Best things to do in Los Angeles and Southern California: December 16 - 19

Guy Branum is a regular on Taylor Tomlinson’s late-night show After Midnight and has shown up in many of your favorite films and late-night TikTok scrolls. He brings his brash brand of unapologetic humor to the Lyric Hyperion for a series of standup performances. In his own words, in the show “a middle-aged, clinically obese homosexual confronts science and God to determine if there’s any actual purpose to his existence.”

I have probably watched Billie Eilish’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert performance of “Birds of a Feather” ten times today alone. Our local songbird has spread her wings and built a massive career over the past five years, from writing “What Was I Made For” for the Barbie movie to ushering in the 2028 Olympics in the closing ceremonies from Paris. She powers through three more nights at the Forum as we head into Christmas week.

Michael Urie, an accomplished Broadway star in his own right, calls working with Once Upon a Mattress co-star Sutton Foster “like swimming with Michael Phelps.” Foster, whom we last saw in L.A. in the spirited 2021 revival of Anything Goes, brings her huge voice, limber dance skills, quirky humor, and boundless energy to this fun take on The Princess and the Pea. Owing a bit to British holiday pantomimes, Once Upon a Mattress is a bright and lively addition to the holiday theater season.

The stars really are what make this show worth seeing; I’m not sure the play would have enough there without the vocal power and comedic timing of this full straight-from-Broadway cast. It’s a great opportunity to catch Foster, Urie, and my favorite performance – Ana Gasteyer (SNL, Wicked) who shines as the hilariously evil Queen. Kids will love the off-beat princess story and jewel-toned sets; grown-ups will appreciate the cheeky jokes and wink-wink moments.

And before or after the show, explore downtown and participate in a clever scavenger hunt! CTG has placed 10 “peas” at locations downtown. Find six of them and you could win a Once Upon a Mattress prize.

Join the top chorus in the area for a festive night of carols ranging from solemn to joyful and even a singalong or two. The family-friendly concert features the Los Angeles Master Chorale, praised for their “powerful performances, technical precision, and artistic daring.”

The end of the year means some of the best exhibits of 2024 are coming to a close soon. Head down to the Arts District with your visiting relatives to see Firelei Báez’s extraordinary show at Hauser & Wirth and try one of the great new restaurants in the area afterward. Incorporating sculpture, painting, and immersive works, Báez builds colorful worlds that use Dominican mythology and the forgotten history of colonial America to tell a new story.

The Bruins are on a streak! Watch the UCLA women’s basketball team take on the Cal Poly Mustangs and see if they can make it 10-0.

Build Lego menorahs, participate in fun holiday crafts, and join a Chanukah singalong in the Market Plaza. Plus, Bob’s Coffee & Doughnuts is right there for your annual jelly doughnut fix.

The Hammer’s awesome "MoMA Contenders" series continues this week with two can’t-miss screenings. First, if you haven’t seen Demi Moore’s incredible performance in The Substance, maybe save dinner for after, but that Golden Globe nomination last week is well-earned. And if body horror is not your thing but horror-horror is, come for Late Night With the Devil and stay for a conversation with actor David Dastmalchian, moderated by writer and producer Bryan Fuller.

Venice Italian favorite Ospi, run by Top Chef alum Jackson Kalb, has opened a new location in Costa Mesa, so our Orange County readers don’t have to schlep up the 405 for that famous chicken parm! Plus they have a great happy hour at all locations from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Swing by El Segundo’s favorite coffee shop in the evening this time for natural wines and burgers by Spread Please at Two Guns on Main St.

Perfect your latkes at The Gourmandise School. One of several holiday-themed cooking classes coming up (later in the month there’s a holiday cookie tin workshop and a make-your-own yule log class), this lesson focuses on all kinds of latkes (not just potato!) as well as olive oil poppy seed pound cake a sufganyot (Hanukkah donuts).