Ben Gibbs

The Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC), led by Artistic Director Fernando Malvar-Ruiz and  considered among the world's leading children's choirs, announces its 2019-2020 season.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) and new Music Director Jaime Martin announce sweeping programming for the 2019-20 Season that builds upon the Orchestra's illustrious legacy while blazing a path to its future.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Grand Performances collaborate to present a free showcase of its musicians, its community partners and the four Fellows of The Los Angeles Orchestra Fellowship on Saturday, November 3, 2018, as part of Grand Ave Arts All Access, a festival set in the city's epicenter for the arts. Sharing Grand Performances' stage from 11 am to 3 pm are Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Quartet, Street Symphony, American Youth Symphony, Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, and violinist Sydney Adedamola, violinist Ayrton Pisco, violist Bradley Parrimore and cellist Juan-Salvador Carrasco, the LA Orchestra Fellows.

There are certain Dance Companies that are in a class by themselves. Dance Theatre of Harlem is one of them. They not only encompass many forms of the Dance brilliantly, they are committed to diversity in their dancers and repertoire.

I was lucky enough to be one of the lucky ones to be in the Broad Stage audience recently when the extraordinary Dance Theatre of Harlem invited Los Angeles audiences, for the first time in way too many years, to join in with them in experiencing the wonders of neo-classical and contemporary ballet that is both of the moment and timeless. The evening's 105-minute program consisted of Brahms Variations, choreographed by Robert Garland (2016), Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, choreographed by Ulysses Dove (1993) and Vessels, choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie (2014), each more enchanting than the last!

If you have ever gone on retreat or participated in a silent workshop like EST, the detail of Small Mouth Sounds will be of particular interest. If you have not, not to worry. The moment to moment dramedy makes total sense and is most definitely worth your time and money. Bess Wohl who wrote the successful Barcelona a couple of years back, has done it again. Small Mouth Sounds is at the core about people, the pain they experience and the efforts they make to deal with it. Now onstage for a mere three weeks at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Small Mouth Sounds doesn't say a heck of a lot, yet simultaneously says it all. Watching the six actors play off each other is one of the best features of this play. Each creates a character with a different problem. Some issues we recognize right away, others don't become obvious until later in the 110 minute piece performed without an intermission. Take Judy and Joan, for example. Judy (Charene Snow) and Joan (Socorro Santiago) are lesbian lovers. Judy h

It's official. I have a new favorite thing, and it is called MUSE/IQUE. You would too if you'd been in the audience for GLOW/TOWN, the third in a 3-part series celebrating Motown and its roots Saturday night at Caltech. From the structure of the program to the sophistication of the environment, Artistic Director Rachael Worby and company have created a musical experience in a class by itself.

Although I never watched their program, I do remember that Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were wildly known almost as much for their outrageous personalities and sartorial style as their devotion to preaching the gospel of Jesus. It is easy to see why the pair became an unlikely surrogate family for the two teenagers from Detroit raised on that same belief, as they rapidly became the hottest stars in televangical America. But for the naive siblings, especially BeBe, it's not an easy lesson learning how to reconcile the temptations of fame and fortune with the things he ultimately values more. It's a wildy funny yet emotional journey toward self-discovery, told with great music and outstanding performances by siblings Juan Winans and Deborah Joy Winans (the children of Carvin Winans, Sr. and Deborah Winans) who portray their aunt CeCe and uncle BeBe with the utmost respect, magical stage presence, and the most amazing vocal pipes!

The Ghosts of Versailles features Patricia Racette in the leading role of Marie Antoinette and Broadway legend Patti LuPone as the Turkish entertainer Samira.

Echoing current presidential candidates' contentious views on immigration, the opera ¡Figaro! (90210) brings the debate over immigration reform and income equality center stage beginning Saturday, March 19th at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street project (229 West 42nd Street).

Patti Lupone, ghosts and a gigantic pink elephant!

FREUD'S LAST SESSION, New York's long-running hit play by Mark St. Germain, kicked off its L.A. premiere Wednesday night, January 16th starring Judd Hirsch as Sigmund Freud and Tom Cavanagh as C. S. Lewis under the direction of Tyler Marchant, who helmed the original New York production. Presented by The Broad Stage & Carolyn Rossi Copeland, Robert Stillman and Jack Thomas, FREUD'S LAST SESSION will play a strictly limited engagement through February 10th at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Check out photos of St. Germain and the cast on opening night below!