Watch Hadestown on stage. Hear from Nikole Hannah-Jones about her work, including the 1619 Project. Laugh along with the staggeringly fantastic lineup of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival.
Lost and Found at the Movies: How to Survive Your Own Death
Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library
630 W. 5th St., downtown L.A.
The Library Foundation’s Aloud series examines how filmmakers have dealt with the concept of (im)mortality by portraying cloning and the uploading of consciousness on film. Guest Riley Stearns and his 2022 dark comedy, Dual, serves as the jumping off point for the conversation.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
The Women of Weird Tales
Virtual
Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies holds an online lecture with Melanie R. Anderson discussing early pulp fiction. Focusing on the horror and dark fantasy magazine Weird Tales (1923-1954), Anderson explores how women were involved in the writing and production of the pulps.
COST: $10; MORE INFO
Hadestown
Ahmanson Theatre
135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.
Anaïs Mitchell’s musical takes audiences on a journey to the underworld and back, blending modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz. The show reimagines two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone.
COST: Tickets start at $40; MORE INFO
Cue & A with Robert Kraft featuring Kris Bowers
The Broad Stage
1310 11th St., Santa Monica
Attend the debut of a new live series celebrating film scores and composers. The first installment features conversation, film clips, commentary, live demonstrations and an audience Q & A with Emmy Award-winning composer and pianist Kris Bowers, whose recent credits include Respect, King Richard, and Bridgerton. He’ll be interviewed by Kraft, a fellow songwriter, composer, and former president of music at 20th Century Fox.
COST: Tickets start at $55; MORE INFO
Better Half Comedy
Bar Bandini
2150 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park
Kara Klenk and Jared Logan host this weekly night of comedy. This week's lineup includes the Sklar Brothers, Zainab Johnson, Greta Titelman, Lili Michelle, Savannah DesOrmeaux, and Matt Barats. The show is 21+. Donations accepted — and they go directly to the comics.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Nikole Hannah-Jones
Virtual
The California Endowment welcomes Professor Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of The 1619 Project. The groundbreaking journalistic initiative puts the consequences of slavery at the center of our national story. While it’s been taught in many California schools, the project has been banned by other states. Listen to Hannah-Jones discuss her life and work, including training the next generation of Black reporters at Howard University. Closed captioning and Spanish interpretation will be available.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
The Magnetic Fields
Theatre at Ace Hotel
929 S. Broadway, downtown L.A.
The indie rock outfit, led by lead singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt, returns to play tunes from the band’s three-decade career, including their iconic triple-album 69 Love Songs (1999).
COST: From $39.50; MORE INFO
Small Island Big Song
Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro
478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
This multimedia concert raises environmental awareness about rising sea levels, featuring eight artists from islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans performing music and spoken word.
COST: $28 - $105; MORE INFO
I Heart the Valley
The Ford
2580 Cahuenga Blvd E., Hollywood Hills
The L.A. Phil’s Gen X Festival continues with a multimedia panel discussion of The Valley. As portrayed in Gen X classics like The Karate Kid, Valley Girl, and Encino Man, the San Fernando Valley’s racially and economically diverse population were often overlooked. Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh, host and curator, and Karen Tongson, curator, discuss the real life legacies of the Valley with guests.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
An Evening with Fran Lebowitz
The Broad Stage
1310 11th St., Santa Monica
The Broad Stage also welcomes the writer, cultural satirist and star of the Netflix series Pretend It’s a City. She’ll offer observations on modern life, being interviewed by different people each night (Anne Litt, A Martínez, Sandra Tsing Loh, Jon Brion, and Larry Willmore).
COST: Tickets start at $55; MORE INFO
The Hollywood Comedy Shorts Film Festival
TCL Chinese Theatres
6925 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood
The short film festival returns after a two-year hiatus, screening more than 90 films in competition. The festival begins with an opening day BBQ and happy hour at TAP Studios followed by two days of screenings at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters.
COST: $50 all-access badges; MORE INFO
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
Regal LA Live (1000 W. Olympic Blvd., downtown L.A.)
Harmony Gold (7655 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood)
UCLA’s James Bridges Theater (235 Charles E Young Dr. E, Westwood)
The 20th annual edition of the festival returns in person with a gala presentation of Pan Nalin’s Last Film Show, the world premiere of Anmol Sidhu’s Jaggi, the North American premieres of Faraz Ali’s Shoebox, and Natesh Hegde’s Pedro. The festival also includes a Spotlight on South Asia section and 20th anniversary shorts.
COST: Individual tickets start at $15; MORE INFO
Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival
Various Venues
This is a staggeringly massive festival of comedy shows, panel discussions, and table reads happening all throughout the city. The lineup includes Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias at Dodger Stadium (May 6-7), Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl (April 28 and May 3), Amy Poehler and Tina Fey in conversation at the YouTube Theater (May 7), and Atsuko Okatsuka at Dynasty Typewriter (April 30). Plus, there’s a free minifestival within the festival: Outdoors At Hollywood Palladium, which includes drop-in sets, food and drinks, photo experiences, funny minigolf, and a Netflix Is A Joke Museum of Comedy.
COST: Varies; MORE INFO
Under the Banner of Heaven (Hulu)
The show is inspired by Jon Krakauer’s bestselling nonfiction book that traces events leading to the 1984 murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her baby daughter outside of Salt Lake Valley, Utah. Andrew Garfield plays the detective investigating the case, uncovering secrets within the Lafferty family and the LDS religion. What he finds leads him to question his own Mormon faith. The FX original limited series streams the first two episodesexclusively on Hulu starting April 28. The last five episodes will be released weekly.
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