Nick Wilson

“I’m their product, it’s vital you sell me… They need their escape, and so do I.” If you are like Eva Peron and are seeking an escape, an evening with Evita at the Pantages Theatre might serve you well.

LAist sat down with Marcus Hirn -- web developer and social media guru with over 17 years of experience in IT, both front and back end web development, networking, law, and marketing -- to discuss the decline of sites like Digg and Reddit and why he thinks his new social network, Thruzt, may be able to fill the resulting void.

If you are like Floyd Gondolli in Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 masterpiece Boogie Nights and looking for simple pleasures, look no farther than "For The Record: Boogie Nights." Singing, dancing, cocktails, and a whole lot of sex appeal - Los Feliz's best date spot just got a whole lot edgier.

Civil rights. Rock and roll. Women’s liberation. Vietnam. The 1960s was one of the most disruptive periods in US history, and is constantly being explored in film, television and theater. One chapter of the story that has been neglected in popular culture is the challenges and great changes the Chicano community faced in East LA during the 1960s. Evangeline, the Queen of Make-Believe, a new play at the Bootleg Theater, hopes to fix this omission.

The two-day JazzReggae music festival at UCLA's intramural field returns for the 26th year this weekend to entertain those of us not hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend. As always, Sunday May 27 is Jam Day and Monday is billed as Reggae Day.

Fellow musical theater fans, Billy Elliot has finally arrived! If you are like me and watch the Tony Awards every June in order to make a mental list of shows to catch when they make their journey to our coast, last week’s opening night at the Pantages has been a long time coming. The musical, based on the 2000 film of the same name, swept the Tony Awards in 2009, taking home 10 awards, including best musical.

The music featured in John Hughes’s films is currently getting a delightful cabaret tribute with “For the Record: John Hughes (Holiday Road)” at Show at Barre.

Before theatergoers even picked up their tickets, they were immersed in the exciting and twisted world of the Lucent Dossier Experience. On Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, performance troupe Lucent Dossier Experience packed the recently renovated Palace Theatre downtown to raise money for critically injured artist and “Burning Man icon” Brent ‘Shrine’ Spears.

Admit it, you dipped your hand into the Halloween candy bowl more times last night than you're proud of. You enjoyed the immediate gratification that comes from processed sugary food-stuff, but if you're anything like me, now you crave a wholesome treat. Thankfully, National Fig Week is here to remind you that mother nature can satisfy that sweet tooth with this often overlooked fruit.

Following last weekend's Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival and September's The Taste, it's understandable if food lovers in our fair city are experiencing "event" fatigue. It would be a shame if you let that deter you from attending Los Angeles magazine’s The Food Event 2011 this Sunday.

Whether it's film, live theatre or cabaret, all forms of entertainment can serve as a temporary escape from the daily challenges of modern life. In Reprise Theatre’s production of the classic American musical “Cabaret” at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, the audience is made keenly aware of the dangers of ignoring changing society's unpleasant realities.

Shuffling down the Geffen Playhouse aisles to find your seats for "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity," the first indication that this won't be a typical night of theatre is the music of Notorious B.I.G. and M.I.A. playing while the audience waits for the performance to begin. The second clue: a large wrestling ring takes up most of the stage.