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The Library Street Collective presents a new solo art show by Revok on Friday night. (Image: Untitled, courtesy of the gallery and artist)
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LAist gets a lot of event announcements, and we comb through them all to bring you a curated list of what’s happening in LA this weekend, including these 21 events. Don’t forget to check the April Guide, as it has other options, too. We'll be back on Monday to help you plan the week ahead.
FRIDAY, APRIL 10
FIRST FRIDAY: Yes, technically it’s a second Friday, but the Natural History Museum holds its First Fridays concert/lecture series anyway from 5-10 pm. The evening kicks off at 5 pm with the tour, "Finding L.A.’s Hidden Wildlife One Photo at a Time" with Miguel Ordeñana of the NHM Citizen Science Program and "Reinvigorating the Environmental Movement by Connecting the Public with Nature" with Peter Kareiva. The night includes performances by Cherry Glazerr (8 pm) and White Fence (9:15 pm) with KCRW DJ Raul Campos and Anthony Valadez in the KCRW lounge. General admission: $18.
ART: The Detroit-based contemporary art gallery,Library Street Collective, presents the first L.A. solo show by Revok at its temporary gallery space at 1242 Palmetto Street in DTLA. At an opening artist’s reception on Friday from 6-10 pm, the artist debuts new works of more than “a dozen hand-painted wood assemblages of enthralling geometric forms in vibrant oil enamel and synthetic polymer.” The exhibition remains on view through April 19.
THEATER: Back Box Theatre presents Trevor Allen’s solo show Working for the Mouse, directed by Nancy Carlin. Allen spent time “portraying Pluto, Mr. Smee, the Mad Hatter and other characters in his height range on his quest for voice clearance and his dream of becoming Peter Pan.” In his memoir, on which the stage play is based, he regales the reader with tales of sex, drugs, debauchery, quirky co-workers and kicks to the crotch, a veritable BTS of working at the Magic Kingdom. The show opens on Friday at Theatre Asylum and runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm and closes on April 19. Tickets: $20.
GET YOUR PHIL: The LA Phil has a great Get Your Phil dinner package with the Blue Cow Kitchen & Bar on Friday night. If you’re going to see the Vivaldi and Handel program at Walt Disney Concert Hall at 8 pm (with tickets ranging from $26.50-$197), for $25 more, you can get a three course, prix fixe dinner.
MUSICAL: Rockwell Table & Stage brings back Roger Kumble’s story and characters in Cruel Intentions: The Completely Unauthorized Musical Parody on Friday night. The cult film—about two step-siblings trying to destroy their classmates—features music from Placebo, Aimee Mann, The Cardigans, The Verve and others. The cast includes Constantine Rousouli, Katie Stevens, Lindsay Pearce, Shelley Regner and others. The musical plays Fridays and Saturdays in April at 8 pm. Tickets: $18-$45.
#NERDNITEOUT:#NerdNiteOut is a traveling variety show that stops at Genghis Cohen on Friday from 9:30-11 pm featuring the Portland band The Doubleclicks, who sing nerd-inspired songs about “cats, Dungeons and Dragons and not leaving the house.” Also on the bill are comedians Joseph Scrimshaw, Erik Charles Nielsen from Community and Josh A. Cagan, screenwriter of The Duff. Tickets: $10.
BURLESQUE:Boobs & Goombas: A Super Mario Burlesque opens at The Complex on Friday night. Gorilla Tango Theatre takes audience on a romp through the Mario Bros. video game universe with the plumbers in perpetual pursuit of their Princess. The show runs Fridays and Saturdays at 9 and 10:30 pm through May 16. Tickets: $28. www.gorillatango.com/mario 18+.
FILM: American Cinematheque presents the series Agnès Varda: From Here to There at the Aero Theatre. The renowned filmmaker, regarded for her socio-political works, directed her first feature in 1954 with no formal training. While the series begins on Friday night, Varda appears in person at the Aero for a discussion on Saturday after the screening of the documentary series, Agnès Varda: From Here to There Parts 4 - 5 and Kung-Fu Master. Tickets: $11.
PERFORMANCE: The musical comedy troupe Robot Teammate and the Accidental Party (RT + AP) has extended their residencies at Golden Road Brewing and iO West. The performers conjure up improvised music, lyrics and a multi-act structure and choreography—all based on audience suggestions. RT + AP plays ioWest on Friday at 8 pm (and May 15). Tickets: $10. They’ll also perform at Chloe’s at Golden Road Brewing on April 28 and May 26 at 8:30 pm. Free admission.
SATURDAY, APRIL 11
LA RIVER: The Friends of the LA River are holding La Gran Limpieza: The Great Los Angeles River CleanUp on Saturday with a focus on cleaning up the Upper L.A. River from 9 am to noon. When you register, please select one of the following areas: Big Tujunga Wash at Haines Channel Canyon, The Sepulveda Basin, Bette Davis Picnic Area or Glendale Narrrows Riverwalk. There will be live bands, giveaways, family activities and refreshments. All volunteers get a tote bag and a t-shirt designed by local artist Christian Kasperkovitz.
YA LIT:YALLWEST is LA's young adult lit festival that takes place on April 11-12 at the Santa Monica Public Library and Santa Monica High School. More than 80 authors and artists will participate in programming and panels. The YA author cover band Tiger Beat, fronted by bestselling author Libba Bray, will play the Saturday event at Santa Monica High School’s Barnum Hall. The majority of the events are free, but there are a few ticketed events, including a keynote from author Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children) and a conversation with Leigh Bardugo (Shadow & Bone) & Marissa Meyer (Cinder).
Isaias Crow's first solo show 'Time Traveler' opens on Saturday. (Image: Courtesy of Crewest and the artist) ART: Crewest and Open Space present the art show Time Traveler: A collection of paintings by Isaias Crow. Curated by Man One and held at Open Space LA on Fairfax, the opening artist reception is on Saturday from 7-10. The collection of paintings is inspired by the artist’s travels “on the physical and spiritual plane through time and space.”
FILM: The UCLA Film & Television Archive screens the silent film Wings (1927) on Saturday at 7:30 pm in 35mm as part of William Wellman film series. The fighter-pilot drama starring Clara Bow and Buddy Rogers was the first to win a Best Picture Academy Award. There will be live musical accompaniment to the picture, and special guest William Wellman Jr. will be in attendance. Tickets: $10. [Also, don’t forget that the Film & TV Archive is also running the series Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien, too.]
SOLO SHOW: Joshua Silverstein returns to Greenway Court Theatre on Saturday at 8 pm for Tell Me I'm Pretty (Living with Cacophony), an evening that mixes humor, storytelling, spoken word, vocal percussion and hip-hop. Directed by Diana Wyenn, he’s backed by a live band and expounds on themes such as gender, race, poverty—as well as what it would have been like if Buster Keaton beatboxed or why he’s the ideal biracial Batman. Also on April 18 and 25 at 8 pm. Tickets: $25.
ART: Los Angeles Poverty Department opens the Skid Row History Museum & Archive, and its inaugural exhibition, Blue Book / Silver Book on Saturday. The minimalist exhibition features a juxtaposition of city development plans for the future of Skid Row, with two books, one Blue one Silver, on a table. “As visitors turn the pages of each, thematically linked photos, videos, audio and paper documents, pop up, projected on the gallery walls.” The art show has its opening reception on Saturday from 6-9 pm and remains on view through June 27.
COMEDY: ComedySportz opens a new, interactive improv show, My Cousin’s Wedding, on Saturday at 6:30 pm. Taking place in the minutes leading up to (and including) a wedding ceremony, the audience serves as voyeurs, eavesdropping on two two couples (of improvisers) as they explore their relationships. The entire thing is shot a la Linklater and projected live in order to give the audience a “close-up POV.” Performances on Saturday through May 2. Tickets: $8-$10.
FILM: Arena Cinema presents the Red Carpet U.S. premiere of the new British mystery thriller Candlestick at Arena Cinema Hollywood on Saturday at 7:05 pm. Directed by Christopher Presswell and written by Presswell and András Forgács, the film includes lust, betrayal, one-upmanship, malevolent intent and imminent violence. Q&A with filmmakers follows screening.
SUNDAY, APRIL 12
DONUTS: The Toy Art Gallery (TAG) on Melrose hosts The Naughty Girls Donut Shop pop up on Sunday from 12-4 pm featuring the sweet treats of 17- year old pastry chef Tiana Ramos, who stirred up controversy last year when a group of religious extremists tried to instigate a boycott her naughty girl culture.
JAPANESE CULTURAL FESTIVAL: USC’s Pacific Asia Museum presents a free second Sunday and Japanese Cultural Festival from 10 am to 6 pm. There’s free admission to the art galleries all day and family friendly activities (storytime, manga drawing, calligraphy, folk dance and music) that teach and celebrate Japanese culture. Food trucks on site: Shave it! & Jogasaki.
COMEDY/MAGIC: Hotel Casa del Mar’s brings back the hit comedy-magic show, Insomnia, on Sunday at 6 pm. The hour-long performance features the conjuring of Derek Hughes with each show limited to 50 guests. Tickets: $55 per person and can be purchased via Eventbrite. Admission includes valet parking at the hotel. The show is not suitable for younger audiences. Shows also on April 19 and 26.
PUPPET FEST: The Skirball’s fourth annual Puppet Festival is being held on Sunday to celebrate the art of puppetry. There will be live music, art-making activities, and new and classic tales told through marionettes, shadow and full-body puppets and more. The puppeteers are coming from all over the country and the day will culminate in a grand procession of puppets. Advance tickets are sold-out, but tickets $5-10 may be available at the door on Sunday.
Every two years, Desert X presents site-specific outdoor installations throughout the Coachella Valley. Two Los Angeles artists have new work on display.
