Weekend picks for July 19-22: REDCAT’s NOW Festival, ‘Big Sing California’ and more
The return of REDCAT’s annual New Original Works Festival tops our performing-arts picks this week. Also on tap: the mother of all sing-alongs at Disney Hall, a bilingual rock opera about a Mexican revolutionary, a drama about the lives of gay men in 1914 Long Beach, and yet another site-specific work from Heidi Duckler. Then there’s “Beauty and the Beast’s” Susan Egan, back in the role that made her famous.
REDCAT’s New Original Works Festival returns
Animator-performer Miwa Matreyek is just one of the creative types who’ll be participating in the New Original Works Festival 2018, a.k.a. the NOW Festival. Singer-composer Jasmine Orpilla and choreographer Jmy James Kidd are also featured in the opening weekend of this 15th annual three-week showcase for local theater, music, dance and multimedia artists. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. 8:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; other dates through Aug. 4. $16, $20; festival pass, $40. redcat.org
‘Big Sing California’ at Disney Hall
Composer Eric Whitacre is your host with the most — the most vocalists, that is, for “Big Sing California.” Audience members in Los Angeles and five other cities around the state will sing along with the Los Angeles Master Chorale in this concert that will be simulcast between the various venues. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 2 p.m. Saturday. Free; advance registration required. lamasterchorale.org
Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre’s ‘Salon’
Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre, the local company that specializes in site-specific performances, presents “A Bela e a Fera Salon,” a trio of works based on short stories by the acclaimed Jewish Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector. The Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave., Ste. 1100B, L.A. 7 p.m. Sunday; also July 29. $50. heididuckler.org
‘Pancho Villa’ at Grand Performances
Viva Villa! Composer Graham Reynolds and Mexico City-based theater collective Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol combine forces to salute the life and times of a famed Mexican revolutionary in the multimedia-enhanced bilingual chamber rock opera “Pancho Villa from a Safe Distance.” Grand Performances, 300 S. Grand Ave. L.A. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Free. grandperformances.org
‘Beauty and the Beast’ in Thousand Oaks
A tale as old as time is told once again as Susan Egan, who originated the role of Belle on Broadway, heads the cast of 5-Star Theatricals’ new staging of “Beauty and the Beast,” the hit adaption of the Disney animated musical. Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Kavli Theatre, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; other dates through July 29. $35-$89. 5startheatricals.com
‘Jaws’ with live score at the Bowl
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ... “Jaws in Concert.” The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra performs John Williams’ classic score to accompany this screening of Steven Spielberg’s shark-tastic 1975 thriller. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $14-$202. hollywoodbowl.com
‘The Twentieth-Century Way’ at Long Beach Playhouse
A sad chapter in local history is revisited in “The Twentieth-Century Way.” In the fact-based drama by Tom Jacobson, two actors are hired by local police to help entrap gay men in 1914 Long Beach. Long Beach Playhouse, Studio Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach. 8 p.m. Saturday; other dates through Aug. 18. $14-$27. lbplayhouse.org
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