Posts by Bondo Wyszpolski
South Bay art calendar for Jan. 5 to 11
Friday, January 6 The right touch Pianist Steven Vanhauwaert, a native of Belgium and a resident of Redondo Beach, performs at 12:15 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church and School, 2900 W. Carson St., Torrance. Free; donations appreciated, and a reception follows the concert. (310) 316-5574. Now you see it, now you don’t Sisuepahn Phila,…
Read MoreSouth Bay Art – 2016, a year in review
She Doesn’t Look Anything Like Her Picture Whether art is a forest fire or a candle flame, the person who creates it has to be something of a matador where the result can be dance-like poetry or a trip to the morgue. But either way, art by its very nature has to push boundaries, take…
Read MorePlaying with Fire
Werner Herzog dives headfirst “Into the Inferno” Last week, the Hammer Museum concluded “The Contenders,” a 10-film series that combined screenings with live interviews (director, leading actor, etc.) and an audience Q&A. Among the motion pictures shown this year were “Manchester by the Sea” and “Arrival,” but the one I want to talk about is…
Read MoreAmélie, from screen to stage
“Amélie: A New Musical” – a review Many of us enjoyed the 2001 French film “Amélie” that starred Audrey Tautou. The picture is charming and sweet, and years later Craig Lucas (book), Daniel Messé (composer, co-lyricist), and Nathan Tysen (co-lyricist) thought they could turn it into an equally charming musical. Well, they’ve gotten their show…
Read MoreSunset Serenades
Silhouettes by the Sea An hour before sunset with Ileana Landon In 2013, a documentary film called “Finding Vivian Maier” was released, about a woman who lived from 1926 to 2009 and for most of that time found employment as a nanny. On her days off, however, she took photographs, hundreds, thousands of photographs, but…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts calendar for Dec. 15 – 21
Thursday, December 15 The next Fleming or Domingo? “Opera du Jour” is an annual opera workshop that highlights the work of vocal students at El Camino College, and it takes place at 8 p.m. in the Campus Theatre, Crenshaw and Redondo Beach boulevards, Torrance. Kevin Blickfeldt directs. Tickets, $10. Call (310) 329-5345 or go to…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts calendar for Dec. 8 – 14
Thursday, December 8 What’s on your plate? “The Dining Room,” a play by A.R. Gurney, is being performed at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, in the Redondo Union Auditorium, 631 Vincent Park, Redondo Beach. Tickets are $8 if you move fast; otherwise they’re $10 at the…
Read MoreThe beat of Brazil with Sergio Mendes
Brazilian Beat Sérgio Mendes and his band perform Friday night in Redondo Beach In a week or so, Sérgio Mendes and his wife, Gracinha, will board an airplane for Brazil, but in the meantime they’re both preparing for tomorrow’s concert at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. As with any performer whose heyday was nearly…
Read MoreNot just a day trip: Lynn Doran’s photographs from Ethiopia’s Omo Valley
A Little Light on a Dark Continent Lynn Doran’s “Omo” takes us deep into Ethiopia Three years ago, Lynn Doran journeyed to the remote Omo Valley, situated within the Great Rift Valley of Southwest Ethiopia, and photographed six indigenous peoples. That was just before construction began on the Gibe III dam which has already altered…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calendar for Dec. 1 to 7
Thursday, December 1 What your teacher’s been up to “Faculty Show 2016,” being works by the El Camino College Art Department and Photography Department faculty, is on view in the El Camino College Art Gallery, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance. Reception tonight from 5 to 8 p.m. Through Dec. 15. Call (310) 660-3010 or go to…
Read MoreHung Viet Nguyen: Searching for balance, practicing respect
With Due Respect to Mother Nature Hung Viet Nguyen is among the talented artists in “South Bay Focus 2016” War upends everyone’s life, doesn’t it? In the 1960s and ‘70s, very few young men from this country wanted to go to Vietnam. From the latter 1970s and up into the 1990s, many people in Vietnam…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts calendar for Nov. 24 – 30
Friday, November 25 One’s skinny, one’s obese The “Laurel and Hardy Festival” returns to the Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo, with silent and “talkie” shorts at 8:15 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, plus 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ will accompany the silents. Tickets, $10 general;…
Read MoreDawn Whitney-Hall: Immersed in the spirit
When the Spirit Calls Visionary paintings by Dawn Whitney-Hall at Art Space in El Segundo It’s a common enough saying that when one door closes another opens, and this seems especially true of Dawn Whitney-Hall, who is perhaps better known in some circles as Dawn Von Flue. The name change came about a couple of…
Read MoreHermosa’s Lighthouse, a photo tribute
To the Lighthouse! Photos from the classic jazz venue on view in Old Torrance The Lighthouse on Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach has been showcasing live jazz since 1949, although it has largely given way to rock and roll in recent years. But from the 1950s to the mid-1970s it was a classic venue and…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calendar for Nov. 17-24
Thursday, November 17 Polish up those dancing shoes Ballroom dancing with the Retro Swing Band takes place from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Redondo Beach Elks Lodge, 319 Esplanade, Redondo Beach. Everyone’s welcome, non-members and listeners. Bar available, large floor, all ballroom tempos, theater seating. Cover charge, $10. Call (310) 663-6690 or go to…
Read MoreCirque du Soleil’s “Toruk” coming to Staples Center, Nov. 11-13
“Toruk – The First Flight” Cirque du Soleil goes from the big top to the arena This week you won’t have to do what I did last week, which was to do the freeway crawl to Ontario in order to catch “Toruk: The First Flight,” the latest spectacle from Cirque du Soleil. It’s coming to…
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