Malibu theater lovers are taking in a jam-packed season courtesy of the Center Theatre Group.
The latest splash on the hit parade has been taking place at the Los Angeles Music Center’s world famous Ahmanson Theatre. If you love the compelling combo of crime and passion with a few laughs thrown in, this one’s for you. “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder” has been getting rave reviews. The Tony Award-winning best musical centers around a man tempted by fate and lust, leaving curious audiences wondering what’s next. The period production with its costume, staging and acting is a delight for the eyes and the ears.
It’s been a long road for the acclaimed play, which began with humble beginnings at the Hartford Stage and then traveled to San Diego’s always enjoyable and intimate Old Globe Theatre in 2013. Soon it was on to Broadway and beyond.
Opera fans, like Los Angeles Opera’s head honcho Marc Stern and his wife Eva, have also been reveling in the new opera season. One of the biggest splashes was the recent return of “The Magic Flute.”
“Oh, my gosh!” exclaimed local opera lover Cindy Troop. “It was just wonderful. We liked it so much, we saw it twice!”
WOWS AT THE WEISMAN
If it’s art you’re after, you’ll always find something to gaze upon at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum.
The season kicked off with a blast-to-the-past pop, featuring a collection of Andy Warhol’s work. His “Life & Legends” series was a delightful mix of everything from his iconic “Campbell Soup Cans” to his famous take on Marilyn Monroe.
Mark you calendars for the next installation: “The Mystery of Light” by David Leffel. It debuts May 14. The artist broke with mainstream abstraction in the 1960s by reviving the ways of the Old Masters.
The retrospective exhibition reveals why he is regarded as one of today’s greatest masters of traditional realist art.
Some 50 paintings from a decades-long career will be featured, from portraiture to still lifes to landscapes. Museum Director Michael Zakian said it’s a perfect contrast.
“I planned the David Leffel retrospective to follow immediately after an exhibition of work by Andy Warhol,” he explained. “The parallels are fascinating. They both worked as commercial illustrators in New York in the 1950s. The difference is that Warhol went on to reuse images from advertising to create Pop Art. Leffel wanted an art of greater depth and substance and chose to dedicate himself to revive forgotten techniques used by the Old Masters.”
It is the 84-year-old artist’s first major retrospective and best of all — admission is free.