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Books and Places: Fitzgerald wrote of Hollywood’s allure, and despair, 80 years ago
Sustaining an unqualified enthusiasm for all things Hollywood can be difficult; there’s often a disturbing tension between the romance of the movies and the social forces that underpin their making and distribution. For example, throughout this latest awards season that culminated last month with Oscar night, we were regularly reminded that Harvey Weinstein and his […]
Drago, best Italian in the Mile, inside and on the outdoor patio
The weather in Los Angeles has been all over the temperature map recently, but we’ve had enough unseasonably warm days that it was with great anticipation that I headed to Drago Ristorante, the Sicilian-leaning eatery in the Petersen Museum, to try dinner on their new patio. At least that was my hope. In fact, even […]
Swordswoman, ghosts, a fond farewell
Revenge Song: A Vampire Cowboys Creation by Qui Nguyen (“Vietgone”) tells the story of Julie D’Aubigny (played by Margaret Odette), a real-life 17th-century queer swordswoman / opera singer. This is a rousing, romping, music-filled work that follows our heroine on her voyage of self-discovery and acceptance. The play blends rock and rap, in a melding […]
‘Windsor’ evokes aspiration; ‘Kingsley,’ ‘Kipling’ moved residents forward
The need to look back in time or to another country for a style or name suggests cultural insecurity. Without established homegrown models or points of reference, or at least without ready signals to achieve the desired ambiance, developers and city planners borrow from a real or imagined place and past. The strain of presumption […]
On Preservation: Of log cabins and lost heritage in our communities
In early January, a controversy broke out between the cities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood over the preservation of one of the unlikeliest monuments. In deciding to cash in on the flurry of development that is taking place up and down the small stretch of Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood, between Santa Monica and […]
‘The Great Silence’ here ended with building closure
I’ve rarely responded well to “video installations” that show at modern art museums. Fortunately, I can be surprised. I recently saw a wonderful and wrenching short film that was, to me, wholly new. It was the high point of my museum visit. And it compelled me to return for a second and third viewing. “The […]
