Among the inventors of the tribute album, UCLA artist-in-residence Hal Willner knew what to expect from a live equivalent. “Before any goddamn critic says it ““ yes, the best thing is the original, which was last night “¦ AND WE KNOW THAT! Read more...

“Summertime,” now playing at Macgowan Little Theatre through Feb. 7, is the quintessential Charles Mee concoction. One part piña colada and two parts bordering-psychotic fever dream, the maverick playwright’s kinky-sexy tribute to love and the power of passion is unapologetic and relentless in the way it peels away at each layer of the mystery of what it is to feel and live with an utmost fullness of being. Read more...

After a half-hour sandwiched between strangers in the crowded Viper Room, Rich Robinson and his band finally took the stage. With the Black Crowes on hiatus, Robinson has begun a solo project ““ a guitar-driven quartet with a keyboardist that plays familiar-sounding classic rock. Read more...

When life handed him lemons, Arnold Mesches did one better than make lemonade ““ he made “contemporary illuminated manuscripts.” The octogenarian artist, who was the subject of extensive surveillance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 27 years, managed to acquire the secret files of his life and transform them into art. Read more...

At first glance, the New Wight Gallery looks like it’s closed or awaiting a broom and a mop. But pedestrians have been poking their heads into the propped-open door to investigate the sounds and lights echoing from the dark room. Read more...

When remembering the classic musical “West Side Story,” the image that pops into most people’s heads is probably the dance-fighting sequence between the Jets and the Sharks, who finger-snapped their way into theater lore. Read more...

UCLA theater student Heather Leimberg trained her whole life to perform on Broadway. This past summer, sweating in ballet class and nailing those notes in singing lessons paid off when she shared the stage of New York’s Neil Simon Theatre with Tony Award winners as part of the ensemble cast in the musical “Hairspray.” Based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name, “Hairspray” is set in the 1960s, following Tracy Turnblad’s transformation into a teen celebrity after winning a spot on a local television dance program. Read more...