News and reviews of local family dance, theater and movies in Los Angeles.
Stage & Screen
Get a Jolt of Volta
Cirque du Soleil’s 41st production, “Volta,” is an exciting combination of the old and the new. The show, on one hand, offers a vibrant array of the sensational acrobatic feats and spectacular visual design that people have come to expect from Cirque. “Volta,” however, also displays imaginative, never-before-seen Soleil stunts. The fast-paced action was inspired […]
Our 7 Favorite February Events for L.A. Families
We’ve got red envelopes, celebrities, dance, kilts, adventure travel, Legos and exploration in out top picks for February.
‘Frozen’ at the Hollywood Pantages is like a Warm Hug
If you’re looking for a wonderful holiday family outing, I have just the place – the Hollywood Pantages Theatre to see the Disney Theatrical Production of “Frozen,” with performances through Feb. 2. TheFrozen North American tour stars Caroline Bowman and Caroline Innerbichler as Elsa and Anna, sisters with a mysterious family secret. My daughter and I so enjoyed the […]
Disney Frozen and On Ice
You can forecast a “Frozen” December for Southern California – at least where entertainment is concerned. On Dec. 4, the hotly anticipated stage adaptation of “Frozen” arrives at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre (www.hollywoodpantages.com/frozen), running Tues.-Sat. through Feb. 2. The Broadway musical features songs from the film and new numbers by the movie’s award-winning songwriters, Kristen […]
Sunday Fundays at the Wallis
Maybe you’ve spent a Sunday at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (www.thewallis.org), dancing along with the free Dance Sunday program led by Debbie Allen and friends or giggling with one of the frequent free performances by the Story Pirates. This season, the Wallis has added a third to these two programs to […]
Anthony Alabi: on Family, Fatherhood and Failure
For four years, Anthony Alabi lived what many would consider the NFL dream. He played offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs. After those stints, another team was angling for him, but Alabi was already in L.A., pursuing a different dream that had been with him since childhood: acting. It was 2010 […]
Marvels of Representation
When my son Noah managed to discover his early 5th birthday present, an authentic special-edition Miles Morales Spider-Man costume, the look on his face proved the costume was well worth the $40, plus shipping and handling. After seeing the animated movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” he came home and told me, “I really am Spider-Man, […]
HBO’s ‘FOSTER’ Reveals Complexity of Foster Care in L.A.
L.A. has the largest county foster-care system in the U.S., and an engaging new documentary explores it from the inside. “FOSTER” was written and directed by Mark Jonathan Harris and produced by Deborah Oppenheimer, the pair that worked together on the Oscar-winning documentary “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport.” That movie told […]
County Library Users Get Free Film Access
The County of Los Angeles Public Library is now offering library card holders free access to Kanopy, a film streaming service with more than 30,000 titles. The Los Angeles Public library system acquired Kanopy early last year, making it possible for nearly every Angeleno to now have access to this service. Kanopy is an on-demand […]