Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [157]
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ENTERTAINMENT
LA’s party scene is lively, edgy and multifaceted. You can hobnob with hipsters at a trendy Hollywood dance club, groove to experimental sounds in a Silver Lake music venue, or catch a concert on the pier, a movie in a cemetery or a multimedia event at an abandoned warehouse.
LA also has plenty in store for those in favour of more highbrow pursuits, including a world-class philharmonic orchestra and an opera led by Plácido Domingo, who makes up one third of the original Three Tenors. Mainstream, offbeat and fringe theater and performance art all thrive here, as do the comedy clubs. Seeing a movie, not surprisingly, has become a luxe event in this town with a new generation of stadium-style multiplex movie theaters offering giant screens, total surround-sound, and comfy tiered leather seats.
LISTINGS
These publications will help you plug into the local scene in no time:
ArtScene (www.artscenecal.com) Monthly freebie listing art-gallery shows.
Flavorpill (www.flavorpill.com) Online magazine spotlights offbeat happenings; sign up for its free weekly emails.
LA Alternative Press (www.laalternativepress.com) Biweekly with an Eastside focus.
LA City Beat & LA Valley Beat (www.lacitybeat.com) Not as comprehensive as the LA Weekly but steadily improving all the time; you can pick it up for free on Thursdays.
LA Magazine (www.lamagazine.com) A monthly glossy that features ‘The Guide,’ a highly selective what’s-on section.
LA Weekly (www.laweekly.com) Awesome alt-mag is the single best source for what’s happening in LA; free on Fridays.
Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com) Has useful pullout Calendar section on Thursdays.
TICKETS
Tickets for most events are available from individual venues by phone, in person and sometimes also online. For information on half-price theater tickets, Click here. For hard-to-get tickets or ‘sold-out’ shows, try these:
Al Brooks Ticket Agency ( 213-626-5863)
Barry’s Ticket Service ( 818-990-8499; www.barrystickets.com)
Ticketmaster ( 213-480-3232; www.ticketmaster.com)
Cinemas
Not surprisingly, LA celluloid fans are demanding beings and most movie theaters are now ultradeluxe, stadium-style and have ear-popping surround-sound. Ticket prices are sky-high, naturally, with Saturday night shows fetching as much as $15, although $11 ($7.50 for children or seniors) is more typical. You can save a buck or two during midweek and pre-6pm screenings. Tickets for most theaters can be prepurchased through Moviefone (from any LA area code 777-3456; www.moviefone.com) or at or www.movietickets.com.
ArcLight & Cinerama Dome (Map; 323-464-4226; www.arclightcinemas.com; 6360 W Sunset Blvd, Hollywood; adult/child/senior from $11/7.75/9.75) Pre-assigned seats, a trendy in-house bar and exceptionally high star-sighting potential make this 14-screen multiplex one of the top flick magnets in town. Check out the awesome 1963 geodesic Cinerama Dome next door. Bonuses: age 21+ screenings where you can booze it up along with your popcorn, and Q&As with directors, writers and actors.
American Cinematheque ( 323-466-3456; www.americancinematheque.com; adult/senior & student $10/8) Hollywood (Map; 6712 Hollywood Blvd); Santa Monica (Map; 1328 Montana Ave) If nonprofits make you yawn, we promise this one won’t. Their tributes, retrospectives and foreign films are well curated and presented in two rescued Golden Age venues: the Egyptian Theatre and the Aero Theatre. Directors, screenwriters and actors often swing by for postshow Q&As. Also Click here.
El Capitan Theatre (Map; 323-347-7674; http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/el_capitan; 6838 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood; adult/child & senior from $14/11; ) Disney usually rolls out family-friendly blockbusters at this over-the-top movie palace, often with costumed characters putting on the Ritz in live preshow routines. The best seats are on the balcony in the middle of the front row. Also Click here.
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (Map; 323-464-8111;