Weekend Roundup
Find the best Los Angeles things to do for the weekend of 4.20.12
EVENTS
Transmission LA: AV Club Curated by Mike D
Apr. 20-May 6. Mike D of the Beastie Boys curates a 17-day festival at MOCA that features a mixture of contemporary art, design, music, film and food. During the festival, find art, concerts, DJ nights, performances and installations. Dine at an outdoor pop-up restaurant from chef Roy Choi (Kogi), who will feature a different menu of original cuisine each day. Also find an interactive coffee bar curated and designed by Robert McKinley. Geffen Contemporary, MOCA, 152 N. Central Ave., downtown, 213.626.6222. moca.org
LA Times Festival of Books
Apr. 21-22. Lovers of lit venture to the USC campus in east L.A. for this annual event featuring readings, discussions with authors, signings and books for sale. The event also has live entertainment and a children’s area for budding bookworms. Call for hours. Free. Parking $10. University of Southern California, Exposition Boulevard and Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, 213.237.2665. events.latimes.com
Tyler Perry’s Madea Gets A Job
Apr. 20-22. Director Tyler Perry takes his matronly alter ego from the Madea films to the stage for a brand-new play about the sassy grandmother’s return to the workforce. Nokia Theatre, LA Live, 777 Chick Hearn Court, downtown, 213.763.6020. nokiatheatrelalive.com
Tadasana Festival of Yoga & Music
Apr. 20-22. During the three-day experience, choose from 60 master teachers offering 75+ classes and workshops with live, in-class musical performances by artists from around the world, as well as dozens of lectures, and an eco-conscious shopping market in a location, just steps from the Santa Monica Pier. 2600 Barnard Way, Santa Monica. tadasanafestival.com
For the Record – The Coen Bros
Through Apr. 29. This 360-degree theatrical concert and dining experience features world-class performers who bring the movies to life with signature songs and moments from Coen Brother-directed films including O Brother, Where Art Thou, Fargo, Hudsucker Proxy and The Big Lebowski among others. Arrive early and enjoy Barre Vermont’s California cuisine and cocktails. Thurs.-Sun. $35. 1714 N. Vermont Ave., L.A., 323.661.6163. fortherecordlive.com
MUSIC + DANCE
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
Apr. 20. Seun Anikulapo Kuti brings his signature Afrobeat to Royce Hall, heading up Egypt 80, the combo first fronted by his renowned father, Fela Kuti, whose legend has grown exponentially in the past two years thanks to the Broadway smash hit bearing his name. Seun’s latest album, From Africa With Fury co-produced by Brian Eno, captures the group’s extraordinary power, fraught with the scorching rhythms and kinetic funk energy. Royce Hall, UCLA Campus, Westwood. uclalive.org
The Anoushka Shankar Project: Traveller
Apr. 21. In a groundbreaking performance, Anoushka Shankar boldly blends the passionate and diverse music of Spain with the vibrant, ancient forms of the Indian classical tradition. The tracing the thousand year musical journey of Gypsies from their Indian homeland through the Middle East and Europe before reaching the final destination of Spain, Shankar shows the connection between Spanish and Indian music. Bursting with flashing rhythms and intricate melodies, the concert brings together the Indian sitar and Hindustani vocals with the Spanish guitar and gypsy cante like never before. Lukman Fine Arts Complex, Cal State LA, 5151 State University Dr., Los Angeles, 323.343.6600. luckmanarts.org
Lineage Dance: “The Pasadena Dance Festival”
Apr. 21. The day long festival includes classes and workshops for all levels, and festival concert, which features performances by AXIS Dance Company of Oakland, Lineage Dance and seven other nationally recognized contemporary dance companies. Festival pass $60, evening dance show $35/online, $40 door. Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. pasadenadancefestival.org
Live at Artisan House
Spend your Sundays and Mondays stylishly dining on artisan fare, crafted cocktails, as well as wine cheese, charcuterie. Sundays feature the tunes of the Icy Hot Club, who skillfully conjures 1930s gypsy jazz in the style of Django Reinhardt; while Mondays offer the eclectic sounds of the Campfire Trio, who collaborate to play everything from Radiohead to Paul Simon. Sundays: 2:30-6:30 p.m.; Mondays 7-11 p.m. Artisan House, 600 South Main St., downtown, 213.622.6333. artisanhouse.net
Le Salon de Musiques
Apr. 22. Concert features Arensky: Variations On A Theme by Tchaikovsky Opus 35 for violin, Viola and two cellos and Tchaikovsky String Sextet “Souvenir De Florence“ with Julie Gigante and Roberto Cani on violins, Andrew Duckles and Alma Lisa Fernandez on violas, Timothy Landauer and David Low on cellos. The performance is accompanied by Champagne, food by Patina and informal conversation introduced by musicologist Julius Reder Carlson. This performance is accompanied by Champagne, food by Patina and informal conversation introduced by musicologist Julius Reder Carlson. $65/$45 students. 4-6 p.m. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown, 310.498.0257. lesalondemusiques.com
EAT | DRINK
Lagunitas Brewing Company Dinner at the Churchill
Apr. 5. As part of a continuing series of wine and beer paired dinners at the Churchill, Lagunitas Brewing Company offers a five-course tasting menu and beer pairing. The menu features highlights like seasonal citrus salad, local halibut ceviche, chicken pot pie, house-made bacon-wrapped hot dog, and more with each dish being paired with one of Lagunitas’s brews, including their flagship IPA. $55/pp. 7:30 p.m. 8384 West 3rd St., LA, 323.655.8384. the-churchill.com
Sunday Supper at Lexington Social House
Opens Apr. 22. Executive chef Jared Simons mans kitchen at one of Hollywood’s most stylish supper clubs and offers a weekly three-course prix fixe menu with a choice of two appetizers and mains, in addition to a dessert, that puts an inventive twist on time-honored favorites, like fried chicken, steak tartar, and pineapple upside-down cake. Also stop by Tues.-Sat. to taste their new spring market-driven menu. 1718 Vine St., Hollywood, 323.461.1700. lexingtonsocialhouse.com
Beer Festival at Tony’s Darts Away
Apr. 21. To celebrate their 2nd anniversary, Tony’s Darts Away doubles their size for the day by adding an extended outdoor deck and bar for an all day beer festival. During the festival dine on menu favorites like Jailhouse tacos (vegan or non-vegan chili ladled over Fritos, jalapenos, salsa, Daiya or Tillamook cheddar, sour cream optional) and popular vegan and non vegan sausages. Beer champion Paige Reilly will be tapping some extremely rare specialty brews throughout the day, including Cuvee de Tomme, Supplication, Sucaba, 4 Calling Birds and MUCH more. 1710 W. Magnolia Avenue, Burbank. tonysda.com
SHOPPING
Calleen Cordero Trunk Show at Margaret O’Leary
Apr. 21. Los Angeles designer Calleen Cordero is known for her stylish shoes and accessories, while Margaret O’Leary dazzles femmes with her innovative chic knitwear. Stop by her boutique on Montana Ave. for champagne and treats, while you see what’s new for spring and shop the Calleen Cordero trunk show. 1522 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, 310.496.1800. margaretoleary.com
THEATER
Billy Elliot The Musical
Through May 13. Musical adaptation of the film about a small-town boy who enrolls in ballet classes. Original Broadway production won ten Tony awards in 2009, and earned accolades as “Best Musical of the Decade,” —Time Magazine. Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 800.982.2787. broadwayla.org
The Convert
Through May 19. he Center Theatre Group commissioned Obie Award-winning playwright Danai Gurira to write this powerful new play about a teenage girl in colonial southern Africa torn between family and faith. Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, 213.628.2772. centertheatregroup.org
Good People
Through May 13. Nominated for a 2011 Tony Award for Best Play, Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People takes an affectionate look at the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ through the eyes of characters who won’t be ignored. Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood, 310.208.5454. geffenplayhouse.com
The Bungler
Through May 27. The Bungler is comic genius. Moliere’s first romp written in verse, and one of the greatest hits of his lifetime. This rarely produced gem is a non-stop cavalcade of wily servants, dim-witted young lovers and avaricious old men on a bumbling, tumbling, tackling, wild and woolly ride. A Noise Within, 3352 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, 626.356.3100 x1. ANoiseWithin.org
Waiting for Godot
Through Apr. 22. Together for the first time, Alan Mandell and Barry McGovern — two of the most distinguished interpreters of Samuel Beckett’s work — delightfully debate the meaning of life and the absurdities of human behavior in this new production exclusively at the Mark Taper Forum. 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown, 213.972.7353. centertheatregroup.org
American Idiot
Through Apr. 22. Slinging razor guitars , thundering drums and an antihero named Johnny: not the prelude of typical entries in the canon of musical theater. But the musical based on Green Day’s 2004 rock album American Idiot was a hit on Broadway, and it travels to downtown’s Ahmanson Theatre on a 15-city national tour. Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown, 213.628.2772. centertheatregroup.org
Antony and Cleopatra
Through May 13. Shakespeare’s seminal tragedy is based on larger-than-life figures caught up in an empire-shattering dance of lust, love, politics and war. “Its appeal is the fascinating relationship between Antony and Cleopatra, who love each other deeply but in a way that is not sustainable… Because of their flaws, we can identify with the lovers and see a part of ourselves in them,” muses director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott. A Noise Within, 3352 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, 626.356.3100 x1. ANoiseWithin.org
