Free concert tickets for people impacted by fires: L.A. arts and culture this weekend

“Art opens the closets, airs out the cellars and attics. It brings healing.”

Julia Cameron shared this truth in her 1992 book “The Artist’s Way.” And as Los Angeles begins its long road to recovering from the devastation of the Palisades and Eaton fires, numerous organizations are generously offering their venues and programming as spaces for some much-needed community and connection.

L.A. Dance Project is extending free tickets to those directly impacted by the fires to tonight’s concert with Delirium Musicum, with violin virtuoso Etienne Gara leading the music ensemble. Likewise, the entirety of Dance Camera West’s film festival — including the world-premiere screening of the documentary “Dance Map (Dense),” taking place Jan. 29 at Barnsdall Gallery Theater in East Hollywood — is now open to all via “pay what you can” tickets.

BroadStage in Santa Monica is offering free tickets to upcoming concerts — Marlon Martinez and Marlonius Jazz Orchestra on Saturday night and experimental classical ensemble Wild Up on Sunday morning, as well as wind ensemble Imani Winds next Saturday — to first responders, support teams and those who have been impacted by the fires in any way. (To redeem, choose your seat online and select the “Pay What You Wish $0.00 minimum” option during the checkout process.)

L.A. Opera is providing complimentary tickets to the company’s Feb. 1 concert featuring Broadway star Kelli O’Hara. The offer — which allows guests to select their seats and also includes free parking at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion — is extended to residents in ZIP Codes directly affected by the fires as well as to first responders and support teams. Up to four free tickets can be claimed per person by filling out an online form or calling the box office.

I’m Times staff writer Ashley Lee, here with my colleague Jessica Gelt to bring you another Essential Arts newsletter — as a salve.

Best bets: On our radar this week

Artist Weshoyot Alvitre with her work “California Native Dormidera #2: Modesta Avila.”

(Todd Westphal)

‘Fire Kinship: Southern California Native Ecology and Art’
Times staff writer Rebecca Plevin reported on a 1-acre property in Altadena that, two years ago, became the first parcel of land returned to the Tongva people, and suffered significant damage from the Eaton fire. “Still, the losses could have been much worse if not for the Indigenous practices implemented on the land,” she wrote in her report, citing efforts like the removal of 97 fire-prone eucalyptus trees.

Indigenous fire stewardship is the focus of the Fowler Museum’s second PST Art exhibition, the opening of which was understandably delayed due to the Palisades and Eaton fires. Developed over several years, the exhibition centers the expertise of Tongva, Cahuilla, Luiseño and Kumeyaay communities through objects, stories, videos, images and newly commissioned works from contemporary artists like Weshoyot Alvitre, Emily Clarke, Gerald Clarke Jr., Leah Mata Fragua, Summer Paa’ila Herrera and Lazaro Arvizu. The free and all-too-timely exhibition is on view Wednesday through Sunday until July 13. Fowler Museum, 308 Charles E. Young Drive, Westwood. fowler.ucla.edu

‘The Phantom of the Opera’
Art Theatre of Long Beach marks the 100th anniversary of its first public screening with a one-night-only showing of the 1925 horror classic, accompanied by a live piano score from Cliff Retalick. The event includes preshow vintage advertisements and trailers, plus an introduction by film programmer Kennedy Ghaill. Even better: Audiences can partake at the (almost) 1925 ticket price (rounded up to a dollar). Doors to the Saturday screening open at 6:30 p.m. 2025 E. 4th St., Long Beach. arttheatrelongbeach.org

Angel Blue in the title role of Verdi’s “Aida.”

(Ken Howard / Met Opera)

‘Met Opera Live: Aida’
The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Verdi’s masterpiece, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and starring Angel Blue, hits big screens in the L.A. area starting Saturday. Michael Mayer directs this first new production of “Aida” on the Met stage in 36 years. Inspired by French archaeologist Auguste Mariette, it’s framed around a group of early 20th century Egyptologists. Pulitzer-winning composer and musician Rhiannon Giddens will host the transmission, sharing behind-the-scenes content and interviews during the intermission. metopera.org

— Ashley Lee

The week ahead: A curated calendar

The Grammy-winning duo 123 Andrés performs Sunday afternoon at the Wallis in Beverly Hills.

(Dominick Williams / The Wallis)

FRIDAY

The Play That Goes Wrong A troupe of actors at a ragtag company presents a 1920s murder mystery that results in a comedy of escalating blunders in this production directed by Eric Petersen.
Through Feb. 16. La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 4900 La Mirada Blvd. lamiradatheatre.com

Rachmaninoff & Muhly San Francisco Opera Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducts the L.A. Phil in Rachmaninoff’s Third Symphony and a brand-new concerto grosso by composer Nico Muhly. Pianist Alexandre Kantorow performs “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.”
8 p.m Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

War Horse A screening of the National Theatre production, recorded live in London’s West End in 2014.
7 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

SATURDAY
Evanston Salt Costs Climbing Playwright Will Arbery turns his focus to the existential climate crisis in this Rogue Machine production directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos and featuring a cast that includes Kaia Gerber and Hugo Armstrong.
Through March 9. Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. roguemachinetheatre.org

Fu@k Off The group exhibition gives a platform to artists who fight for human rights, equality and inclusivity, sharing the concerns and experiences of vulnerable groups and their allies.
Through March 1, closed Sunday-Monday. Walter Maciel Gallery, 2642 S. La Cienega Blvd. waltermacielgallery.com/

Sleeping Giant Something very old living in a nearby lake is awakened in Steve Yockey’s dark comedy.Through March 2. The Road Theatre, NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. roadtheatre.org

Symphonic Soul: A Celebration of African American Artistry Pacific Symphony and guests perform a tribute to Black artists that blends classical, jazz, spirituals and opera.
8 p.m. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. pacificsymphony.org

H.Sinno The composer, writer, performer and social justice advocate performs “Poems of Consumption,” a song cycle combining poetry and the sounds of consumerism (crumpling cellophane, bubble wrap, unboxing, ripping plastic, etc.).
8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

Sound Experience With Colloboh A performance by the producer-composer celebrates the long history of collaborations between artists and engineers.
6 p.m. The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive. getty.edu

SUNDAY
Knott’s Bear-y Tales: The Complete History of the Whimsical Attraction Authors Christopher Merritt and J. Eric Lynxwiler discuss their latest book, which details the history of this dark ride created by theme park designer Rolly Crump in 1975.
2 p.m. Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. 5th St., downtown L.A. lapl.org

123 Andrés The Grammy-winning duo offers a high-energy, interactive show of Latin American-influenced original songs for kids and families.
2 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Culture news and the SoCal scene

South Coast Repertory presents “Wish You Were Here” by Sanaz Toossi, directed by Mina Morita.

(Robert Huskey / South Coast Repertory)

Times theater critic Charles McNulty headed to South Coast Repertory to attend the West Coast premiere of “Wish You Were Here” by Sanaz Toossi. The first-generation Iranian American, who grew up in Orange County, worked at the theater before becoming a playwright. In 2023, her play “English” won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. “Wish You Were Here” explores the lives of five women between the years 1978 and 1991, the period most affected by the 1979 revolution. “The ensemble re-creates the communal energy of the characters, though sometimes what’s italicized in the script might have been more potently conveyed with underplaying,” writes McNulty in his review.

Hope and healing could be found in a recent staging of Martha Graham’s “Appalachian Spring” by the Martha Graham Dance Company at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. In his commentary, Times classical music critic Mark Swed reflected on how the performance brought relief during the COVID pandemic, and again provided solace to fire-weary Angelenos. “The ballet had its premiere at the Library of Congress in 1944. Its abstracted scenario is a kind of back to the basics, expressing the sanctity of home, devotion and nature,” writes Swed.

A former human resources director at the Broad Museum has filed a lawsuit against the museum and its former chief operating officer alleging discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment. In the suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Darron Rezell Walker accused Alysa Gerlach of pressuring him to fire a white employee, Rick Mitchell, 65, based on personal animus — as well as his age and race.

Tourists stand outside the Louvre museum in Paris on March 1, 2020.

(Associated Press)

A memo written by the director of the Louvre to France’s culture minister warns of problems at the museum — including leaks and temperature fluctuations — that could significantly imperil artwork. The director, Laurence des Cars, also expressed concern about the number of visitors the museum hosts, and whether it is sustainable for the infrastructure. Last year the museum had 8.7 million visitors, twice what it was built to support. The needed renovations to fix these issues, des Cars, said, would be expensive and complicated, the Guardian reported.

According to Axios, President Donald Trump has returned to the complaint of his first term about the architecture in Washington, D.C. In 2020, he issued an executive order calling for neoclassical design to be used in the construction of all new federal buildings in the city. President Biden later revoked that order. As he took office this week, Trump issued a new executive order stating that federal buildings should “respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage” to “beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States.”

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Bravo to Octavia’s Bookshelf, from Pasadena bookstore to mutual aid hub.