HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
“DEATH OF A SALESMAN” by ARTHUR MILLER starring ROB MORROW (apparently I’m not the only one who likes this production of the 1949 Tony- and Pulitzer-winning play from the brilliant Arthur Miller because they’ve not only extended the run through Aug. 25 but have added Thurs shows but don’t wait because five of those shows are already sold out, this talented ensemble gives this very challenging material all it deserves, Morrow is nuanced and riveting — and will not perform 8/16-17 only — but so is everyone else, Sarah Spitz did an interview with Morrow for her Culturewatch column and Tatiana Blackington James did an excellent review), Thurs-Fri-Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, SM Airport, $20-$35.
RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! — “BLACK PANTHER” (Movie in the Park, why the heck not, great weather, terrific movie,worth seeing a second time, bring your own popcorn and drinks and save a bazillion dollars, hooray for Santa Monica!), Thurs, pre-show 7:30 p.m., movie 8:15 p.m.,Virginia Avenue Park, SM, free.
TONIGHT! — “YESTERDAY” (it would seem the LA Times film critic Justin Chang is one of the few people who didn’t like this movie, even the remaining Beatles’ families gave their rare permission to use the songs, and in his long review pouting that they didn’t make the movie that he wanted made, he then violates the cardinal SPOILER ALERT! rule of Hollywood and reveals, straight off, practically every device and joke in the movie and so I have applied for a position at the Times because I too can go to a movie), Thurs-?, ArcLight, SM; The Landmark, West LA.
TONIGHT! — “PAVAROTTI” (haven’t seen it but a reliable source said I must, perhaps it will make us Angelenos appreciate more our gift of another of the world’s greatest tenors, LA Opera’s director Placido Domingo, these cats have lived a life like only Sinatra or Elvis), Thurs-?, The Royal, W LA;
TONIGHT! — “ECHO IN THE CANYON” (another first-person account of rock and roll history, of and by the creative denizens of Laurel Canyon, no “Lady of the Canyon” herself Joni Mitchell but she moved there in ‘68 and the film covers ‘65-’67, it’s good but Jakob Dylan is not the most dynamic front man and sadly several other really good, more worthwhile music films came and went after only a week yet this one marches on after more than a month now), Thurs-?, Monica Film Center, SM; The Landmark, W LA.
“DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME” (we’re swimming in new films about old rockers and their interesting history, this one directed by A.J. Eaton and produced by former wunderkind rock journalist/film producer Cameron Crowe, it coaxes Crosby of The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young into unflinching candor as he confronts mortality and assesses the damage of earlier days with a redemptive journey back to music, choosing “living” over “legend” as he attempts to rebuild burned bridges the only way he knows how, by hitting the road despite serious health issues with a creative streak of fresh songs and performances), Fri-?, The Landmark, W LA, Q&A Fri 7:40 p.m., Sun 1 p.m.
ANAT COHEN, MARCELLO GONÇALVES (this sounds interesting, the Israeli clarinetist and Brazilian 7-string guitarist play intimate, lyrical compositions by Moacir Santos, DownBeat writes of their album, “Outra Coisa” achieves something very rare: It reduces the big band arrangements of the great Brazilian jazz composer Santos down to just two musicians, and their mastery is such as to render additional instruments superfluous.”), Fri 8 P.M., Sam First, LAX, $15-$20.
RICKIE LEE JONES (maybe the best free music concert of the whole summer, which is sad not because the chance to see Rickie Lee isn’t a rare delight but because we should have at least a dozen more artists of her calibre available, it’s only because she is an off-beat artist that not everyone digs that this doesn’t get a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED but for those who know her and love her work this one is off the charts, the MdR shows are always jam-packed so go early, like, leave now, maybe), Sat 7 p.m., Burton Chace Park, MdR, free.
TOOTS & THE MAYTALS, ZIGGY MARLEY (yes Costa Mesa is in Orange County but it’s a lot closer than Jamaica and the ticket prices are modest and Toots is not only the guy whose song gave a name to an entire genre, he’s not only one of the best singers ever in reggae, he’s one of the best singers… ever), Sat 7:30 p.m., Pacific Amphitheater, Costa Mesa, $28-$58.
MEET ME AT REED presents THE SANTA MONICA JAZZ ALL-STARS (classics and originals), Sat 5-7 p.m., Reed Park, SM, free.
WILL GEER’S THEATRICUM BOTANICUM presents “MOBY DICK-REHEARSED” (based on Orson Welles’ 1955 adaptation of the novel, it sounds like it requires a lot of “acting,” no whales, no ship — cool!) Sat 4 p.m. and various Fri-Sat-Sun through Sept. 29, T. Botanicum, Topanga Canyon, $10-$42;
“THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH” (set in WWII-era New Jersey and the Ice Age, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play from 1942 uses humor, history and mythology to shine a light on man’s primal drive to carry on, it’s oblique, mysterious, confusing, thought-provoking and wonderful and Wilder acknowledges it by occasionally knocking down the fourth wall with lines like, “… that is the DUMBEST line I have ever had to speak in a play!” — spoken by Willow Geer as Sabina, who single-handedly delivers the funniest first third of a play I have ever laughed through, followed by Wilder getting pretty somber and messing with our heads, I thought maybe it was an adaptation WGTB is famous for but an actor told me nope, every word is Wilder’s, oh my), Sat, 8 p.m. and various Fri-Sat-Sun through Sept. 29, Theatricum Botanicum, Topanga Canyon, $10-$42;
“TWELFTH NIGHT” (they’re known for their mastery of The Bard), Sun 4 p.m. and various Fri-Sat-Sun through Sept. 28, W.G.’s Theatricum Botanicum, Topanga Canyon, $10-$42;
“AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE” (“Freely Adapted and Directed by Ellen Geer” but that’s a good thing, a very good thing, as the daughter of founder Will Geer has maintained a ridiculously high standard at this magical outdoor canyon theater that has lasted 46 years), Sun 8 p.m. and various Fri-Sat-Sun through Sept. 28, W.G.’s T. Botanicum, Topanga Canyon, $10-$42.
LA PHIL, DUDAMEL, MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 2 — “Resurrection” (OK now we’re talkin’, Gustavo the Great doing one of the things he does best, m’man Mahler, starting the 2nd with a funeral, oh joy but then running the gamut of life’s experiences and human emotions we wind up in a vocal-instrumental typhoon that takes us straight to the Promised Land — and then you exit and fight the traffic home), Tues 8 p.m., Hollywood Bowl, $8-$123.
LA PHIL, DUDAMEL, YUJA WANG (love the range of the program, from Barber’s famous, gorgeous Adagio for Strings through John Adams’ well-named Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 driven by acclaimed, charismatic pianist Wang), next Thurs, 8 p.m., Hollywood Bowl, $8-$132.
COMING ATTRACTIONS:
LED KAAPANA, 7/26, PETER ASHER & ALBERT LEE, 8/2, 8/4, PAUL BARRERE & FRED TACKETT, 8/3. McCabe's, SM; SANTA MONICA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, 7/27, Meet Me at Reed Park, SM, free; MICHAEL MCDONALD, CHAKA KHAN, 7/31, Hollywood Bowl; JON BATISTE, 8/3, KRONOS QUARTET, 8/8, Burton W. Chace Park, MdR, free; FARTBARF, Numb.er, 8/15, Levitt Pavilion, LA, free; every Fri-Sat, 7 p.m., live bands, mostly country-folk-rock, call for schedule, LA’s Original Farmers Market, free.
BODACIOUS BIRTHDAYS:
Here’s a mad triumvirate — SCREAMIN’ JAY HAWKINS “I Put A Spell on You” (1929), DION DIMUCCI “The Wanderer” (1939) and gonzo “journalist” HUNTER S. THOMPSON “Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas” (1937).
Charles Andrews has listened to a lot of music of all kinds, including more than 2,000 live shows. He has lived in Santa Monica for 33 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
