Mark your calendar for these

LA events

Art exhibits, AGT returns, and more FROM ROB WATSON

It’s a busy season in LA — here are our staff picks for some of the events not to miss this spring.

‘America’s Got Talent’ season 18 begins taping in Pasadena. Join Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Terry Crews as part of the live studio audience for “America’s Got Talent.” Fans ages 8 and older can be a part of the star-studded audience and watch the world’s best performers in-person. It all begins on March 23 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and continues through midApril.

Odyssey’s ‘Threshholds of Invention’ performance series presents Sandra Tsing Loh, Michael Kearns in April.

Threshholds of Invention is Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s new series, curated by actor, director, musician and performance artist Tony Abatemarco, of first looks at pieces-in-progress by prominent LA visionaries working in popup form. Next up in April: new work by Sandra Tsing Loh and Michael Kearns. Saturday, April 1 at 8 p.m.

“A Madwoman of the Theatre: 25 F*king Years of Sandra Tsing Loh,” a hilarious, quasi-TED-style rant revealing Loh’s past artistic ms/adventures, and an introduction to Loh’s new comedy Madwoman of the West that will star Caroline Aaron, Marilu Henner, Melanie Mayron and JoBeth Williams at the Odyssey beginning May 26.

“It Must Be Him,” a musical memoir exploring the splendor of gender written and performed by Michael Kearns, recently named the “Godfather of LGBT authenticity” by the Los Angeles Blade. Sunday, April 2 at 2 p.m., Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles

Coming up at the ephyr Theatre on March 17 and 18 at 7 p.m.: “Steady Bad Luckers,” an evening of stories about lovable (and sometimes not-so-lovable) losers from history, brought to you by comic, stripper, queer porn archivist and historian Woody Shticks and writer, producer and podcast host Alex Steed (co-host of the podcast “feelings podcast about movies” ou Are Good with Sarah Marshall). In a world full of redemption arcs and revised narratives, we remain heartened by all of the resonant losers and bad-luckers that history has forgotten. With some slides and a lot of good humor, we are eager to share some of our favorites with a live audience. Alex will tell Woody about a bad-lucker from his profession, Woody will tell Alex about a bad-lucker from his. Think live podcast, minus the podcast, plus the PowerPoint. There will be plenty of slides and a whole lot of jokes Admission is a $15 suggested donation. ephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles.

Loft Ensemble in North Hollywood has announced its next production, “Gifted” by Bob DeRosa. Directed by Jennier DeRosa Sarah Nilsen, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Biniyam Abreha, Antwan Alexander II, Lemon Baardsen, Isaac Deakyne, John Goodwin, Jay Hoshina, April Littlejohn, Ignacio Navarro, Ja mine Nichelle, Danielle O y- mandias, Bree Pavey, Benjamin Rawls, Madylin Sweeten, and Nate Thurman. There will be 12 performances only, beginning Friday, March 10, and running Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. through April 2. General admission is DONATE WHAT OU WANT. Seats may be reserved online at www.loftensemble.org or by phone at 818-452-3153. Loft Ensemble is located at 11031 Camarillo Street in North Hollywood, 91602

The City of West Hollywood’s Artists and Icons series will host a conversation with actress, director, and concerned citi en Barbara Bain, highlighting her decades-long career. Conversation will Highlight the Work of Ms. Bain, Best Known for Her Work in the Television Series ‘Mission: Impossible.’ Event will Take Place on Thursday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at the City’s Council Chambers/Public Meeting Room. RSVP is Requested: https://artistsandicons-mar2023. eventbrite.com

Big Little Theater Company in association with the Los Angeles LGBT Center has announced its world premiere production of “Menstruation: A Period Piece by Miranda Rose Hall.” Produced by Camille Jenkins and under the direction of Katie Lindsay with music by Tova Kat , previews begin on March 16 with opening set for Friday, March 24, at 8 p.m. The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Kaci Hamilton, Audra Isadora, Kate L Johnston, Jane Hae Kim, Jo Lampert, Bibi Mama, and Marnina Schon. Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $25 for previews and $35 for regular performances, and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/tickets. Previews are Thursday 3/16, Friday 3/17, Saturday 3/18, Sunday 3/19, Wednesday 3/22, and Thursday 3/23, at 8pm. Opening is on Friday 3/24 at 8pm, and the engagement runs through April 16 only. The regular playing schedule is Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

The LGBT Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood, 90038.

Collections this spring at the The Museum of Contemporary Art:

Henry Taylor: B Side: Surveying thirty years of Henry Taylor’s work in painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation, this retrospective celebrates a Los Angeles artist widely appreciated for his unique aesthetic, social vision, and freewheeling experimentation. Populated by friends and relatives, strangers on the street, athletic stars, politicians and entertainers, Taylor’s canvases describe an imagination encompassing multiple worlds. Informed by experience, his work conveys its fundamental empathy in close looking and sharpened social criticism alike. Henry Taylor: B Side is the largest exhibition of Taylor’s work to date.

“Long Story Short” presents artworks dating from the 1970s to the present day, drawn from MOCA’s world-renowned, ever-growing collection of more than 7,500 objects. It demonstrates the myriad ways contemporary artists have addressed aesthetic, political, and philosophical concerns in the last fifty years, whether by reclaiming public space in guerilla-style street performances, innovating new forms, commemorating loves and losses, challenging the hierarchy of art and craft, or rethinking the conventions of portraiture. By exhibiting artworks that are widely regarded as hallmarks of the museum’s collection alongside lesser-known pieces, recent acquisitions, and artworks that have never previously been on view at MOCA, Long Story Short reminds us that art history, and history more broadly, is made in the present.

“Our Voices, Our Getty Reflecting on Drawings,” Feb. 7–April 30, GETT CENTER. Explore a selection of rarely seen drawings from the Museum’s collection, accompanied by personal interpretations written by the 2022 cohort of interns from the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program. Contemplative, creative, and sometimes questioning, the students’ reflections cast these drawings in a new light. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles.