including Netflix’s “Brand New Cherry Flavor,” a nightmarish exploration of witchcraft and filmmaking in 1990s L.A., and “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities,” also for Netflix.
Her installment in the Oscar-winning director’s anthology series, “The Outside,” was inspired by a comic titled “Some Other Animal’s Meat” and followed the unnerving transformation one woman undergoes after purchasing a beauty cream advertised on a late-night infomercial. “It’s all about being an outsider and feeling different, and I related to that,” Boston said.
Boston began writing at the age of 11, and after seeing Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” in her early teens, she became interested in filmmaking. “I was so taken by the way that the story is told, and I love a revenge story,” she said. “That’s when I started to think, ‘Is this something? Who wrote that? How does any of this work?’”
She had considered following her parents’ path and choosing a career in medicine, but during her first formal writing class at Northwestern University, she felt that she’d found her calling. “I was like, ‘No, this is it. This is what I want to do,’” Boston said.
“I’m like, ‘How could you not constantly question everything?’” Haley Z. Boston says about marriage. “It felt very natural to me to explore that idea in a horror show where the doubt is the horror.”
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
After graduation, she moved to L.A., taking a job in the William Morris Endeavor mailroom and writing scripts on her own time. A high school slasher movie she’d penned in college landed her an agent. Soon after, her pilot for a “sapphic murder story” inspired by “Killing Eve” netted her 22 pitch meetings — the first was with director Sam Raimi, whose early-career “Evil Dead” movies are beloved cult classics. “I was 24, and I did the scariest thing at the time possible,” Boston said. “Sometimes I think if you don’t think too much about how terrifying it is, and you’re just thrown into it, that’s better.”
With “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen,” Boston found herself thrown into the position of showrunner without ever having spent any real time on a set. Yet Morrone says Boston was the picture of confident professionalism throughout the shoot. “There’s just a grace to her,” Morrone said. “Even if she was overwhelmed, you would just never see it. These are her words and her world, and she inherently knows the character and the story so well that she could really navigate any questions thrown at her because it lives in her.”
The series is something profoundly personal for Boston. Growing up with parents whose marriage seemed idyllic had left her struggling once she began dating, and she channeled many of her own anxieties into the show. “They’ve been together for 37 years or something,” Boston said of her parents. “I felt all this pressure knowing that that exists. It always felt like a curse. You have this great example of what a marriage is, and I always found myself weighing every little romantic tryst against this 30-year marriage — which was unhelpful.”
She hit upon the premise for the series right around her 27th birthday, a time when more and more of her friends began to get married, and developed the idea while working on other projects. By the time Boston sat down to write the pilot episode, she knew the narrative and the characters so well that it took her just two weeks to finish.
Pitching the series, she met with “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer, who were so impressed by her vision that they signed on to executive produce “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” through their Upside Down Pictures banner.
“From reading one page of her script, it became very clear that this is someone who has a very unique voice,” Ross said. “It was unlike anything we’d ever read before. Immediately, we were like, ‘We have to be involved with this. We have to help bring her vision to life.’”
Rachel (Camila Morrone) and Nicky (Adam DiMarco) experience peculiar and ominous events leading up to their wedding.
(Netflix)
Matt added, “Haley has such a specific sense of humor. It’s very dark, very dry, but it also feels incredibly real. Her characters talk very much in the same way that real people talk. I find that sadly rare in the scripts that you read.”
The series was filmed in Toronto in January 2025 with directors Weronika Tofilska (“Baby Reindeer”), Lisa Brühlmann (“Killing Eve”) and Axelle Carolyn (“American Horror Story”) behind the camera. Boston said she and her collaborators would often reference specific films — everything from “The Celebration” to “Uncut Gems” — as a shorthand for the tone they were hoping to strike in a given episode. “I really love a story that takes something normal and grounded and gives one twist on it that throws you into a different world and makes you see things in a different way,” Boston said.
With “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” poised to elevate Boston’s Hollywood profile, establishing her as one of the most exciting voices in horror, she’s already planning for her future, writing a film that she intends to direct. “I love the horror community, but it is still such a boy’s club, and I really want to infiltrate it,” Boston said.
“The genre has been so much about women, and in studying feminist theory in horror, especially back in the ’70s, the genre forced men to relate to women — you’re watching a woman survive, which is ultimately very powerful,” she added. “I find it interesting how many men are making horror movies about women. I talked about ‘Carrie.’ I love that movie, but it’s missing something. Same with ‘Rosemary’s Baby.’
“This show is such a great opportunity to begin my career in this genre — now, I want to continue my reign of terror.”
The three part series has recently been added to BBC iPlayer as true crime fans say it is ‘well worth a watch’
19:03, 28 Mar 2026Updated 19:03, 28 Mar 2026
Captive Audience features interviews with Steven’s family including mum Kay Stayner(Image: BBC/Hulu)
A “mind blowing” true crime documentary with a twist fans do not see coming, is now available to stream online for free.
The mini series, titled Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, was first released on Disney Plus and Hulu back in 2022 as it follows the real life story of a seven year old boy who suddenly vanishes from his home in California.
Named Steven Stayner, he miraculously returns seven years later, sparking a media sensation, but where had he been? Spanning across three episodes, the documentary is now available to stream on BBCiPlayer as it has been dubbed the perfect watch for fans of true crime.
A BBC synopsis reads: “A story that captivated a nation – and destroyed a family. A boy missing for seven years miraculously returns home, but it wasn’t the Hollywood ending it seemed to be.”
The three-part series plunges viewers back to 1972 when the unusual kidnapping case first came to light. It then explores his return as well as the family being thrust back into media headlines decades later.
Featuring heartbreaking accounts from family members, including Steven’s daughter and mother, fans have also admitted they were not expecting the revelations made in the third episodes.
Viewers may also recognise a TV film titled I Know My Name is Steven, which was released in 1989, also exploring the same case.
The documentary has been branded a must watch for fans of the genre as one person said in a TikTok video: “It’s really good, well worth a watch.”
Another commented: “I watched the three episodes of Captive Audience last night and OMG I never dreamed of what was coming in episode 3.”
A third added: “I was fascinated watching Captive Audience. It was shocking and sad.”
In another video, recommending the documentary, one viewer said: “You will want to watch it because it is a mind blowing story.
“It’s a really fascinating documentary. If you haven’t watched it already, I would definitely recommend it.”
Another commented: “It’s absolutely mad, very sad as well.” A third echoed: “It’s a heartbreaking real life story from beginning to end.”
Over on Facebook, one user said: “A heartbreaking and chilling story about trauma, survival, and the long shadow of tragedy.”
An IMDB reviewer said: “This documentary is heart breaking and captivating. To learn what this kid went through and his own heroic act to save another child, is mind blowing.”
Another added: “I loved this story and the way it was told. It is not often in true crime that we get to see the family and friends and how their lives have been impacted by the crime.”
Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story can be streamed on BBC iPlayer and Disney Plus.
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.
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.
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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 Drivepsmuseum.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 Drivetorranceartmuseum.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 Drivethewallis.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.
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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.
GO to Dungeon Lane today and it’s strange to think it occupies a special place in Paul McCartney’s heart.
Yet it will go down in pop history alongside other street names associated with him, joining Penny Lane and Abbey Road.
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Paul McCartney today in a picture taken by his daughterCredit: Mary McCartneyPaul, left, makes his debut public performance, aged 15, with The Quarrymen, led by John Lennon, right, in 1957Credit: PA:Press AssociationPaul in his early years, aged 8Credit: Alamy
Situated in the Speke neighbourhood of Liverpool, the L24 postal district, a faded road sign sets the tone for its desolate air.
It is bordered on one side by a solar farm business and, on the other, by a fenced-off area of scrubland which separates it from the city’s John Lennon Airport.
Before you get very far, a bright yellow “emergency access gate” bars further exploration.
But, as a child, Dungeon Lane was McCartney’s gateway to a stunning rural idyll where he could escape the hustle and bustle of urban life.
In the Fifties, the lane took him past a daffodil farm to the Oglet Shore on the widest stretch of the River Mersey.
I wonder if young Paul, a keen birdwatcher, ventured into this wilderness clutching his trusty The Observer’s Book Of Birds.
There, he may have spotted any number of waders — curlew, snipe, dunlin, black-tailed godwits.
What we do know is that his lifelong love of our feathered friends began in those days.
This helps explain the compositions dotted through his career such as Blackbird with The Beatles, Single Pigeon with Wings, Two Magpies with The Fireman and solo efforts Jenny Wren and Long Tailed Winter Bird.
To McCartney, his early rambles into the countryside represent humbler, simpler times before The Fab Four exploded on to the scene, before his storied life in the dazzling glare of publicity.
Paul with his dad Jim and brother MikeCredit: GettyPaul’s childhood home at 20 Forthlin RoadCredit: Getty ImagesPaul with mum Mary and younger brother Mike
Sir Paul, 83, has called his 19th solo album The Boys Of Dungeon Lane . . . which is, as he suggests, a trip down memory lane.
He got the title from the lyrics of its first single, Days We Left Behind, released yesterday, a nostalgia-filled acceptance that he has a far longer past than future.
Intimate, beautifully sung with Macca playing acoustic guitar, bass, piano and harmonium himself (how does he do that!?), it is the first taste of a project that has been five years in the making.
“This is very much a memory song for me,” he says. “I was thinking about just that . . . the days I left behind.
“And I do often wonder if I’m just writing about the past — but then I think, how can you write about anything else?”
For McCartney, the song conjures up “a lot of memories of Liverpool. It involves a bit in the middle about John [Lennon] and Forthlin Road which is the street I used to live in. Dungeon Lane is near there.”
Paul was born on June 18, 1942, to his midwife mother Mary and salesman father Jim, and they moved with younger brother Mike to 20, Forthlin Road, Allerton, in the mid-Fifties from Speke, where they had lived since 1947.
We also know that Paul first bumped into John on July 6, 1957, at roughly 4pm, at a garden fete behind St Peter’s Church, Woolton.
In Days We Left Behind, he sings of the bond he formed with the lanky lad 20 months older than him: “We met at Forthlin Road/And wrote a secret code/To never be spoken.”
Continuing his reflection on the song, he says: “I used to live in a place called Speke which is quite working class.
“We didn’t have much at all but it didn’t matter because all the people were great and you didn’t notice you didn’t have much.”
As already mentioned, birdwatching was a hobby, one that required little cash and gave him a lot of pleasure “in the nearby woods and fields”.
Sir Paul with his wife NancyCredit: PA:Press AssociationPaul, a keen birdwatcher, owned The Observer’s Book Of BirdsCredit: Alamy
A recent entry in Macca’s Spotify playlists, under the banner Sticking Out Of My Back Pocket, came accompanied by these musings . . .
“My mum had the midwife’s house on the edge of Liverpool, where we lived,” he says.
“It was where Liverpool just stopped and became deep countryside, so that was when I had the opportunity to do quite a bit of birdwatching.”
He particularly cherishes the moment he saw a “skylark rising into the sky, singing its sweet song”.
That unforgettable sight has found its way into Days We Left Behind, with its lines, “In the skies the skylarks rise/Above the sounds of war/Since that day I knew they’d stay/With me for evermore.”
All these decades later, he reflects: “And now because I live part-time on a farm [in Sussex], I’m able to see a lot of birds and I don’t need The Observer’s Book Of Birds quite so much as I did back then.”
McCartney’s new album promises to be one of the most personal, most autobiographical song cycles he’s ever recorded, while also finding room for up-to-date love songs dedicated to third wife Nancy.
Yesterday’s announcement states that it finds him in a “candid, vulnerable and deeply reflective mood, writing with rare openness about his childhood in post-war Liverpool, the resilience of his parents, and early adventures shared with George Harrison and John Lennon”.
I’m guessing here but songs yet to be heard, Momma Gets By and Salesman Saint, appear to be affectionate remembrances of mum Mary, who died when Paul was just 14, and dad Jim.
Sir Paul has called his 19th solo album The Boys Of Dungeon LaneCredit: SuppliedDungeon Lane, now fenced off on both sidesCredit: supplied
This is not the first time Macca has delved into his early years for songwriting inspiration.
I talked to him about the playful On My Way To Work, which appeared on his 2013 album, New.
He called it a “collection of memories all morphed together”, providing a fascinating glimpse into his life before Beatlemania.
“It’s about me going to my first job, before The Beatles took off, which was working on a lorry for a delivery company called Speedy Prompt Deliveries — SPD.”
McCartney described going to work on the council-run green and cream buses which led to him looking at risqué magazines like Parade.
“I’d go on the bus at some unearthly hour of the morning,” he said. “I might buy a magazine and look at the nudies. I was too young to be interested in the news!”
He remembered how hard-up kids like him ripped the fronts off cigarette packets and traded duplicates with their mates, instead of collecting “football cards or, like in America, baseball cards”.
“It was like, ‘I’ll swap you two Craven A for a Woodbine’. Then there were the posh brands because this bus route went from the centre of Liverpool to the outskirts.
“Posh people would be smoking Passing Clouds or Sobranies and packets of those were very prized.”
Another song, Queenie Eye, referenced a childhood street game from “1940s Britain”.
“It’s what we used to get up to before video games and that whole home entertainment thing,” he said.
“Someone would be elected to be ‘the one’ or the ‘queenie eye’. We’d all stand behind that person and he would throw a ball over his head and one of us would catch it and hide.
“Then we would all chant, ‘Queenie eye, queenie eye, who’s got the ball? I haven’t got it. It isn’t in my pocket!’ It was simple entertainment for simple minds but great fun.”
Now it is time to return to the 2020s and the creation of The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, the follow-up to his captivating lockdown album, McCartney III.
This time, we’re told we can expect “Wings-style rock, Beatles- style harmonies and McCartney-style grooves”.
TRACK LIST
As You Lie There
Lost Horizon
Days We Left Behind
Ripples in a Pond
Mountain Top
Down South
We Two
Come Inside
Never Know
Home to Us
Life Can Be Hard
First Star of the Night
Salesman Saint
Momma Gets By
The process began around five years ago when Macca met American live-wire producer Andrew Watt, known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, Lady Gaga, Post Malone and The Beatles’ greatest Sixties chart rivals, the Rolling Stones.
Watt, I gather, “pulled a guitar” on his latest rock icon, who instantly happened upon a chord he didn’t recognise.
As the story goes, the ever- experimental McCartney changed one note, then another, until he had a three-chord sequence.
That led to his new record’s opening track, As You Lie There, which in turn set the ball rolling for the other 13 songs.
It’s remarkable that, as with McCartney III, he is credited with playing all the instruments himself across the whole thing.
It brings to mind how at ease this enduring music obsessive seemed as he suggested specific drum beats and fills to Ringo Starr in The Beatles’ Get Back documentary.
With Macca still touring and playing momentous shows like his 2022 Glastonbury epic, Days We Left Behind has been honed over half a decade when time permitted.
During that period, he even managed to introduce the Stones to producer Watt, who helmed their 2023 comeback album, Hackney Diamonds.
When McCartney was in Los Angeles working with Watt, he was brought in to play bass on Mick Jagger and Co’s punk blast, Bite My Head Off.
Upon its release, I spoke to Keith Richards who was made up over their special guest.
“Yeah, Macca just strolled in with his bass,” the guitar legend drawled. “I think the song reminded him of those times [in the Sixties]. Beatlemania was equally as bizarre as Stones mania.”
There’s a moment towards the end of Bite My Head Off where you can hear someone saying, “Come on Paul, play something”.
“That might have been me,” smiled Richards.
But this is all about Britain’s greatest living songwriter, Paul McCartney, and his new album The Boys Of Dungeon Lane.
Time is precious but when it comes to music and life, he’s still facing forward at 83 — even if he’s remembering a youth long ago when “in the skies, the skylarks rise”.
I am blindfolded and seated in a vintage armchair set in the center of a darkened, red-lit room with Gothic accents. An actor is performing nearby. I hear their voice, but cannot, of course, see them. I suddenly spring upward in my seat, alarmed at the touch of some sort of cloth — or perhaps a feather? — across my ankles.
I’ll never be entirely sure. For wearing the small veil across my eyes was a requirement to participate in “Poe: Pulse & Pendulum,” the debut offering from new troupe Theatre Obscura L.A. The company’s initial performance contains two one-act plays, modern interpretations of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
While the stories are familiar to many, Theatre Obscura increases the levels of discomfort. In this room, I am at times unsettled, at once tracking the movements of the actors while attempting to remain hyper aware of any sudden touch or scent. “The Pit and the Pendulum,” the first half of the program, translates especially well to this setting, its dark sense of demented confinement keeping my nerves on high alert.
Conjuring such a state of anxiety was the point.
“If you take the visual away, it’s going to make you feel uneasy,” says Paul Millet, who devised the concept.
There are jump scares. Downtown event space the Count’s Den has been outfitted with about 50 speakers for the Obscura shows, which run through April 12. Some are visible before one puts on the blindfold. Many, though, are hidden under seats or couches, as the audio will trail the actors around the room, or perhaps a sudden crash or door opening will have me jolting my attention elsewhere.
“The Pit and the Pendulum” is a story of torture, and as the narrator, here played by Melissa Lugo, desperately speaks of a blade swinging above, actors will fan us, timing their waves with each swoosh of the audio. I was prepared for that one, as a fellow theatergoer nearby let out a soft yelp when the unseen gestures first arrived above their head.
For many, sight is the most coveted sense. “If you take that away, you’re already naturally uncomfortable,” Millet says. “So we lean into that. We know you’re going to be uncomfortable. We know this is not the norm. But get on that ride with us. Be willing to be uncomfortable. Discomfort, I think, helps to heighten the experience, and ideally allow it to trigger the emotional reactions that the story does.”
“Poe: Pulse & Pendulum” is two one-act, audio-focused performances of Edgar Allan Poe stories.
(Joe Camareno / Theatre Obscura)
Still, touch is limited in the show. Occasionally a rattling of a chair, but little more. The fluttering I felt near my ankles was to mimic the sensation of a running critter. The troupe will ask for audience consent, and participants can opt out. While I went in wondering if “Poe: Pulse & Pendulum” would seek to recall more extreme haunt experiences with lengthy waivers, Millet wanted to keep it light — an audio play, primarily, with just a few in-the-flesh signals.
“We want people to feel unease, but I don’t want anyone taken out of the story because a boundary or line was crossed,” Millet says.
Scent, too, is used with restraint. There are moments when guests will get a whiff of a fragrance that pairs with the storyline. Millet considers the first run of Theatre Obscure to be an experiment in how much touch and scent audiences may want to endure. Smell, he says, is tricky, as the aroma may linger and become a distraction.
Millet has been honing the concept since 2023. Previously, he was part of the team behind Wicked Lit, which ended in 2019 after running for a number of years at unique locations such as Altadena’s Mountain View Mausoleum. Those immersive performances would feature casts and guests walking the venue. Theatre Obscura, however, is fully seated.
“Poe: Pulse & Pendulum” focuses on the fear that something may happen to us when stripped of sight.
(Joe Camareno / Theatre Obscura)
And while the stories of Poe lend themselves to the Halloween season, spooky events increasingly occur year round. Long-running production “The Willows” is set to wrap in early April, and “Monster Party,” a period piece that takes guests to a devilishly extravagant cocktail party, is re-launching in mid-April. Millet, a longtime theater producer who has a day job in television editing, is hoping to stand out by avoiding “the glut” of horror events that occur each September and October.
Theatre Obscura may face challenges, namely persuading potential guests that “The Pit and the Pendulum” is more than simply a live reading with audio effects.
“You can feel the movement of the characters around you,” Millet says. “You’re in the environment with the story as it unfolds. You can experience it on a more visceral level.”
Blindfolded, I felt Theatre Obscura was mostly playing off our fears rather than giving in to them, largely keying in on our anticipation that something may happen to us when stripped of sight. Lugo in much of “The Pit and the Pendulum” circles guests, who are seated sporadically around the room, allowing each of us to imagine how close or far we may be from the hole we are told is at its center. Each show deals with claustrophobia in some way, either of a space, or of a mind.
“The Tell-Tale Heart” is louder, more crowded. The sounds of crashing glass and creaky floorboards had my head working overtime to draw a floorplan, only to then have it distorted when actors would unexpectedly whisper in both of my ears to bring forth the protagonist’s nightmares. While I expected Theatre Obscura to be slightly more aggressive in its uses of touch and scent, it’s a show that asks us to live in our heads, and to sit in our own feeling of trepidation.
“I was intrigued,” Millet says, “with really trying to engage the audience’s imagination.”
