Dolly Parton rocked the House of Blues Friday at a “sneak peek” press and group sales event in Los Angeles for 9 to 5: The Musical , a new musical comedy based on the 1980 hit movie that starred Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin opening September 20 at the Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre. Clad in a white sequined dress and backed by her full band and singers, the petite legend sang a rousing......

Today was the day that the first Barbie doll made her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York in 1959. Make fun of her all you want, but Barbie's an icon whose life has been far more interesting than any reality show, and yes we know if she were real her head wouldn't be supported by her body dimensions or some such thing, but come on. Even Dolly Parton named her......

LA’s theatre scene is packed with good stuff this week: Dolly Parton serves as muse; a Korean family’s road trip goes wrong; and a bunch of people sing about chess at the Ford. So without further ado, here are LAist’s five theater picks for this week: Journey to Dollywood Jolene is a small-town waitress who idolizes obsesses over Dolly Parton. When a stranger’s car breaks down in town, her life, a rival co-worker’s, and their......

OUT TODAY The Little List Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (Universal) -- Vintage sounds, modern frankness, and a smoky songstress who lays out her vices like a sexy Randy Newman (minus the funny). Prepare to have your brain rewired with dead-on 60’s soul and epidemically contagious tunes. The Fratellis - Costello Music [2007] (Cherry Tree) -- If you like bouncy, brit-pop and hanging out in your garage, this should be your record of......

(l-r): Billy Bob Thornton, Marty Stuart, Porter Wagoner, and Dwight Yoakam perform a surprise set before Neko Case @ The Henry Fonda Theatre. Photo courtesy Ice Cream Man. For the first time in recent history, Hollywood was rattled by bonafide foot-stomping. Many in the audience at the Music Box last night had no idea what was taking place when Neko Case announced Porter Wagoner's intention to take over Hollywood. But a historic buzz took......

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together in the sight of Rock and in the face of Roll, to join together you, dear LAist reader, and this New Music Tuesday in holy Matrimony. This mystical union is not to be entered into lightly, or unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly (ha), and in the fear of the reaper. More cowbell. L'chaim. OUT TODAY: .38 Special - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: (A&M)......

Today - Tuesday Clippers @ Jazz (PRIME, 6:00 p.m.) Coyotes @ Kings (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) Ducks @ Sharks (KDOC, 7:30 p.m.) "Emeril's Kicked Up New Years Celebration" (FOOD, 8:00 p.m.) Watch this show with a bottle of vodka, any time Emeril says "kick it", "notch", or refers to the band or the schmucks in the front row, take a shot. "29th Annual Kennedy Center Honors" (CBS, 9:00 p.m.) Andrew Lloyd Webber, Zubin Mehta,......

Remember a few weeks back when Jessica Simpson pulled an Ashlee at the taping of the Kennedy Center Honors? She flubbed the lyrics to "9 to 5" in a tribute to Dolly Parton, abruptly ended the song and left the stage -- in front of a bunch of Hollywood A-listers and the Washington bigwigs. After the audience left, Jessica got to perform the song again for the show, but she obviously didn't like her......

David Geffen won the bidding war in the mid '80s to nab the country-tinged LA band Lone Justice and their self-titled debut came out to much hype. Everyone was fixated on the blonde singer, Maria McKee, whose voice was often compared to both Dolly Parton and Janis Joplin as the songs went from bluesy to hillbilly with a solid foundation in rock. Record sales didn't meet expectations despite being overwhelmingly loved by critics, fans,......

LAist favorites Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins returned to LA and Spaceland on Thursday night. The show consisted basically of the songs from their album Rabbit Fur Coat. We decided to go after having the album on rotation for weeks, and liking each more each time. The songs are steeped in enough traditonal styles that they feel somewhat timeless. "Rabbit Fur Coat" is in a way a sad inversion of Dolly Parton's classic......

If you've only seen one of the nominated movies, haven't voted in any pools and are really only tuning in to the Oscars to see Jon Stewart, the, highlights of the evening are not so much the awards as any funny or memorable moments in the ceremony. So far: - Stewart turned his trademark self-deprecation into a funny opening film that poked fun at all the rumors that he was far down on the......

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and the gay cowboy lovestory leads the pack: Brokeback Mountain got 8 nominations. The 5 movies up for Best Picture are Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Munich, Good Night and Good Luck, and Crash, which just took the big prize at the SAG Awards Sunday night. One of our favorite categories this year is makeup, which pits the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and the Chronicles of Narnia......