CONTRA-TEMPO, the critically-acclaimed Los Angeles-based urban Latin dance company, presents joyUS justUS, an evening-length work that celebrates the power of joy to overcome inequalities, on Friday, January 17, and Saturday, January 18, 2020, 7:30 pm, in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts' Bram Goldsmith Theater. Set to the music by the band Las Cafeteras, the powerful work fuses Salsa, Afro-Cuban and contemporary dance styles with theater, offering stories of hope, faith, family and joy collected from communities of color in South Los Angeles.
CONTRA-TEMPO, the critically-acclaimed Los Angeles-based urban Latin dance company, presents joyUS justUS, an evening-length work that celebrates the power of joy to overcome inequalities, on Friday, January 17, and Saturday, January 18, 2020, 7:30 pm, in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts' Bram Goldsmith Theater.
As the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth approaches, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents Dinnerstein/Haimovitz: Beethoven/Glass. Esteemed pianist Simone Dinnerstein and acclaimed cellist Matt Haimovitz perform a musical celebration pairing the legendary composer's works with one of contemporary music's most influential composers a?" Philip Glass a?" on Thursday, January 9, 2020, 7:30 pm, in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis. The virtuosos are presented as both collaborators and soloists in a a?oethen and nowa?? program that includes Beethoven's Cello Sonatas Op.102 No. 1 and No. 2, as well as Philip Glass' Partita No. 2 for Solo Cello and Mad Rush for Solo Piano. Dinnerstein, praised for her 'majestic originality' (The Independent) and 'unpretentious elegance' (The New Yorker), is known for her highly personal recital programs and visionary collaborations. Haimovitz, renowned as a musical pioneer, is hailed as a a?oeferociously talented cellist who brings his megawatt sound and uncommon expressive gifts to a vast variety of stylesa?? (The New York Times).
Casting has been announced for The Wallis and For The Record's production of LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE, the multimedia concert celebration of one of the most beloved holiday films of all time and the biggest, record-breaking hit in The Wallis' history, which is back by popular demand, now as a not-to-be-missed Los Angeles tradition with performances beginning the day before Thanksgiving (November 27) and running through the weekend following Christmas (December 29). Returning from the 2018 production are Rex Smith (RIAA Gold® recording artist), Carrie Manolakos (Broadway's Mamma Mia!, Wicked), Doug Kreeger (Broadway's Les Misérables), Tomasina Abate (For The Record's Scorsese: American Crime Requiem, Tarantino), Carson Higgins (international tour of Green Day's American Idiot) and the multi-dimensional Emily Lopez. New this year to the lineup of outstanding performers are Rogelio Douglas Jr. (In the Heights and The Little Mermaid on Broadway), Declan Bennett (Once, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Taboo in the West End, American Idiot and Rent on Broadway), Jon Robert Hall (Fox's Grease: Live, “Glee”), Chris Mann (NBC's “The Voice,” The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary Tour), James Byous (Scorsese: American Crime Requiem, Netflix's 'Westside'), Ruby Lewis (Cirque du Soleil's Paramour, Lights Out: Nat 'King' Cole), singer/songwriter/actress Aubrie Sellers (one of Rolling Stone's best country albums of the year), Gabriela Francesca Carrillo (American Mariachi, Netflix's Homecoming), Levi Smith (A Bronx Tale: The Musical, It's a Wonderful Life, Mary Poppins and The Music Man on Broadway), young singer/actress Nayah Damasen, John Battagliese and accomplished violinist Molly Rogers.
The Wallis and For The Record present LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE, the multimedia concert celebration of one of the most beloved holiday films of all time and the biggest, record-breaking hit in The Wallis' history, which is back by popular demand, now as a not-to-be-missed Los Angeles tradition with performances beginning the day before Thanksgiving (November 27) and running through the weekend following Christmas (December 29).
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents Broadway and TV stars MEGAN HILTY (Wicked, 'Smash') and CHEYENNE JACKSON (Xanadu, 'American Horror Story') as they join forces for a thrilling and personal evening highlighted by powerhouse Broadway showstoppers, American songbook classics and rare musical gems on Saturday, January 25, 2020, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. Although the performance is sold out, wait list requests are being accepted.
The venerated Los Angeles-based Lula Washington Dance Theatre returns to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts to celebrate its milestone 40th anniversary with a dynamic and powerful program exploring social and humanitarian issues. The company performs for three nights only, from Thursday, January 30 through Saturday February 1, 2020, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The program, which includes three world premieres and a West Coast premiere, celebrates the dance company's past with some repertory gems and is also decidedly forward-looking, with new works from new voices, some of whom are a generation younger than co-founders Lula and Erwin Washington.
Bring your smile and imagination to SUNDAY FUNDAY, delightfully interactive, free, family-friendly dance and theatre experiences presented by the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, on Sunday, December 8, 2019 on The Wallis' outdoor Promenade Terrace. From 11 am to noon Story Pirates, “a theatrical treasure” (New York Times), offers a swashbuckling musical sketch comedy show adapted from wildly imaginative stories written by kids (suitable for children ages 5 and older). Dance Sundays with Debbie Allen and friends, features an engaging Bollywood dance class for people of all ages and abilities led by Blue13 Dance Company from noon to 2 pm.
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents the Fig Street Films production of LEDISI: The Legend of Little Girl Blue, a musical journey into the lives of Nina Simone and Ledisi, from Friday, December 13 through Sunday, December 29, 2019, in The Wallis' Lovelace Studio Theater. Eight performances have just been added to the engagement, due to the original dates being sold out months in advance.
After a most successful run last December, For The Record's LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE encores at The Wallis beginning November 27, 2019. FTR pairs the actual screening of the 2003 perennial holiday hit film Love Actually with live singers and a 15-piece orchestra on stage complementing the movie's soundtrack. I got the chance to grab a few minutes and some behind-the-scenes with the prolific, ever busy, For The Record Live executive producer Shane Scheel.
Casting has been announced for The Wallis and For The Record's production of LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE, the multimedia concert celebration of one of the most beloved holiday films of all time and the biggest, record-breaking hit in The Wallis' history, which is back by popular demand, now as a not-to-be-missed Los Angeles tradition with performances beginning the day before Thanksgiving (November 27) and running through the weekend following Christmas (December 29).
Making its debut as The Wallis' first foray into contemporary circus, Australian company Circa brought HUMANS, its tribute to what it means to be fiercely human, offering a thrilling and heart-stopping performance by ten acrobats from this award-winning contemporary circus ensemble who pushed the boundaries of physical possibilities during their extraordinary 70 minutes of exquisitely choreographed athletic artistry.
The second season of Film Independent Presents at The Wallis kicks off with a signature Live Read event featuring Cameron Crowe's 1992 classic Singles, directed by award-winning filmmaker James Ponsoldt, making his Live Read debut, on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The cast includes Jay Duplass (Jeff Who Lives at Home, The Puffy Chair), Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Lynn Shelton (Humpday, Your Sister's Sister), Mamoudou Athie (The Circle, The Frontrunner) and more to be announced.
Don't be fooled by the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts performance of Charles Dickens' timeless, transformative masterpiece tale, A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
Don't be fooled by the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts performance of Charles Dickens' timeless, transformative masterpiece tale, A CHRISTMAS CAROL. This mesmerizing one-man production, performed by David Mynne from Wednesday, December 4 through Sunday, December 8, 2019, in The Wallis' Lovelace Studio Theater, is NOT your run-of-the-mill adaptation.
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents acclaimed Grammy-winning pianist Garrick Ohlsson a?" the only American ever to win Poland's prestigious International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition a?" in a program of solo works by Chopin and Brahms on Friday, November 8, 2019, 7:30 pm in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis. Ohlsson, a musician of a?oerazor-sharp accuracy (and) a sound so lush it almost glistensa?? (The Seattle Times), puts his unique musical stamp on Chopin's Nocturne in B-flat minor and Sonata in B minor.
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents acclaimed Grammy-winning pianist Garrick Ohlsson a?" the only American ever to win Poland's prestigious International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition a?" in a program of solo works by Chopin and Brahms on Friday, November 8, 2019, 7:30 pm in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis. Ohlsson puts his unique musical stamp on Chopin's Nocturne in B-flat minor and Sonata in B minor. He also performs three sets of works by Brahms: Rhapsodies, Op. 79; Fantasien, Op. 16; and Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35 (Book II).
Sonia De Los Santos, hailed by Billboard as 'one of the Latin children's music artists you should know,' makes her debut at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts with La Golondrina: A Musical Journey,
As the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts launches its 2019/2020 Season with record-breaking ticket sales and on the heels of its highly successful and critically lauded 2018/2019 Season, Michael Nemeroff, Chairman of the Board of Directors, announces the election of five business leaders to its growing Board of Directors. All highly accomplished in their respective fields and philanthropic work, they include: Thomas Blumenthal (a Beverly Hills resident), Donald Kivowitz (a West Hollywood resident), Agnes Lew (a San Marino resident) Peter Lowy (a West Los Angeles resident) and Richard Ziman (a Beverly Hills resident). In addition to Nemeroff, The Wallis is led by Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer Rachel Fine and Artistic Director Paul Crewes.
Internationally acclaimed Australian company CIRCA makes its debut as The Wallis' first foray into contemporary circus with Humans on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2, 2019, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater.
