Hatsu-Egao (First Smile) Monday, December 28, 2009

Little Tokyo officially welcomes 2010 with Hatsu-Egao (First Smile), the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center's New Year's celebration. The "kotohajime" (a.k.a. "getting ready for the new year") festivities include Nihon Buyo, a refined Japanese dance born out of Kabuki and performed to horrible enka music; contemporary dance by Colburn school students, which could be anything but probably not jerkin'; and Zen archery, wherein your self-actualization is the bull's-eye. Also on display: traditional Japanese art boards in the JACCC's 12th Annual Shikishi Exhibition. Warning: "Hatsu-Egao helps audience members greet the New Year with energy, hope and a collective smile." Aratani/Japan America Theater, 244 S. San Pedro St., Little Tokyo; Sun., Jan. 3, 1 p.m.; $20. (213) 628-8576, jaccc.org. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, January 1, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 3:21 PM, ,

Fast & Loose Wednesday, December 23, 2009

What do you get when you take a team of writers, directors and actors, throw a few random key words and concepts at them, and tell them to come back in 24 hours with eight new plays? Sacred Fool's Fast & Loose, of course. The company's 11th annual New Year's Eve show technically starts the evening prior, when writers get the variables they must craft a script around; the next morning, directors get the scripts, and those crazy kids put on a show just in time for "Auld Lang Syne." Not to be outdone, songwriters are also stepping up to the challenge, adhering to the same rules of blind chance in an effort to become overnight hitmakers. This year's theme is time travel, and audience members are encouraged to wear period garb. (And yes, according to Sacred Fools, "the Future is a valid time period.") Sacred Fools Theatre, 660 N. Heliotrope Dr., Hollywood; Thurs., Dec. 31, 8 p.m.; $15, $10 online in advance. (310) 281-8337. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 25, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 4:39 PM, ,

The Dating Game Show Live Monday, December 21, 2009

Three single guys to every single lady, inane questions and answers, a potential but unlikely chance for romance: It sounds like the bar scene in L.A., but it's actually The Dating Game Show Live. In this re-creation of the classic TV game show, a blindfolded bachelorette asks questions of three eligible bachelors, ultimately choosing one to accompany her to the "Lovers Lounge" for a photo booth session. While they're away, the actors play, improvising a first-date scenario until the couple returns with a verdict on their partner. Tonight's performance is a New Year's Special Edition, aiming to find one lucky lady a perfect match for the year to come. Tre Stage, 1523 N. La Brea Ave., No. 210, Hollywood; Sat., Dec. 26, 7:30 & 9 p.m.; $15. (310) 721-1732. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 25, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 12:38 AM, ,

The Boofont Sisters Friday, December 18, 2009

Nothing says the holidays like sequins, rhinestones and wigs, and the Boofont Sisters don that gay apparel in JESUS CHRIST! It's Christmas!, a variety extravaganza about two sisters trying to cope with the most wonderful time of the year. Ruby and Vicky Boofont's sixth-annual yuletide show includes musical numbers like "Turkey Lurkey Time"; a puppetry tribute to Dolly Parton; a Dickens parody called "The Little Drummer Boi"; and a celebration of the workers of WalMart. Also on the guest list: fellow drag entertainers Tammie Brown, Willam Belli, and Miss Barbie Q. In Ruby's own words: "We try to bring a Broadway-style show to the basement of a Mexican restaurant." It's like Real Housewives of Atlanta, adds Vicky, "if they had good wigs." Cavern Club Theater at Casita del Campo, 1920 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake; Fri.-Sun., Dec. 18-20, 8 p.m.; $25. (323) 969-2530, www.acteva.com/go/boofont. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 18, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 3:18 AM, ,

Native Visions Monday, December 14, 2009

When Oaxacan artist Alejandro Santiago returned to his hometown of Teococuilco, he was stunned to discover the place nearly deserted. In his years away, most everyone had left in search of work in America or elsewhere in Mexico. Santiago made it his mission to repopulate the place, and thus was born his art project "2501 Migrants." The town's 2,500 new residents (he's the "...and one") are actually cast in clay, ragged rocks approximating human form, collectively displayed as the vanished crowd. Yolanda Cruz's documentary 2501 Migrants: A Journey explores the making of Santiago's project, in parallel context to the Oaxacan director's editing of her film. Also screening: Dante Cerano's short video Day Two (Día dos), on the magical mystery of a traditional P'urhepecha wedding. REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., downtown; Mon., Dec. 14, 8:30 p.m.; $9, $7 students. (213) 237-2800. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 11, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 1:06 AM, ,

Funny or Die Wednesday, December 9, 2009

You may not die laughing but you'll come close at the American Cinematheque's "Funny or Die Presents The Internet 3.0," a screening of greatest hits from the comedy website's archive of hilarity. Funnyordie.com launched in 2007 with "The Landlord," a 2-minute, 21-second video starring Will Ferrell in a feud over past-due rent with his landlady — a foul-mouthed 2-year-old girl — and it's logged more than 60 million page views since. Though the program's lineup is TBA, you might just get a chance to live the dream of seeing a toddler in a princess dress say "I want my money, bitch" on the big screen. Get primed for the night by checking out the latest on the site: We recommend TV commercial parody "We Got That B Roll!!" and too-cute cat clip "Surprised Kitty." American Cinematheque at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; Fri., Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m.; $10. (323) 466-FILM. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 11, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 4:09 PM, ,

PXL This 19 Monday, December 7, 2009

It's been 18 years since the first PXL This film festival, a showcase of videos made on the Fisher-Price PXL 2000 camera that ironically turned the obsolete toy into a legitimate moviemaking device. Now that PXL This is turning 19, all eyes are on this barely legal celebration for even more crackling creativity. Master of ceremonies Gerry Fialka hosts two different programs, 18 shorts at 7 p.m., 15 shorts at 9 p.m. Not to be missed: L.M. Sabo's "I Push On," a personal protest against big oil via push-mower; Clint Enns' "The Aesthetics of Failure," about human interaction versus the camera's interpretation; Chris Bentley's "The Wandering Era," following post-apocalyptic survivors across the desert; Chester Burnett's "Donut Memorial," wherein the 6-year-old filmmaker re-animates a dead pastry; and the world premiere of the only footage ever shot with the COLOR PXL, by PXL 2000 inventor James Wickstead. Unurban, 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica; Mon., Dec. 7, 7 & 9 p.m.; free. (310) 315-0056, laughtears.com. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 4, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 11:57 PM, ,

Dangerously Funny Wednesday, December 2, 2009

You kids with your YouTube and your Hulu may not be able to get your head around this, but way back in the retro-tastic 1960s, there were only three nationwide TV channels: ABC, NBC and CBS. (PBS was there too, but on an entirely different dial, I assure you.) So when Dick and Tommy Smothers started mucking around with the muckety-mucks on their popular comedy-variety TV program — lefty satire of racism, Vietnam, the Nixon administration — the show suffered a quick demise (thanks, network censors!). Author David Bianculli explains it all when he presents and signs his behind-the-scenes book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A.; Thurs., Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.; free, book is $24.99. (877) SCC-4TIX (722-4849), www.skirball.org. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, November 27, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 12:31 PM, ,