Monster Mash: National tour planned for gay-marriage play '8'

Hitting the road: The American Foundation for Equal Rights is co-sponsoring dozens of productions across the country of Dustin Lance Black's play "8,"which deals with the court battle over Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage in California. (Associated Press)

The Bard banned: Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is among the books barred in Tucson schools as Arizona lawmakers purge ethnic studies. (Salon) 

A date with Tony: The 66th Tony Awards are set for June 10, returning for a second year to the Beacon Theatre, after many years at Radio City Music Hall. (The American Theatre Wing)

Ladies man: "The O.C." alum Adam Brody lands the lead in the film adaptation of Neil LaBute's "Some Girls." (Variety)

Wanted: audiences: A new musical based on Craigslist ads is scheduled to open at Vancouver's PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. (Ad Week)

New gig: Jaap van Zweden, who is in his fourth season as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, has been appointed to a new role, music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. (Dallas Morning News)

The music stops: An examination of what was behind the demise of Opera Boston. (Boston Globe)

Crumbling theater: A woman's mission is to save Brooklyn's 32-year-old Paul Robeson Theater. (New York Daily News)

Banana split: The Velvet Underground is suing the Andy Warhol Foundation for allegedly licensing the famous fruit on the rock band's 1967 album cover (Bloomberg)

Also in the L.A. Times: Margaret Gray reviews the TV-turned-stage show "MythBusters: Behind the Myths," and British comic Stephen Merchant, co-creator of "The Office" and “Extras,” returns to stand-up. 

-- Jamie Wetherbe

Photo: Lawyer Ted Olson, played by Gavin Creel, questions plaintiff Kris Perry, portrayed by Celia Keenan-Bolger, in a scene from the New York performance of "8." Credit: American Foundation for Equal Rights

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George Clooney joins L.A. cast of Prop. 8 play

December 14, 2011 |  5:00 am

   

 

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George Clooney is throwing his considerable star power behind the fight against Prop. 8 by signing on to appear in a reading of the  play "8" in Los Angeles. The play, by Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, is scheduled to have a staged reading at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on March 3.

Monster Mash: Alan Rickman's Broadway play moving to West End?

 

Transferring? Alan Rickman is said to be in talks to bring Theresa Rebeck's "Seminar" to London's West End. The play is currently running on Broadway. (Daily Mail)

Abrupt departure: The New England Conservatory said the director and conductor of its Youth Philharmonic Orchestra is leaving effective immediately. The abrupt departure comes after the discovery that a sex offender was hired as a videographer to record student performances during the last 10 years. (Associated Press)

Historic site: Officials in Belgium are attempting to save and restore a house where Vincent Van Gogh once resided. (The Art Newspaper)

Scandalous: Eric Nederlander, a member of the famous Broadway family, was arrested Thursday and accused of letting himself into his girlfriend's apartment, pulling her hair and berating her. (New York Daily News)

Moneybags: Steve Cohen, the billionaire financier and art collector, is joining the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art. (Los Angeles Times)

It's official: The Broadway production of "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever," starring Harry Connick Jr., has posted a closing date of Jan. 29. (Playbill)

Masterpiece: A work by Gerhard Richter, once believed to belong to collector Bernard Arnault, is being donated to the Israel Museum by its true owner, Lily Safra. (New York Times)

Public art: Keith Haring's last surviving large-scale mural in Australia is the subject of a proposed conservation project. (The Art Newspaper)

Also in the L.A. Times: Theater critic Charles McNulty reviews "Red Hot Patriot," starring Kathleen Turner, at the Geffen Playhouse, and film critic Kenneth Turan reviews the 3-D movie "Pina."

-- David Ng

Photo: Alan Rickman. Credit: Jennifer Altman / For The Times

Chouinard, the influential L.A. art college, is revisited online

Chouinard Art Institute has come to life for the third time in 90 years -- this time on the Web, where the high overhead costs that eventually sank the original, highly influential school in 1972 and blunted an attempted revival during the 2000s no longer will be a factor.

The Chouinard Foundation website is devoted to telling the story and documenting the influence of the art college (pictured) that a war widow named Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (pronounced shuh-nard) launched near downtown L.A. in 1921, continuing for more than 50 years until it was contentiously consumed in the creation of CalArts. 

The Chouinard alumni roster includes Robert Irwin, Ed Ruscha, Larry Bell, Allen Ruppersberg, Hollywood costume designer Edith Head, graphic artist John Van Hamersveld (designer of “The Endless Summer” film poster and the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” and the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street” album covers) and the "Nine Old Men," the crew of animators who played vital roles in the triumph of Walt Disney.

The site offers videos, news articles and historical background on Chouinard’s initial run and the activities of the Chouinard Foundation, which began improbably in 1999 after Dave Tourje, an artist, guitarist and construction company owner, bought Nelbert Chouinard’s 1907 home in South Pasadena as a fixer-upper without knowing much about her, then became enthralled with the notion of restoring her legacy along with her former domicile.

Google Doodle celebrates the work of Diego Rivera

You know you’ve made it when Google decides to honor you with a Google Doodle.

Of course artist and social activist Diego Rivera made it well before Thursday morning, but the Google Doodle honoring his 125th birthday spreads the word about the Mexican master to millions and millions. Google's Doodle shows a mural replicating Diego’s distinct aesthetic, capturing his many depictions of industrialism and everyday life in Mexico.

“I’ve never believed in God, but I believe in Picasso,” Rivera once said.  

PHOTOS: The work of Diego Rivera.

Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was born in Guanajuato, Mexico, on Dec. 13, 1886. He began drawing at a young age, then later went on to study art in Europe before making his return to Mexico.

As one of the founders of the Mexican Mural Renaissance, Rivera painted fresco cycles for public buildings in Mexico in the 1920s. He was commissioned to paint numerous murals in the United States, including a piece at the American Stock Exchange Luncheon Club and for the California School of Fine Arts. His most controversial mural, the “Man at the Crossroads” at Rockefeller Center, was  commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller. A lifelong Marxist, Rivera depicted symbols of Communism in the mural, with portraits of Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin.

Kent Twitchell's L.A. Chamber Orchestra mural turns 20

Kent Twitchell, an artist known for thinking big, got the chance to think really big two decades ago when the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra asked him to paint a mega-mural to help raise its profile.

His 11,000-square-foot “Harbor Freeway Overture,” which overlooks the northbound 110 Freeway downtown, fills three parking-structure walls with a dozen figures in concert dress standing beneath a cloudy sky.

The eight-story "Overture" is the largest installed work by a man famous for his super-sized portraits, which has made it a cultural point of interest as well as a roadside landmark.

"The mural is an icon," says LACO's general manager Andrea Laguni, one that, he notes, has survived the years in good shape, having outlasted graffiti vandals, encroaching eucalyptus trees and attempts to replace it with billboards.

As LACO prepares to mark the artwork's 20th anniversary with a brief program at this weekend’s concerts, the three current ensemble members seen in the mural posed for a photograph (above) near their larger-than-life likenesses.

Julie Gigante, a first violin, is featured on the left wall. Principal oboe Allan Vogel and principal viola Roland Kato are part of the group in the middle. (On the right wall is Ralph Morrison, who was concertmaster from 1988 to 1996.)

"Kent did more than create a pretty picture," says Gigante. "It's an intriguing piece of art that makes people stop and look and think."

Click here to read the full story about “Harbor Freeway Overture.”

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Jeffrey Kahane brings team spirit to L.A. Chamber Orchestra

-- Karen Wada

Photo: Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra musicians Julie Gigante, left, Allan Vogel and Roland Kato in front of Kent Twitchell's mural "Harbor Freeway Overture." Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times.

Occupy L.A. mural at downtown's City Hall could be saved

Times reporter Nicole Santa Cruz writes on the L.A. Now blog that city officials are working to determine what do with the large mural that served as a gathering spot for protesters during the Occupy L.A. demonstrations.

The mural, located in the center of City Hall park, was painted on a large plywood structure that was originally meant to protect a historic white marble fountain.

"The mayor's office recognizes that this has historical significance so we're working together to make sure that we come up with a good and appropriate solution," said Olga Garay-English, the executive director of the city's Department of Cultural Affairs.

She said that she received a call from the mayor's office Wednesday afternoon about the mural.

Police broke up the Occupy L.A. demonstration in downtown earlier this week after approximately two months of protest.

You can read the full story at L.A. Now.

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UC Davis pepper-spraying cop finds his way into artistic masterpieces

Shepard Fairey modifies 'Hope' poster for Occupy movement

Artists join Occupy L.A. movement at City Hall

-- David Ng

Photo: Police in hazmat suits walk past a mural after dismantling the Occupy L.A. encampment outside City Hall on Wednesday. Credit: Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

Pomona close to requiring 1% public art fee from developers

Pomona is close to enacting a new Art in Public Places law that would require private developers to ante up 1% of a project’s cost to commission artwork for each building site.

The city council voted 5-2 in favor of the new law on Monday, with Mayor Elliott Rothman and Councilwoman Paula Lantz dissenting, spokesman Mark Gluba said. If approved on a second reading that hasn’t been scheduled yet, the law is expected to go into effect in mid-January.

The ordinance text says the aim is to “enrich and enliven the community … enhance the economic vitality of the city [and] develop community pride and identity.”

The council also approved an ordinance aimed at encouraging art murals in the city, subject to a government permit.

In drafting the 1% law, Pomona officials looked at what they deemed to be successful public art programs in L.A., Brea, Culver City, Long Beach, Pasadena, Palm Springs, Palm Desert and San Mateo. As a hypothetical, they applied the arts ordinance to a 202-unit residential building for graduate students that developer Hanover Pacific has planned near the campus of Western University of Health Sciences. Under current rules, the $36.5-million project would be subject to about $1.66 million in city development and permitting fees. With the public art add-on, the tab would come to $2.03 million — a 22% increase that’s comparable to the amounts developers pay to offset projects’ impacts on public schools and sanitation.

Monster Mash: Wal-Mart gives to Smithsonian; L.A. OKs some murals

A giving mood: Wal-Mart is donating $5 million to help build the Smithsonian's planned National Museum of African American History and Culture, planned for the National Mall. (Associated Press via Washington Post)

Overhaul: The Los Angeles City Council has agreed to draft a new ordinance that would allow some public murals. (Los Angeles Times)

Theatrical genius: A comedy sketch by the late Harold Pinter has been rediscovered after 50 years. (Guardian)

Bucking the trend: Straight plays -- as opposed to musicals -- are having a strong season on Broadway. (New York Times)

Oh, baby: A performance artist who said giving birth is the "highest form of art" has delivered a baby boy -- inside Brooklyn's Microscope Gallery. (Associated Press via the Albany Times Union)

New leader: The Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts has named a new director. (Associated Press via Boston Globe)

To forgive is divine: An Italian theater director has responded to protests by Christians against his work by offering to "forgive" the protesters. (Guardian)

Illicit trade: South African museums fear that thieves are selling works of art for scrap. (Associated Press via Washington Post)

Creepy-crawly: A New York artist is creating warnings for buildings infested with bedbugs. (New York Observer)

Also in the L.A. Times: Artist Mark Grotjahn is suing collector Dean Valentine in a battle royal over royalties; the Hollywood Bowl is raising ticket prices slightly for the 2012 season.

-- David Ng

Photo: The National Mall in Washington. Credit: Dennis Cook / Associated Press

Monster Mash: 'Billy Elliot' closing; Museum of Tolerance setback

Wrapping up: The Tony-winning Broadway production of "Billy Elliot" will close in January after a three-year run. (Bloomberg)

Setback: The planned Museum of Tolerance project in Jerusalem is facing new challenges amid a report that it has lost its architect and construction manager. (Los Angeles Times)

Vulnerable: L.A. murals are under siege by vandals and the law isn't providing much help. (The Art Newspaper)

First of its kind: Parents and children react to an autism-friendly performance of "The Lion King" on Broadway. (New York Times)

Demagogue: The Museum of Tolerance in L.A. is putting on display an early typed letter by Adolf Hitler revealing his disdain for the Jewish people and his plans to ostracize them from society. (Los Angeles Times)

Putting it together: Stephen Sondheim helped devise a fund-raising treasure hunt at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. (Associated Press)

Windfall: Philadelphia's Franklin Institute said it has received a gift of $10 million. (6ABC Action News)

Appointments: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has named three new trustees to its board, including Mark Attanasio and Bryan Lourd. (Los Angeles Times)

Music of the night: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford attended the 25th anniversary performance of "The Phantom of the Opera" in London. (Telegraph)

Still at odds: The Louisville Orchestra's management has rejected a contract proposal from its musicians. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

Stepping down: Robert Heuer, who has served as the head of the Florida Grand Opera for more than 30 years, has announced his retirement. (Miami Herald)

Freebie: Organist Cameron Carpenter played a free concert at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. (Classical Life)

Populist: President Obama's choice of spotlighting homespun artist Norman Rockwell is a long way from the modern and contemporary art that the Obamas chose to hang in the White House in 2009. (Culture Monster)

Also in the L.A. Times: Theater critic Charles McNulty reviews "Ghetto Klown," starring John Leguizamo, at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre. 

-- David Ng

Photo: A scene from the Broadway production of "Billy Elliot" at the Imperial Theatre. Credit: David Scheinmann / Associated Press

Monster Mash: 'Book of Mormon' movie; Amy Winehouse sculpture

Cashing in: Trey Parker and Matt Stone say they will make a movie version of the hit Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon." (Entertainment Weekly)

Poor taste?: Artist Daniel Edwards has created a nude sculpture of recently deceased pop singer Amy Winehouse. (E! Online)

Defaced: A cast of Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker" has been vandalized in Buenos Aires. (BBC News)

Watch them write: Neil LaBute and Theresa Rebeck are to participate in a live play-writing session today at 1 p.m. (Culture Monster)

Prop. 8 play: Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black explains why he wrote "8," which will have a one-night staged reading in New York. (Associated Press)

Dip: Ticket sales for most Broadway shows dropped sharply last week due to the traditional post-Labor Day slump as well as heavy security in Times Square for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (New York Times)

Residential complex: Architect Frank Gehry talks about his first building in Hong Kong, which is near completion. (CNN)

Celebrity art: James Franco has bought fan art of himself by a 13-year-old girl at the Toronto Film Festival. (Zap2It)

Also in the L.A. Times: A new permanent mural by the L.A. Chicano arts group Asco is slated for the City Terrace neighborhood.

-- David Ng

Photo: A scene from the musical "The Book of Mormon." Credit: Joan Marcus