Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival is back: Best bets for your weekend
The return of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, the Hollywood Fringe Festival and CicLAvia lead our short list of culture offerings this weekend. Before you go, remember to call or check online for reservation requirements and other COVID-19 protocols.
“The Tempest”
Independent Shakespeare Co.’s Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival returns with an outdoor staging of the fantastical drama about an exiled duke turned wizard, his young daughter and others on a magical isle. This weekend’s shows are all booked up but reservations — which are required — for future performances can be made seven days prior. Old Zoo, 4801 Griffith Park Drive, L.A. 7 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. Free. iscla.org
“Dudamel Conducts the ‘New World’”
Gustavo Dudamel leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9. The program also includes works by two Black composers: Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ Violin Concerto No. 9 featuring violinist Randall Goosby, and Adolphus Hailstork, who composed the 1985 work “An American Port of Call.” Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. 8 p.m. Thursday. $8-$167. hollywoodbowl.com
“The Chandelier”
Los Angeles-based company Heidi Duckler Dance presents this new site-specific work inspired by novelist Clarice Lispector’s tragic coming-of-age tale. Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. 8 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. $50. thewallis.org
Hollywood Fringe 2021
The annual open-access theater festival returns with more than 100 comedies, dramas, musicals, solo shows, panels, workshops and other programs at multiple venues as well as online. Thursday through Aug. 29. $2-$33, plus several free events. (323) 455-4585. hollywoodfringe.org
“Pierrot Lunaire” / “Voices From the Killing Jar”
Long Beach Opera teams up with alt-classical ensemble Wild Up and dance company Ate9 for this double bill that pairs Arnold Schoenberg’s 1912 song cycle with Kate Soper’s 2012 work inspired by eight great female characters from literature. The Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. E., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. $49-$90. longbeachopera.org, theford.com
For many of us, last year was spent indoors, or masked, anxiously awaiting news of vaccines. This year? We want outside, right now. So here’s your guide to creating the ultimate summer fun playlist.
The Music Center’s Dance DTLA
This outdoor series returns with five consecutive Fridays of all-ages events with music ranging from cumbia to Bollywood. Instructors show you the moves. Opening night will feature a free vaccination clinic; kid-friendly arts and crafts workshops are on Aug. 20, Aug. 27 and Sept. 10. Jerry Moss Plaza at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. 7 p.m. Friday. musiccenter.org
“Symphony in the Cities”
Pacific Symphony brings music to the masses with three outdoor concerts featuring classical favorites, pop hits and patriotic songs. Family-friendly activities are scheduled before each performance. Saturday: 4 p.m. preshow, 7 p.m. concert at Oso Viejo Community Park, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo. Sunday: 5:30 p.m. preshow, 7 p.m. concert at Mike Ward Community Park Woodbridge, 20 Lake Road, Irvine. Aug. 22: 5:30 p.m. preshow, 7 p.m. concert at the Musco Center’s Aitken Arts Plaza, Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange. Free. pacificsymphony.org
“Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins”
It’s your last weekend to catch this “absorbing” exhibition of statuary, pottery, wall paintings and other Middle East antiquities on loan from the Louvre in Paris; closes Monday. Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades. Free; advance tickets required. (310) 440-7300. getty.edu
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CicLAvia
Cars will be banished and bicyclists, roller skaters, skateboarders, strollers and pedestrians will rule 2 ¼ miles of streets — from Wilmington Waterfront Park to Banning Park in Wilmington. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Free. A map and details are available at ciclavia.org
“Michael Feinstein Sings Sinatra’s Songbook”
The pianist-vocalist and Pasadena Pops principal conductor steps up to the microphone for a salute to Frank Sinatra. Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $25-$150. pasadenasymphony-pops.org
Sunset Concerts at the Skirball
Run River North, the local Korean American indie-rock band, plays selections from its latest album at this outdoor concert. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Brentwood. 8 p.m. Thursday. Free; reservations required. skirball.org
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“Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five & The Tyranny of Evil Men”
For the Record presents this immersive musical revue that re-creates scenes from the films of director Quentin Tarantino, including “Pulp Fiction,” “Kill Bill” and “Reservoir Dogs.” This weekend’s performances are sold out but the show will be up and running through Sept. 30. The Bourbon Room, 6356 Hollywood Blvd., 2nd floor, Hollywood. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays. $49-$79. tarantinolive.com
GMCLA 2021 Gala
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles will livestream its annual fundraiser, with Kalen Allen of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” hosting and singer-songwriter Andra Day and Broadway’s Shoshana Bean joining the festivities. 8 p.m. Saturday; available on demand through Aug. 31. $75, with a limited number of seats available for the live in-person performance at a private residence for $500 apiece. gmcla.org
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