a Guest Blogger

An uncomfortably familiar drama about navigating the minefield of family secrets, Four Places will extend its run in Theatre Theater through July 25. A West Coast premiere from playwright Joel Drake Johnson, Four Places invites the audience along as two adult children confront their septuagenarian mom about what happens behind closed doors when nobody else is home.

A sassy amalgamation of New York street smarts and Latin soul with a little Spanglish thrown in for authenticity, In the Heights makes its Los Angeles premiere at the Pantages with a recently extended run through July 25. A Broadway favorite and winner of the 2008 Tony Award for Best New Musical, In the Heights is a light-hearted examination of the hopes and dreams of a mostly Dominican Republic and Puerto Rican community in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights.

Cinefamily is presenting a retrospective of the late film and art legend Dennis Hopper at the Silent Movie Theatre this July. A series of screenings will pay tribute to both Hopper’s work as actor and director. Such rare gems like “The Last Movie” (showing July 31), Hopper’s underappreciated follow-up to “Easy Rider” (July 9), and “Mad Dog Morgan” (July 16), a seldom seen Australian cowboy flick from the seventies will be on display.

Last night, CalArts put on their annual Producers Show, showcasing some of the best work created by the school’s character animation students. CalArts has cultivated the premier program in animation and to watch this show is to glimpse the future of the field. Little wonder industry types and students alike packed the expansive Leonard H. Goldenson hall to catch the 24 shorts included on the bill.

It may not seem possible to read a review of yet another coffee shop on the eastern end of Los Angeles and find something you have not already read a couple of dozen times. Yet somehow there is something new to read because Antigua Coffee House is not just another place to get a caffeine fix. Sure it has amazing coffees, which they roast themselves, teas, and smoothies with a Mayan flavor (they come in three sizes, ce, ome, and yei) and an awesome selection of muffins, biscotti, cakes, and other baked goods.

In a town filled with people who “work from home,” “work the dinner shift,” enjoy expensive expensed breakfast “meetings,” or simply “don’t work,” you’d think that, like coffee shops, breakfast spots would be one of the most popular eateries to open. Sure there are great places around town in random locations with zero atmosphere aside from the amassed a.m. crowd lingering outside for a table. But come on, LA is the place to see and be seen--right?

As you might have read, we are stepping out to hear Wagner’s Ring Cycle reprised at the LA Opera House sometime during its run this spring, because it’s easy for non-actors and non-drama majors (known also as regular people) to forget where the Hollywood green screen got its start. Which is also why we attended the new play from Culture Clash, ‘Palestine, New Mexico’ by famed Latino playwright Richard Montoya and directed by Lisa Peterson.

How low can you go? The Governor’s approval ratings sink to lowest percentage ever. Do you have what it tokes to be OC Weekly’s Marijuana beat writer? Hero dog in “cheerful” condition after Hollywood Hills home invasion robbery leaves him riddled with bullets.

An Oregon wind farm will supply energy to Southern California Edison by 2011. Tesla Motors vacillates between Long Beach and Downey for the site of its new manufacturing facility. Also in Long Beach: global warming could increase ocean levels by 16 inches over the next 40 years, threatening the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, among other California ports.

Who is Selig? The young European immigrant was called Seelegs (Sea Legs?), Felix, Skeezix, and Cecil by fellow studio employees who had difficulty pronouncing or remembering Selig Burrows’ name. Later showing respect for his increasing age and position he became ‘Mr. Cecil’. That name graces his producer/director son’s Rib joints. The third and latest is a very welcome addition to Manhattan Beach, especially the night scene. Open until 2am Thurs-Sat, Cecil’s gives the bar...