For visiting director of orchestral studies Neal Stulberg, tonight marks not only his first performance as the conductor of the UCLA Philharmonia, but also the beginning of an era of expanded opportunities for the long-running ensemble. Read more...

For many classic rock bands, it’s better to keep touring than burn out or fade away. Third-year philosophy student Greg Katz has seen many classic rockers in the past couple of years, including Paul McCartney, Simon and Garfunkel, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Read more...

In the middle of “Open Window,” Susan, a psychology graduate student, quotes several lines from William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”: “I pitied thee, / Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour / One thing or other: When thou didst not … know thine own meaning … I endow’d thy purposes / With words that made them known.” Such is the premise for the Pasadena Playhouse’s “Open Window,” a production that partners with Deaf West Theater to present an entirely deaf cast that communicates almost exclusively in sign language throughout the production. Read more...

“Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic” Directed by Liam Lynch Roadside Attractions With the flagrancy of an exclamation point and the finesse of a skilled ballerina, comedienne Sarah Silverman is, by all accounts, quite competent in performing in an area of entertainment usually predominated by men. Read more...

If a pair of aging bands from across the Atlantic are any indication, rock ‘n’ roll will never die. U2 and the Rolling Stones swept into the greater Los Angeles area last week, with U2 performing at Staples Center on Nov. Read more...

What a harsh few weeks this has been. First, my beloved Houston Astros, in the most offensively inept performance I’ve ever seen, treated home plate as though it were covered with bird flu during the World Series. Read more...

The death toll of the war in Iraq is high ““ and getting higher. Over 2,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the conflict began in March 2003, and this pales next to the number of dead Iraqis, which has been estimated by some to be in the tens of thousands. Read more...