Pencil This In: Cinema Paradiso on the Big Screen, Loteria's Art Benefit

Loteria Grill in Hollywood is hosting an art reception and benefit tonight. / Photo by Ca-Los via LAist's flickr pool.

ART
The Loteria Grill in Hollywood is holding a reception tonight for Mexican artist Esau Andrade tonight from 5-9 pm. The event (which includes an auction of artwork) will benefit children with special needs at the Atwater Park Center. RSVP to 323.465.2500.

FILM*
Tonight the ArcLight Hollywood screens one of this LAist writer’s favorite movies of all time…ever: Giuseppe Tornatore Cinema Paradiso. It’s one of the ArcLight members top 10 films of all, time, too, because they picked this screening. Set in a small Sicilian village, the story follows Salvatore, a little boy who grows up to be a prominent Italian filmmaker. He returns home for the funeral of the local film projectionist, who mentored him as a boy, and is flooded by memories of his childhood. The last scene gets us every time. The 8 pm show is already sold out, so they’ve added an 11 pm show tonight.

MUSIC
Eccentric organist-composer Charlemagne Palestine presents the work Schlingen-Blängen on the world’s largest church pipe organ tonight at 8 pm at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. “Always accompanied by his family of stuffed animals, Palestine has gained worldwide notoriety for his transcendent and earth-shaking performances, which create the illusion of dozens of organists playing simultaneously. His pure and animistic music creates trance-like drones that must be heard live to be fully appreciated.” Tickets are $25 and $10 for students.

COMEDY
“The Armando Show” is a weekly hour-long improve based on audience suggestion. Tonight, the show’s hosted by The Daily Show’s Rob Corddry who’ll interpret that audience suggestion through a personal and truthful improvised monologue. “Inspired by that monologue, a cast composed of veteran Chicago and Los Angeles alumni perform scenes that, in turn, inspire a response from Armando. This propels hilarious interchanges between Armando’s monologues and the company’s scenes.” The show begins at 9 pm tonight on the Main Stage and tickets are $10.

*Pencil pick of the day