Glenda Jackson on Broadway, an updated "Fiddler on the Roof" and tracking L.A.'s car culture
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Arts & Culture
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It is a weekend of battle royales: [âAvengers: Endgameâ]( on the big screen, [âGame of Thronesâ]( on the small, and our theater critic and an acerbic stage legend over coffee in New York. All total nail-biters. Iâm Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, with the weekâs essential culture news:
Parrying with Glenda Jackson
Last spring, Times theater critic Charles McNulty had [a disastrous tea]( with stage actress Glenda Jackson. Undaunted, he has now followed up with brunch, on the occasion of Jacksonâs turn as King Lear on Broadway.
Things went more smoothly on this go around, but Jackson nonetheless proved [a tough interview](. To a query about patriarchal politics in Shakespeareâs play, she responds with a question of her own: âA play that was originally performed with no women actors in it and you ask me about the patriarchal nature of the play?â Thankfully, The Times keeps an unlimited stock of ibuprofen in the newsroom.
Glenda Jackson in Sam Gold's Broadway production of "King Lear" in New York. (Brigitte Lacombe)
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Great White Way
While in NYC, Charles McNulty has been hitting the theaters hard. This includes the Roundabout Theatre Companyâs production of Arthur Millerâs âAll My Sons,â directed by Jack OâBrien and starring Annette Bening, [a work that âexplosivelyâ renews the plays core]( as well as James Grahamâs âInkâ at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, inspired by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, which is âimpressive as [a species of theatrical journalism](
Plus, McNulty reports on the funniest musical since âBook of Mormon.â Thatâd be âTootsie,â now on stage at the Marquis Theatre. The show, he writes, is [âa marvel of movie-to-musical reinvention,â]( and notes that âthe show acknowledges that gender politics have undergone significant changes in the last four decades while embracing what makes this loony tale still so much fun today.â
Santino Fontana and company in "Tootsie" at the Marquis Theatre. (Matthew Murphy)
An updated ‘Fiddler’
Bartlett Sherâs âFiddler on the Roofâ is landing at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. Contributor Barbara Isenberg sat down with the playâs leading man, Israeli actor Yehezkel Lazarov for [a Q&A](. Of Tevye, Lazarov says, âHe is the perfect example of a man who could be a clever student, but life and tradition brought him to where we meet him in âFiddler.â â
Sherâs version of âFiddlerâ employs Sholom Aleichemâs script â with a couple of new twists and fresh choreography by Hofesh Schechter. Times contributor Margaret Gray reports that this update is [âpowerfully seductive.â](
Yehezkel Lazarov as Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof." (Joan Marcus)
Exquisite keys
Times classical music critic Mark Swed hadnât been entirely convinced about the charms of pianist VÃkingur Ãlafsson. But a recent recording and a live recital at Disney Hall â of compositions by Bach and Philip Glass â has changed his view: â[Heâs an arresting artist]( who in concert creates unique aural landscapes.â
Víkingur Ólafsson takes a bow after his Bach set in his piano recital at Disney Hall. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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L.A. through the car
In layered collages that employ newspapers as material and the news that they cover as theme, artist Luis Genaro Garcia creates works that also dwell on car culture. âThese cars arenât only telling you the stories of L.A. car culture,â he tells The Timesâ Steve Saldivar. âTheyâre telling you [the stories of Los Angeles that no one hears about](
Luis Genaro Garcia at his home in Whittier. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
In the galleries
Art critic Christopher Knight has been hitting the white boxes. This includes Ry Rocklenâs solo show at Honor Fraser Gallery, which features costumes made of foodstuffs and provides [âthe redemptive catharsis of having smart fun,â]( as well as painter Morgan Mandalayâs solo debut at Klowden Mann, which is showcasing âclotted and richâ works that [âponder life in the Garden of Eden after the fall.â](
At the USC Pacific Asia Museum, Knight also reviews [an exhibition of 1990s prints]( by Tsuruya Kokei which depict the kabuki actors of Tokyoâs legendary Kabukiza Theater. âUnusual for the genre,â writes Knight, âKokei not only designs the image but cuts the soft, magnolia-wood block and does his own printing â jobs usually handed off to technicians.â
A detail from Tsuruya Kokei's "Matsumoto Koshiro as Kamakura Kengoro," 1991. (USC Pacific Asia Museum)
Art of the residency
Los Angeles hasnât always been known as a font of artist residencies. But as cultural production heats up, more institutions are providing these types of creative development possibilities. Times contributor Laura Bleiberg looks at how residencies at places including the LA Phil, the Wallis, the Ford Theatres and others are generating [adventurous new works of art and performance](.
Ate9 performs "Calling Glenn," developed as part of a residency at CAP UCLA. (Ate9)
MOCA’s gala is back (sort of)
The annual gala at the Museum of Contemporary Art is [making a comeback]( after being canceled last year. But donât call it a gala â director Klaus Biesenbach prefers the term âbenefit.â âA benefit,â he tells The Timesâ Deborah Vankin, âis not about being served, itâs about being of service.â
Ready for the weekend
As always, Matt Cooper has the week ahead in [dance]( [music]( [theater]( and [art]( as well as his [weekend picks]( which includes an anticipated performance by the multimedia-minded John Kelly at REDCAT.
Plus, [my weekly Datebook]( has all the latest art happenings, including hypnotic new works by L.A. painter Roy Dowell.
And Daryl H. Miller comes through with the 99-Seat Beat, which rounds up [whatâs doing in small theaters]( â including a play that uncovers the secrets of a famous writer who has died at the New American Theatre.
The cast of "Boxing Lessons" gathers for cleaning up a dead writer's home. (Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin)
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In other news ...
â The story of [Kwame Brathwaite]( the photographer who helped make âBlack is Beautifulâ more than a catchphrase, and whose work is currently on view at L.A.âs Skirball Cultural Center.
â At the Oakland Museum of California, a new show examines [the untold stories of queer culture]( in California
â The Frieze Los Angeles art fair [will return]( to the Paramount backlot in 2020.
â Mystery solved: It was a vendor for Metro Los Angeles who [painted over]( Judy Bacaâs Olympics mural on the 110.
â Writers [William Poundstone]( and [Antonio Pacheco]( parse the newest renderings of the proposed LACMA redesign.
â Nancy Holtâs earth work âSun Tunnelsâ will be cleaned and repaired, but the artist is [leaving the bullet holes in place](.
â Sarah Lewis on photographyâs [racial bias](.
â How âChildren of a Lesser Godâ [brought deaf culture to the stage](.
â The stage adaptation of âAlmost Famousâ [will premiere]( at San Diegoâs Old Globe Theatre in the fall.
â Zoe Lister Jones is adapting her 2017 indie flick âBand Aidâ [for the stage](.
â Rob Bailis, of UC Berkeleyâs Cal Performances, has been [named the new artistic director]( of Santa Monicaâs Broad Stage.
â A new catalog looks at how the ephemeral works of the Judson Dance Theater [helped shape the future of dance](.
â Amazon may not be settling its headquarters in New York City, but tech is already [remaking the cityâs landscape]( writes critic Justin Davidson.
â Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak, the woman who [helped shape]( Modern Polish architecture.
And last but not least …
In case you are feeling ruminative about impossible choices, hereâs video of [Viggo Mortensen reading Albert Camusâ]( historic lecture âThe Human Crisis.â
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