Best Things To Do This Week In Los Angeles And SoCal: Sept. 11 - 14

Wander through Wonderland. Attend a night of comedy, music and weird surprises. View the new fall art exhibitions at CSULB’s art museum. Listen to Jacob Collier perform with the LA Phil.

Events

Through Sunday, Sept. 17

Ghost Devotional Pop-up
Grammy Museum
800 W. Olympic Blvd., downtown L.A.
In conjunction with the Swedish theatrical rock band Ghost’s two-night stand at the Kia Forum, the Grammy museum hosts the Ghost Devotional Pop-up for the band’s fans. As the faithful celebrate the return of Papa Emeritus IV (the band’s fourth frontman) and his bandmates, they’re invited to enter a hand-crafted confessional to confess their sins and bare their souls about why they think Ghost are the best rock band ever (plus get a souvenir photo to mark the occasion).
COST: $12 - $18 admission; MORE INFO

Tuesday, Sept. 12; 8 p.m.

Natalie Morales And The Night Crew
The Lodge Room
104 N. Ave 56 2nd floor, Highland Park
Attend a night of comedy, music and weird surprises in a show hosted by Natalie Morales featuring guests Jake Johnson, Melissa Villaseñor, Chris Fleming and Mal Blum. Proceeds from the night will benefit the Hawai’i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund.
COST: $25; MORE INFO

Wander Through Wonderland is a 90-minute immersive experience that leads guests into Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland featuring Alice and friends.

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Courtesy of Wander through Wonderland

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Wednesday, Sept. 13 - Sunday, Sept. 24

Wander Through Wonderland 
Shakespeare Club of Pasadena 
171 South Grand Ave., Pasadena
Take part in a 90-minute, theatrical immersive experience that leads you into Lewis Carroll’s magical Wonderland featuring Alice, friends and characters from the beloved novel. Fall down a rabbit hole to enjoy an activities studio, a 25-foot magical teapot amusement and a performance with Alice and friends. There’s also an option to attend a Mad Hatter Tea catered by San Marino Café. All ages.
COST: Tickets start at $39; MORE INFO

Wednesday, Sept. 13; 6 p.m. doors

Play Reading: Balancing Act 
Greystone Mansion
905 Loma Vista Dr., Beverly Hills 
Theatre 40 and the city of Beverly Hills present a new play reading series at the new Greystone Theatre, an intimate venue located at the historic mansion. This week’s play is The Firestorm by Meredith Friedman, which focuses on an interracial power couple on a campaign trail. History rears its ugly head. The series takes place on Wednesdays in September at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are strongly recommended.
COST: $10 - $15; MORE INFO

Wednesday, Sept. 13; 8 p.m.

Jacob Collier
Hollywood Bowl
2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood
The genre-defying English vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator brings his talents to the Bowl, sharing the stage with the L.A. Phil, conducted by Thomas Wilkinson.
COST: $17 - $77; MORE INFO 

Thursday, Sept. 14 - Sunday, Sept. 17

TASTE OF: LA Pop-Up Museum
311 South Broadway, downtown L.A. 
LA Explained x Bristol Farms presents a pop-up experience honoring some of L.A.’s delicious contributions to food history. Guests will also have a chance to contribute to the city’s culinary relics collection and add favorite family recipes to the “family recipe tree.”
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Thursday, Sept. 14 5:30 - 9 p.m.

Drag Show + Solo Exhibitions Opening
Carolyn Campagna Kleefield Contemporary Art Museum
Cal State Long Beach 
1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach
The museum opens several exhibitions this week: Drag Show; Nery Gabriel Lemus; Pau S. Pescador: The Emancipation of P.P.; Félix González-Torres; Tierra del Sol: Empowering people with developmental disabilities through careers in the arts; Andy Warhol: Polaroids; and From the Collection: Arthur Tress. The opening celebration features drag performances by Jewels Long Beach, Big Dee, and Ava Stone, DJ sets by 22 West CSULB students, and collage art activities inspired by the art of artist Pau S. Pescador. If you can’t make the opening party, the exhibition will be on view through Dec. 15.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Watch a live taping of 'One For the Books' with your bookish bestie Traci Thomas.

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Claire Leahy/The Stacks

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Thursday, Sept. 14; 7 - 8:15 p.m.

One For The Books
Crawford Family Forum
474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena
Traci Thomas, creator and host of The Stack podcast, chats with guests Attica Locke, Van Lathan Jr. and Jeff Yang (he/him) on the process of taking a book from page to screen. Come for the conversation, but stay for the cocktails, trivia and the hot takes on books and pop culture.
COST: FREE - $40; MORE INFO

Punk rock band lead singer Wendy O Williams of the Plasmatics takes a sledge hammer to a TV back stage in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Michael Grecco

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MGP, Inc.

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Thursday, Sept. 14; 6 - 8 p.m.

Michael Grecco and Elizabeth Waterman Exhibitions
Leica Gallery
8783 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood
Grecco and Waterman — fine art photographers and spouses — open solo exhibitions at the gallery that explore different subcultures. Grecco’s Days of Punk celebrates punk life and culture, with photographs spanning 1978 to 1991. Waterman’s Moneygame showcases her images of strippers at clubs in five U.S. cities and new images from Bangkok. If you can’t make the opening reception, the images will be on view through Nov. 5.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Thursday, Sept. 14; 8 p.m.

That's A Gay Ass Live Show!
The Virgil 
4519 Santa Monica Blvd., East Hollywood
Queers and allies are invited to a night of comedy, competition and pride in this live extension of Eric Williams' That's A Gay Ass Podcast, which asks guests, "Whose fault is it that you're gay?" The live show brings three notable performers to the stage to compete for who knows their character actress of choice the best. The lineup includes Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father), Jason Michael Snow (Book of Mormon), Meatball (Fat Slut) and others.
COST: $20 - $25; MORE INFO

Viewing Pick

Do We Need More Food Fights?
On Thursday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m., Zócalo's YouTube channel live streams a cooking demonstration being held in conjunction with LA Cocina de Gloria Molina's exhibition of Recetario para la memoria — a collection of recipes and remembrances from the families of desaparecidos (disappeared) from Sinaloa, Mexico. Photographer and creator Zahara Gómez Lucini and culinary historian and Hungry for History co-host Maite Gomez-Rejón will cook pozole in the museum’s demonstration kitchen and discuss what happens when the kitchen becomes a battleground. (Many families of the disappeared cook the missing family members’ favorite dishes, keeping their memories and reminding the world of their absences.) FREE with RSVP.

Chef Debbie Lee, the executive chef & partner of forthcoming restaurant Yi Cha in Highland Park (coming 2024), pops up at Esters Wine Shop & Bar in Santa Monica.

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Dine and Drink Deals

Here are a few dine and drink options to indulge in this week.

• House of Cocotte, the newish farm-to-table restaurant in the Arts District, offers an all-you-can eat mussels & fries special for $35 on Thursdays from 5 p.m. Choose from four sauces for your mussels: marinière (shallots, wine wine, garlic, cream); curry (curry, coconut milk, shallots); provencale (tomatoes, garlic, onion, shallot, white wine, parsley); and blue cheese (blue cheese and cream, onion, garlic, shallots, white wine).
• Chef Debbie Lee, the executive chef & partner of forthcoming restaurant Yi Cha in Highland Park (2024), pops up at Esters Wine Shop & Bar in Santa Monica on Thursday, Sept. 14. She’ll be cooking up modern Korean bites such as braised oxtail tteokbokki with summer veggies and ssamjang. Reservations are available on Resy.
• The Black Pot Supper Club is an eight-course dining experience highlighting Black America's earliest hospitality influencers. Taking place at Post & Beam in Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw on Tuesday, Sept. 12, the intimate communal dinner is limited to 18 seats. L.A. native chef Martin Draluck shares the African-American legacy rooted in food and its historical impact on American cuisine. The night features a welcome cocktail and eight seasonal courses paired with wines. Tickets are $250+ fees. 
• It’s that time of year again: football season. Catch this Monday’s Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets game at the Topanga Social food hall at Westfield Topanga with 30 screens to watch every play. In addition to choosing food and beverages from more than 25 hot spots on site, guests can enjoy special half-off pizzas from DTown Pizzeria; wings from Rock & Reilly’s and 60 oz. pitchers for only $26, plus half off all draft and bottled beers. Topanga Socials’ Monday Night NFL viewing experiences will last through week 16 (Dec. 25).
• Chef Steph Izard welcomes some of her chef pals to hang and cook on the Cabra Rooftop in downtown L.A. Attend the walk-around dinner party featuring dishes from Izard, Shota Nakajima, Elizabeth Falkner, Shirley Chung, Bricia Lopez, Jonathan Sawyer. Tickets ($149) include bites from all the chefs and complimentary craft cocktails from Santo Spirits. The dinner takes place on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. atop the Hoxton’s rooftop bar. A portion of the proceeds will go to Maui assistance.
• Wendy’s is jumping on the pumpkin spice bandwagon, and these offerings sound tasty. The fast food retailer is offering a new Pumpkin Spice Frosty and Pumpkin Spice Frosty Cream Cold Brew nationwide beginning on Sept. 12 for a limited time only. The cold brew uses the same syrup from the Pumpkin Spice Frosty with coffee and swirled over ice.