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Pencil This In: Mr. Brainwash, Musicals and an Onscreen Japanese Teen Rebellion
Sahr Ngaujah stars as Fela Kuti in 'Fela!' at the Ahmanson. (Photo: Monique Carboni)
It's a little quiet on LA's events scene tonight, but we found a couple of things to do that just might pique your interest, including the latest show by Mr. Brainwash; the exclusive screening of Battle Royale at Cinefamily; and a few theatrical shows that you might not want to miss while they're in town. Read on for all the details.
MR. BRAINWASH*
Thierry "Mr. Brainwash" Guetta from Exit Through The Gift Shop opened his latest show on Christmas Day on the corner of La Brea and Romaine in WeHo. Art Show 2011 is open every night from 1-7 pm through Dec. 29. Free.
FILM
Cinefamily hosts the first North American theatrical run of Battle Royale (2000), billing the film as the most controversial Japanese film of the millennium. Emulating A Clockwork Orange and Lord of the Rings, the film by the late, great Japanese auteur Kinji Fukasaku created an "opus of teen rebellion, generation-gap satire and gleeful bloody anarchy."
MUSICAL
Broadway's Afrobeat jukebox musical Fela! is now transforming the cavernous Ahmanson Theatre downtown into one big Nigerian night club dance floor. Directed by legendary choreographer Bill T. Jones, the show recounts the life and times of the irrepressible Fela Kuti, whose musical ingenuity and outspoken political radicalism made him a folk hero and around the world, even as he subjected himself and his family to harsh and eventually tragic reprisals from his own country's corrupt government. The multi-Tony-nominated extravaganza runs through January 22.
WICKED MUSICAL
Wicked, the popular musical that tells the story of two unlikely girlfriends who become the Wicked Witch of the West and the Glinda the Good Witch of the North, is back at the Pantages Theatre for the holiday season. It runs through Jan. 29, 2012. The cheap seats are sold out for tonight’s performance, but tickets ($48.50-$216.50) still remain. (You can also try your chances at the $25 lottery 2.5 hours before showtime.)
CIRQUE
Iris, Cirque du Soleil’s show-in-residence in Hollywood, brings together dance, acrobatics, live video, filmed sequences and animation, to bring the audience along for a ride through the history of cinema. At the Kodak Theatre. Tickets: $43-$253. 8 pm.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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