I can\u2019t think of another time that I was quite as terrified as when I walked alone into an interactive horror maze called \u201cFeast\u201d at a chilling carnival-like event called \u201cThe Queen Mary\u2019s Dark Harbor: Summoned by the Seas,\u201d which takes place in the parking lot in front of the famously haunted ship, and also in the creepy bowels of its engine rooms, through Nov. 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cDark Harbor,\u201d is the scarier sister event to Griffith Park\u2019s famous \u201cHaunted Hayride.\u201d Both Halloween season fright fests are produced by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, which specializes in seasonal terror. The highlight of the nightly carnivals \u2014 which include food and drink booths, bars and rides \u2014 are a series of interactive mazes populated by bloody monsters, drooling ghouls, murderous clowns, spectral ghosts and maniacal serial killers.<\/p>\n
The spooks are largely played by local actors \u2014 many of whom come back year after year for a guaranteed paycheck while pursuing a profession that is anything but financially sound. It is to these hardworking artists that the events owe their success. I was struck by just how dedicated the actors were to scaring us mere mortals out of our pants. <\/p>\n
The masks, elaborate makeup and props, including butcher knives and bats, surely help the players stay in character\u2014 but this is not easy work. The actors must contend with aggressive guests who try to get in their faces (this is against the rules), as well as shrill, shrieking patrons who jump and run as they approach (guilty!).<\/p>\n
But the actors are specially trained to handle these reactions and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach fall, Queen Mary\u2019s Dark Harbor and Los Angeles Haunted Hayride hire a few hundred performers, most of our cast are locals who come back year after year. We hold open calls in the summer and focus on energy, movement, and presence more than traditional acting experience,\u201d wrote \u201cDark Harbor\u2018s\u201d general manager, Star Romano, in an email. <\/p>\n
After the performers are hired, Romano explained, they attend orientation, safety training and rehearsals leading into opening weekend. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge community effort, part performance, part team reunion, and one of my favorite things about the season,\u201d Romano wrote.<\/p>\n
The result of those efforts led to me sleeping with the lights on for two nights straight.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet away from me! I\u2019m too scared!\u201d I shouted at one Leatherface-type character as he approached me with a chain saw.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the whole point,\u201d he growled under his breath before obeying my wishes and lurching off toward another fear-stricken guest.<\/p>\n
(NOTE: For a kid-friendly immersive Halloween experience, you can head to the company\u2019s \u201cMagic of the Jack O\u2019Lanterns,\u201d which features 5,000 hand-carved pumpkins on-site at South Coast Botanic Garden.) <\/p>\n
I\u2019m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, inviting you to sink into spooky season with me. Here\u2019s your weekly arts and culture news.<\/p>\n
Dispatch: Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson <\/p>\n
Actor, singer and songwriter Ben Platt stands for a portrait at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York on Thursday, April 20, 2023.<\/p>\n
(Justin Jun Lee \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n
Breaking news sure to make L.A. musical theater fans swoon: Center Theatre Group announced Friday that Broadway superstar Ben Platt will be in residency for two weeks and 10 shows at the Ahmanson Theatre , Dec. 12\u201321. Two-time Tony Award-winning director Michael Arden is set to direct the the residency, appropriately titled, \u201cBen Platt: Live at the Ahmanson.\u201d Platt\u2019s appearance comes a year after he staged a wildly successful three-week residency at Broadway\u2019s Palace Theatre, which included a cornucopia of famous special guests including Cynthia Erivo, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Hudson, Kacey Musgraves, Sam Smith, Micaela Diamond and Shoshana Bean. The production is staying mum on who might appear onstage alongside Platt during his L.A. run, but it\u2019s safe to expect more big names. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think of the very best in musical theatre, it simply doesn\u2019t get any better than Ben Platt, whose stage presence and charisma make him one of the seminal performers of his generation,\u201d said CTG\u2019s artistic director, Snehal Desai, in a news release that promised \u201cthe holiday event of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tickets and information can be found at centertheatregroup.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n On our radar Benjamin Millepied\u2019s L.A. Dance Project performs \u201cOn the Other Side.\u201d<\/p>\n (Laurent Philippe)<\/p>\n L.A. Dance Project New York artist Jon Henry stages photographs that reflect on reports of Black men killed by police.<\/p>\n (The Brick)<\/p>\n Monuments Vikingur Olafsson will perform with conductor Santtu-Matias and Philharmonia.<\/p>\n (Timothy Norris \/ Los Angeles Philharmonic)<\/p>\n Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Vikingur \u00d3lafsson join the Philharmonia Orchestra You\u2019re reading Essential Arts The week ahead: A curated calendar<\/p>\n FRIDAY<\/p>\n Ethan Remez-Cott, left, and Matthew Goodrich in the play \u201cAmerika or, The Man Who Disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n (Amanda Weier)<\/p>\n Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson\u2013Apt. 2B \u0928\u0947\u0939\u093e & Neel 17th OC Japan Fair David Rouss\u00e8ve will perform \u201cBecoming Daddy AF\u201d Friday and Saturday at the Nimoy.<\/p>\n (Rachel Keane)<\/p>\n Becoming Daddy AF Unravelled SATURDAY<\/p>\n British artist Edmund de Waal will install new work in three sites at the Huntington, including the Chinese garden.<\/p>\n (Linnea Stephan)<\/p>\n The Eight Directions of the Wind Lorde performs Saturday at the Kia Forum.<\/p>\n (Scott A Garfitt \/ Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n Lorde Orchid\u00e9es Tortoise TUESDAY Morgan Siobhan Green as Eurydice and Nicholas Barasch as Orpheus in the 2022 \u201cHadestown\u201d North American Tour.<\/p>\n (T Charles Erickson)<\/p>\n Hadestown Learning to Draw Culture news and the SoCal scene Bassist Tonya Sweets, from left, Marlon Alexander Vargas and drummer Dee Simone in \u201clittleboy\/littleman,\u201d directed by Nancy Medina, at Geffen Playhouse.<\/p>\n (Jeff Lorch)<\/p>\n A tale from a land of immigrants Les Miz at 40 Patrick Martinez, \u201cFallen Empire,\u201d 2018, mixed media<\/p>\n (Michael Underwood)<\/p>\n When the sum is less than the whole Remembering Bernstein Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times<\/p>\n Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.<\/a><\/p>\n Guests attend the K.A.M.P. family fundraiser at the Hammer Museum on Oct. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. <\/p>\n (Stefanie Keenan \/ Getty Images for Hammer Museum)<\/p>\n Everyone went home happy Fair wages on Broadway Gene Hackman co-stars in \u201cBonnie and Clyde,\u201d alongside Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.<\/p>\n (Associated Press)<\/p>\n Gene Hackman, art collector Historic homes tour \u2014 Jessica Gelt<\/p>\n And last but not least<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Renowned choreographer Benjamin Millepied continues his exploration of the intersection of dance and visual art with the ballet triptych \u201cGems,\u201d featuring artwork by collaborators Barbara Kruger, Liam Gillick, Mark Bradford and others. The performance is composed of three contemporary ballets inspired by precious stones: \u201cReflections\u201d (2013), \u201cHearts & Arrows\u201d (2014) and \u201cOn the Other Side\u201d (2016). The show \u2014 with music by David Lang and Philip Glass \u2014 marks the first time these pieces have been staged together.
\u2014 Jessica Gelt
7:30 p.m. Thursday through Oct. 25. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. https:\/\/thewallis.org\/show-details\/la-dance-project-gems<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The most eagerly anticipated theme exhibition this fall is reflected in the emphatic title, pointedly written all in caps. \u201cMONUMENTS\u201d was inspired by the wave of revulsion following the violent 2017 white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. \u2014 a deadly riot opposing the proposed removal of a local statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. That statue is now gone, torn down along with some 200 other tributes across the country to American turncoats who supported chattel slavery. (The last known Confederate monument in Southern California was removed in 2020.)
A selection of decommissioned Confederate statues will be shown at MOCA and alternative space the Brick, joint organizers of the exhibition; they\u2019ll be paired with contemporary work by Bethany Collins, Stan Douglas, Leonardo Drew, Jon Henry, Martin Puryear, Hank Willis Thomas, Kara Walker and a dozen other artists, borrowed and commissioned for the occasion.
\u2014 Christopher Knight
Thursday through May 3, 2026. Geffen Contemporary at Museum of Contemporary Art, 152 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo; The Brick, 518 N. Western Ave. moca.org<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
It\u2019s been almost a decade since Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, a former Dudamel Fellow at the L.A. Phil, last returned to Southern California as a guest conductor of the L.A. Phil. In the meantime, though, he\u2019s been busily attracting attention in London as principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra (having succeeded Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2021). For his first local appearance with the Philharmonia, he is joined by the stellar Icelandic pianist Vikingur \u00d3lafsson in Ravel\u2019s Piano Concerto in G. The program also includes the local premiere of a new score meant to awaken environmental awareness, popular Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz\u2019s \u201cSi el Ox\u00edgeno Fuera Verde\u201d (If Oxygen Were Green), along with Shostakovich\u2018s Fifth Symphony. Shortly after fall, \u00d3lafsson heads back to Disney in January as soloist with the L.A. Phil for John Adams\u2019 latest piano concerto, \u201cAfter the Fall.\u201d
\u2014 Mark Swed
8 p.m. Tuesday. Ren\u00e9e & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. philharmonicsociety.org<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
There\u2019s Kafkaesque and then there\u2019s the genuine article. Open Fist Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Dietrich Smith\u2019s adaptation of the Franz Kafka novel that details the strange experiences of a 17-year-old European immigrant after he arrives in New York City aboard a steamer.
7:30 p.m. Friday; 7 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20; through Nov. 22. Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. openfist.org<\/a><\/p>\n
Two free-spirited roommates embrace mystery and adventure in the L.A. premiere of Kate Hamill\u2019s dark modern comedy, a gender-bent spin on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle directed by Amie Farrell.
7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 2. International City Theatre, 330 E. Seaside Way, Long Beach. ictlongbeach.org<\/a><\/p>\n
Asian American theater collective Artists at Play and Latino Theater Company collaborate for the world premiere of Ankita Raturi\u2019s new comedy about an Indian immigrant and single mom on a cross-country college tour with her 17-year-old American-born son. Directed by East West Players artistic director Lily Tung Crystal.
Through Nov. 16. Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street, downtown L.A. latinotheaterco.org<\/a><\/p>\n
Japanese culture festival featuring food, shopping, a cosplay show, a tuna cutting show, popular Japanese entertainers, traditional instrument performances, games, kimono models meet and greet, and more.
4 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday; noon-10 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. oc-japanfair.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Renowned dance-theater artist David Rouss\u00e8ve presents the West Coast premiere of his experimental movement journey \u201cBecoming Daddy AF.\u201d The piece marks Rouss\u00e8ve\u2019s first full-length solo performance in more than two decades and explores themes that have touched and shaped his life, including HIV, genealogy and the loss of his husband of 26 years. (Jessica Gelt)
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu<\/a><\/p>\n
The story of Canadian biologist Dr. Anne Adams, who turned to painting at age 53, and her remarkable connection to French composer Maurice Ravel, with whom she shared the same rare brain disease. A play infused with music and visual art, written by Jake Broder and directed by James Bonas.
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
British artist, potter and writer Edmund de Waal is obsessed with archives, which he describes as \u201cplaces, streets, hillsides as much as card indexes.\u201d For a body of new work, he once traveled to the place in China where the clay used to make porcelain was discovered \u2014 and then on to Dresden, Germany; Cornwall, U.K.; and the Appalachian Mountains, where subsequent cultures reinvented it. De Waal\u2019s three site-specific, yearlong installations will be in the Huntington\u2019s cultural and natural \u201carchives\u201d that are its art gallery and Chinese and Japanese gardens. (Christopher Knight)
Through Oct. 26, 2026. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. huntington.org<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Just as her generation has, by all accounts, sobered up and gone sexless, Lorde returned this year with a defiant album about the giddy rush of partying and the frightening ramifications of a body in search of pleasure. \u201cVirgin\u201d pulls her back to the experimental electro-pop many fans were hoping for after the relatively complacent \u201cSolar Power,\u201d and the album is brimming with startling meditations on pregnancy scares, familial inheritance and the malleability of gender. (August Brown)
7 p.m. Kia Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood. thekiaforum.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Cellist Kate Ellis performs composer Nick Roth\u2019s cello \u00e9tude \u2014 which traces the 100\u2011million\u2011year evolution of orchids by translating their DNA sequences into music \u2014 accompanied by time\u2011lapse footage of blooming specimens from the Huntington\u2019s orchid collection. Also available to livestream.
7 p.m. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. huntington.org<\/a><\/p>\n
The lauded post-punk band performs \u201cTouch,\u201d their first new album in nine years with opening sets from local duo Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer and KCRW DJ Ale Cohen.
8 p.m. Saturday. The Broad, outdoor East West Bank Plaza, 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. thebroad.org<\/a><\/p>\n
A Concert for Lowell
A memorial tribute to Lowell Hill, one of the great patrons of new music in L.A., featuring many of the city\u2019s top local artists, including Wild Up, MicroFest, Piano Spheres, the Industry, Partch Ensemble, Monday Evening Concerts, Long Beach Opera and People Inside Electronics.
8 p.m. Monk Space, 4414 W. 2nd Street. brightworknewmusic.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical that reimagines the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as a New Orleans-style folk opera returns on its latest national tour. \u201cBorn out of a concept album by Ana\u00efs Mitchell, who wrote the book, lyrics and music, the show travels to the underworld and back again with liquified grace,\u201d wrote Times theater critic Charles McNulty in a 2022 review. \u201cDeveloped by Rachel Chavkin, the resourceful director who won a Tony for her staging, \u2018Hadestown\u2019 achieves a fluidity of musical theater storytelling that makes an old tale seem startlingly new.\u201d
Through Nov. 2. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. broadwayinhollywood.com<\/a><\/p>\n
The exhibition traces a 300-year evolution of artistic training and the mastery of drawing in Europe from about 1550 to 1850. Bringing together the physical control of the hand and the concentration of the mind, the foundational artistic act became essential to exploring, inventing and communicating visual ideas in the modern world.
Through Jan. 25, 2026. Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive. getty.edu<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Rudi Goblen\u2019s \u201clittleboy\/littleman\u201d is in the midst of its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse. The two-person show about two Nicaragua-born brothers is much like a performance piece, writes Times theater critic Charles McNulty in his review. It\u2019s also a deeply American story. \u201cLest we forget our past, America is the great democratic experiment precisely because it\u2019s a land of immigrants. Out of many, one \u2014 as our national motto, E pluribus unum, has it. How have we lost sight of this basic tenet of high school social studies?\u201d McNulty writes<\/a>.<\/p>\n
I went backstage at the Pantages <\/a>for the opening night of \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables,\u201d which happened to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the legendary musical. The mood was euphoric and everyone in the cast and crew seemed to have a story about a formative connection to the show. Stage manager Ken Davis walked me through the maze-like wings and filled me in on what it takes to tour a show of this scale. Of particular note: The touring production travels with 11 tractor trailers containing over 1,000 costumes, 120 wigs and hundreds of props.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Times art critic Christopher Knight was not impressed by \u201cGrounded,\u201d a newly opened exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The show\u2019s theme, rooted in recent acquisitions of contemporary art, is promising, but ultimately falls apart. Viewed as a whole, \u201cthe 39 assembled contemporary paintings, sculptures, photographs, textiles and videos by 35 artists based in the Americas and areas of the Pacific underperform,\u201d writes Knight<\/a>. \u201cSometimes that\u2019s because the individual work is bland, while elsewhere its pertinence to the shambling theme is stretched to the breaking point,\u201d Knight writes. <\/p>\n
Tuesday marked the 35th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein\u2019s death, and reminders of the great composer\u2019s tributes to John F. Kennedy abound, writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed. In a piece of commentary <\/a>about what Bernstein\u2019s work can teach us about memorials, Swed examines multiple L.A. productions rooted in that work, including L.A. Opera\u2019s \u201cWest Side Story\u201d and Martha Graham Dance Company\u2019s \u201cEn Masse\u201d at the Soraya. Swed also wonders whether those important pieces will reach the Trump administration\u2019s newly configured Kennedy Center in the spring.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
UCLA\u2019s Hammer Museum raised nearly $200,000 last weekend with its 16th annual K.A.M.P. (Kids Art Museum Project)<\/a> fundraiser. More than 700 excited parents and children showed up at the gloriously messy event co-chaired by Aurele Danoff Pelaia and Talia Friedman. Kids roamed the courtyard over the course of four hours, creating art at stations set up and manned by participating artists including Daniel Gibson; Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee of the Johnston Marklee architecture firm; Annie Lapin; Ryan Preciado; Rob Reynolds; Jennifer Rochlin; Mindy Shapero; Brooklin A. Soumahoro; and Christopher Suarez. Fairy Gardens were constructed of thick clay and foraged leaves; cardboard boxes were painted with rollers; plates were spray-painted and affixed with knickknacks and jewelry; and geometric shapes were glued to canvases and painted an array of bright colors. Children went home with their art, and parents left knowing they supported a host of free Hammer Kids programs that serve thousands of children and families annually. <\/p>\n
Musicians working on Broadway, represented by AFM Local 802<\/a>, voted to authorize a strike earlier this week \u2014 with 98% in favor. The nearly 1,200 musicians have been working without a contract since Aug. 31. According to an open letter the musicians sent to the Broadway League on Oct. 1, their demands include: \u201cFair wages that reflect Broadway\u2019s success. Stable health coverage to allow musicians and their families to enjoy the health benefits that all workers deserve. Employment and income security so that hardworking freelance musicians have some assurance of job security. This includes not eliminating current jobs on Broadway.\u201d Bargaining talks are ongoing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The late actor Gene Hackman\u2019s art collection will go up for auction through Bonhams in November. Highlights of the 13-piece collection \u2014 which is being offered as a single-owner sale \u2014 include works by Milton Avery, Auguste Rodin and Richard Diebenkorn. Hackman was passionate about art throughout his life, and took an extra-special interest in it after he stopped acting. During that time he dedicated himself to taking classes and art-making. He even kept a journal of everything he learned, according to Bonhams<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Paging architecture fans: It\u2019s not too late to reserve a spot in Dwell\u2019s open-house event<\/a>, back in L.A. for its second year. Tours of three historically significant Eastside homes are on offer during the day-long event, which launches from Frank Lloyd Wright\u2019s Hollyhock House in Barnsdall Art Park. The three additional houses in the tour are: Richard Stampton\u2019s Descanso House in Silver Lake; Taalman Architecture, Terremoto, and interior designer Kathryn McCullough\u2019s Lark House in Mount Washington; and Fung + Blatt\u2019s San Marino House in \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 San Marino.<\/p>\n