Blog Profile / Culture Monster

L.A. artists, architects' effect on each other at MAK Center exhibit

'Everything Loose Will Land' has 1970s works by Judy Chicago, Robert Irwin, Denise Scott Brown, Charles Moore and Frank Gehry, among others, and is the most opinionated of the exhibitions in the Getty L.A. architecture series 'Pacific Standard Time Presents.' "Everything Loose Will Land" has landed. And its timing could hardly be better.

Cancellation of Nazi-flavored 'Tannhauser' shocks its director

The director of the controversial new production of Wagner's "Tannhauser" that made ample use of Nazi imagery -- including swastikas on costumes and a set that featured a pseudo-gas chamber -- has expressed bafflement over the decision to cancel the staging earlier this month in Germany and said it was a form of censorship.

Jed Bernstein, Broadway producer, to head Lincoln Center

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York has tapped a prominent producer from the world of commercial Broadway to serve as its next president. Jed Bernstein, whose credits include the successful revivals of "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Hair," is set to assume his new job in January, succeeding Reynold Levy, who will be  stepping down after 11 years.

Giant 'Rubber Duck' deflates in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor

A popular art installation in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor is no longer making waves. A 54-foot rubber duck, designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, started deflating Tuesday, and by Wednesday, the piece looked like a flattened yellow pancake bobbing on the water.

Artworks by Barnett Newman and Gerhard Richter set auction records

A painting by Barnett Newman set an artist record at auction on Tuesday, selling for $43.8 million in New York. Sotheby's had expected "Onement VI," an abstract work in dark blue, to go for between $30 million and $40 million.

James Conlon to pay tribute to Colin Davis in Paris

James Conlon, the music director of Los Angeles Opera, will pay tribute to the late conductor Colin Davis in a pair of concerts this month at the Festival de Saint-Denis in Paris. Davis had been scheduled to conduct the concerts, but the renowned British maestro died in April at the age of 85.

Proposed 'culture tax' in France would affect smartphones, tablets

Here's a proposal that would have a hard time finding support in the United States. A new government study in France suggests levying a new tax as high as 1% on the sale of smartphones, tablets and other Internet devices, with the funds going toward funding cultural initiatives.

Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine give $70 million to create new USC academy

Hip-hop star Dr. Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine are donating $70 million to USC for a new academy that they say will give students the tools they need to break into the rapidly changing music industry.

A celebration of all things Turkish

The Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival returns to the Orange County fairgrounds with food, music, crafts and startlingly real re-creations of the wonders of Turkey. There they'll stand — the Roman amphitheater of Aspendos, the tomb of...Show More Summary

'How I Met Your Mother' finally reveals the mother [Spoiler alert]

It's taken eight seasons, but "How I Met Your Mother" finally delivered on Monday night its essential promise: the identity of "the Mother" was revealed.

A starry support system for the Geffen Playhouse

Clint Eastwood stood behind the podium at Monday’s “Backstage at the Geffen,” getting ready to present an award to his longtime attorney Bruce Ramer, the founding chairman of the playhouse's board.

Review: 3-D Theatricals' arresting 'Parade' is hard to forget

Billy Crystal to bring '700 Sundays' back to Broadway

Billy Crystal announced Tuesday he will bring his Tony-winning play “700 Sundays” back to Broadway one last time.

Gustavo Dudamel: Through the lens of a Times photographer

Not many people who aren't musicians can say they’ve been within a few feet of Los Angeles Philharmonic’s music director Gustavo Dudamel while he’s conducting a symphony.

L.A. Opera broadcasts set to return to classical KUSC-FM

"L.A. Opera on Air" returns to classical music station KUSC-FM (91.5) for its seventh season Saturday, beginning with a broadcast of Verdi's "The Two Foscari" (I Due Foscari), starring Placido Domingo (the opera company's general director), Francesco Meli and Marina Poplavskaya.

Broadway's 'Legally Blonde' to set sail

"Legally Blonde" is headed for the high seas.

Aretha Franklin cancels Chicago Symphony Orchestra fundraiser concert

R&B star Janelle Monáe will step in for an ailing Aretha Franklin at an upcoming concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Accepting this 'Great Gatsby' on its own terms

Baz Luhrmann's film can be appreciated as a diverting pop-cultural riff with something to say about the novel and the connection between the Jazz Age and ours. To judge by some of the reviews of the new film adaptation of "The Great Gatsby," you'd think Australian director Baz Luhrmann would be facing extradition for his crime against an American classic.

'Dulce Rosa': An Isabel Allende tale turns operatic

A short story about politics and survival becomes an opera by composer Lee Holdridge and librettist Richard Sparks. Placido Domingo conducts. Composer Lee Holdridge says his new opera, "Dulce Rosa," hits "very close to home" for him in several ways. First, as a native Latin American. Second, as the son of a passionate, indomitable woman.

Attendance for Broadway touring shows continues to dip

Attendance at touring Broadway shows nationwide dropped for the second straight season, according to a newly released report from the Broadway League. The report said that 12.7 million people attended a touring show in the 2011-12 season, down from 13.1 million the previous season.