Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [168]
M Bar (Map; 323-856-0036; www.mbarhollywood.com; 1253 N Vine St, Hollywood) LA’s epicenter of alternative, offbeat und underground comedy, this minimall supper club has over-the-top decor, a casual vibe and crazy-funny nightly shows, including the unmissable Uncabaret, which is on every other Saturday.
Groundlings (Map; 323-934-4747; www.groundlings.com; 7307 Melrose Ave, Hollywood; ) This improv school and company has launched Lisa Kudrow, Jon Lovitz, Will Ferrell and other top talent, although not in a while. Still, their sketch comedy and improv can be belly-achingly funny, especially on Thursdays when the main company, alumni and surprise guests get to riff together. All ages welcome.
Ice House (Map; 626-577-1894; www.icehousecomedy.com; 24 N Mentor Ave, Pasadena; ) Dana Carvey, Lily Tomlin and Billy Crystal have honed their chops at this former ice warehouse. Today’s lineup includes Latino funnyman Rudy Moreno and contestants from Last Comic Standing. Drinks are disappointing, the show – usually – not. Over 18s only.
Laugh Factory (Map; 323-656-1336; www.laughfactory.com; 8001 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood; ) The Marx Brothers used to keep offices at this long-standing club with multicultural programming: Asian Thursdays, African-American Sundays and Latino Mondays. Over 18s.
More laughs:
Bang Improv Studio (Map; 323-653-6886; www.bangstudio.com; 457 N Fairfax Ave, Mid-City; ) You’ll get lots of bang – and laughs – for your buck at this pint-sized improv stage with attached school. All ages welcome.
Comedy Store (Map; 323-656-6225; www.thecomedystore.com; 8433 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood; ) Yup, this is where ‘Kramer’ went off his racist rocker, which underscored that this once-legendary club has seen better days.
Improv Olympic West (Map; 323-962-7560; www.iowest.com; 6366 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood; ) Home of the ‘Harold,’ a 30-minute improv technique.
Sports
BASEBALL
Since moving here from Brooklyn in 1958, the Los Angeles Dodgers ( 866-363-4377; www.dodgers.com; tickets $10-225; ) have become synonymous with LA baseball. The Boys in Blue play from April to October at Dodger Stadium. Tickets are usually available on game day. Parking costs $15.
BASKETBALL
They may have lost some of their hustle, but the LA Lakers ( 800-462-2849-7; www.nba.com/lakers; tickets $10-230) still pack all 19,000 seats at the Staples Center (Map; 213-742-7340; www.staplescenter.com; 1111 S Figueroa St, Downtown; ). It’s also home base for the city’s other men’s NBA team, the perennial underdogs LA Clippers ( 888-895-8662; www.nba.com/clippers; tickets $15-175), and the Lisa Leslie–led women’s team, LA Sparks ( 877-447-7275-7; www.wnba.com/sparks; tickets $8.50-150). The WNBA season (late May to August) follows the regular men’s NBA season (October to April). Tickets are sold online, by phone and at the Staples Center box office. Lakers tickets are hardest to come by. Parking at the Staples Center costs $20.
You can also catch great hoop action with the UCLA Bruins ( 310-825-2946; www.uclabruins.com) at Pauley Pavilion (Map) on the campus in Westwood.
FOOTBALL
Without a professional football team, LA fans make do with college teams competing in the Pacific 10 (Pac-10) Conference. The UCLA Bruins (tickets 310-825-2946; www.uclabruins.com; tickets $17-47) play at the Rose Bowl, while the USC Trojans ( 213-740-4672; www.usctrojans.com; tickets $51) are based at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park. The season runs from September to November.
Die-hard football fans can also feed their habit by watching the Los Angeles Avengers (tickets 213-742-7340; www.laavengers.com) of the Arena Football League (AFL) fight it out at the Staples Center from February to June.
HORSE RACING
LA County has two major thoroughbred racing