Odyssey Theatre founder Ron Sossi dies at 85
Ron Sossi, the founder of L.A.’s experimental and boundary-pushing Odyssey Theatre, has died. He was 85.Sossi died of congestive heart failure March 19 at Cedars-Sinai…
‘Buena Vista Social Club’ and writer Marco Ramirez debut on Broadway
Officially, playwright and screenwriter Marco Ramirez began working on the Broadway musical “Buena Vista Social Club” a little more than six years ago. But if…
Miami Beach mayor wants to end lease, funding for theater showing anti-Israeli film
Basel Aero (from left), Rachel Szar, Hamdan Ball, and Yuval Abraham of "No Other Land" celebrate backstage after winning the Oscar for best documentary feature…
‘Parasite’ director Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Mickey 17’ stumbles at the box office
Director Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi thriller “Mickey 17” had a slow start in theaters this weekend, amid a sluggish last few weeks for the domestic…
A Ukrainian theater’s show goes on with an all-female cast
CHERNIHIV, Ukraine — The 43-year-old Ukrainian actor took to the stage wearing a black leather jacket and with a mustache painted on her face.Ruslana Ostapko was performing…
Netflix-operated Bay Theater survived Palisades fire, owner says
Amid the devastation of downtown Pacific Palisades caused by this week’s firestorm, the Bay Theater has emerged relatively unscathed.While nearby buildings were reduced to ash,…
Robert Laemmle, longtime head of Laemmle Theatres, dies at 89
Robert Laemmle, who took over running the Laemmle Theatres chain from his father, died on Thursday at age 89.Laemmle’s death was confirmed by his son…
Betty Gilpin moves with ease from ‘American Primeval’ to ‘Oh, Mary!’
NEW YORK — Betty Gilpin is not one to complain.She spent seven months in New Mexico making “American Primeval,” a gory western set in the…
Los Angeles’ best classical music, art and theater in 2025
Happy New Year, Essential Arts readers! 2025 is already shaping up to be a feast of a year in terms of arts and culture in…
Box office was down in 2024. Why Hollywood still sounds relieved
It wasn’t good, but it could’ve been a lot worse. Given the lingering effects of last year’s Hollywood labor strikes, the relative lack of big…
Making theater fans for life starts with great shows for kids
I have an admission to make: I recently cried during a matinee of “Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical” at Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver…
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend: art, music, theater
During The Times’ Actors Roundtable, Adrien Brody gorgeously shared how his mother has “guided me in my understanding of art and the yearning to leave…
Martin Benson dead: South Coast Repertory founding artistic director was 87
Theater director Martin Benson, who co-established the Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory and served as its founding artistic director for 46 years, has died. He…
The casual moviegoer is a thing of the past. That’s a problem for Hollywood
It was on a spontaneous trip to the movie theater that James Young took a chance on “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the…
Gavin Creel memorial service will livestream as tribute to ‘Hello, Dolly!’ star
NEW YORK — A memorial tribute to Broadway star Gavin Creel is planned for Monday in the theater where he starred in “Into the Woods” and…
25 things to do in L.A. to feel like you’ve walked into a holiday movie
In any season, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater is big family fun. And in winter, there’s “Holiday on Strings.” First of all, it’s puppets on…
‘I got lonely’: Why a student built an escape room in a UCLA dorm room
“Code Green” has the trappings of a modern escape room. We enter what we are told is a hidden bunker-turned-research lab. It’s dark, but there…
Is ‘Wicked’ headed toward best picture?
How can you mend a broken heart? The good reverend Al Green knows. The good reverend Al Green knows how to sing a sad song…
‘Juror #2’ to stream on Max in December after brief theatrical release
Clint Eastwood’s legal drama “Juror #2” is set to debut on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service Max on Dec. 20, adding to the controversy over…
Sting on his new trio, Billy Joel and why he’ll never wear spandex
Sting sits in a trailer at September’s Ohana Festival in Dana Point with two important questions before him: which songs to perform during that night’s…