Opera and game music, art and science, theater and books — there is no shortage of things to do in LA. Check out our eclectic list of happenings — many of them are free!
FREE CINDERELLA OPERA
This September, POP returns to WeHo’s Free Theatre in the Parks series with a musical revue of beloved opera and musical theatre tunes telling the story of Cinderella! Six performances only at Kings Road Park in West Hollywood. This event is free and open to the public.
Saturday Sept. 7, 2024 | 4 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024 | 4 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 | 4 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 | 4 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024 | 4 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024 | 4 p.m.
Kings Road Park, 1000 Kings Road, West Hollywood 90069
RSVP:
LEVEL UP! GAME MUSIC
Helix Collective’s 10-piece ensemble performs game music to stunning video of game play and art from the globally popular Assassin’s Creed and Riot Games to revolutionary indie games. The music was created by a roster of BIPOC and women composers with some of the biggest talents in video game music today.
Saturday, Sept. 7, 3 p.m.
Fiesta Hall, Plummer Park
1166 N. Vista St., West Hollywood 90046
2 p.m. Start Screen Panel hosted by KUSC’s Jennifer Miller Hammel
3 p.m. Concert
Tickets $0-15
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/level-up-tickets-927008496367
More info: https://www.helixcollective.org
MADAME BUTTERFLY AT DOROTHY CHANDLER AND FREE SIMULCAST
There will be six performances of Madame Butterfly presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, located at 135 North Grand Avenue, LA 90012:
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, at 6 p.m. (note early curtain time for opening night)
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, at 2 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, at 2 p.m.
Tickets begin at $37.50 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at LAOpera.org, by phone at 213.972.8001, or in person at the LA Opera box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
More info: LAOpera.org/Butterfly
Sept. 21 Simulcast
LA Opera will present a live, high-definition video simulcast of the opening night of Madame Butterfly, free of charge at two outdoor locations: the Santa Monica Pier and El Cariso Community Regional Park in Sylmar.
More info: LAOpera.org/OperaAtTheBeach or LAOpera.org/OperaInThePark
Photo by Javier del Real, courtesy of LA Opera
BRIGHTWORK NEW MUSIC
Highlights of Brightwork New Music’s season include:
- an evening of solos co-presented with pioneering new music label Cold Blue Music (Sep. 24, 2024)
- a celebration of the five-decade career of composer, trumpeter, improviser and writer Wadada Leo Smith (Feb. 11, 2025)
- a boundary-defying concert curated by Alyssa Park (May 20, 2025)
- and the season finale on June 10, 2025, featuring Brightwork Ensemble performing pop music with a modernist slant
Tickets are on sale now for all programs.
More info: https://brightworknewmusic.com/tuesdays-at-monk-space/
ART AND SCIENCE AT CALTECH
Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020
Friday, Sept. 27 – Sunday, Dec. 15
In collaboration with Getty’s PST ART, Crossing Over will feature rare books, scientific instruments, molecular models, historical paintings, drawings, photographs and films on display across four exhibits, as well as installations featuring contemporary art by artists Lita Albuquerque, Lia Halloran, Shana Mabari, Hillary Mushkin, and Helen Pashgian. The exhibition unfolds across Caltech’s campus in six outdoor and indoor venues, some rarely seen by the general public. After the Sept. 27 opening reception, enjoy the exhibition Wednesday –Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More info:
A NOISE WITHIN
A Noise Within opens its 2024-25 “True Grit” season with the Pulitzer Prize-winning, time-bending comic romp The Skin of Our Teeth. Various cataclysmic events serve as a backdrop for a hilarious and thought-provoking exploration of human resilience by three-time Pulitzer winner Thornton Wilder. After 5,000 years of marriage, George and Maggie Antrobus and their children have faced ice ages, floods and war, but the family perseveres with humor, ingenuity… and a pet dinosaur. This iconic play is a riveting testament to the indomitable spirit of humanity.
The four-week run is set to open Sept. 7 and continue through Sept. 29, with four low-priced previews taking place Sept. 1 through Sept. 6.
A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena 91107
More info: www.anoisewithin.org
LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra launches its 2024/25 season on Sept. 28 and 29 with Romantics: Schubert’s Trout, the first of two intimate programs in the Orchestra’s Chamber Series curated by Concertmaster and Director of Chamber Music Margaret Batjer.
Renowned pianist Juho Pohjonen joins LACO artists to perform two seminal keyboard works from the Romantic era, Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major and Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major, “Trout.” The program opens with Schumann’s Three Romances, an enduring oeuvre dedicated to his wife Clara written just as he began to succumb to madness.
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills 90210
Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, 4 p.m.
The Huntington, Rothenberg Hall, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino 91108
More info: www.laco.org
KIDS BOOK FESTIVAL IN WEST HOLLYWOOD
Sunday, Sept. 8, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
West Hollywood Park, 647 N San Vicente Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Free admission; visit https://www.lakidsbookfestival.com to register for tickets and receive festival updates and obtain the latest list of exhibitors and activities.