(by) Donna McCrohan Rosenthal
Spring-into-summer June bursts with fun, as you will read in this month’s roundup of short hops and trips across the Golden State.
Down below in Los Angeles, the Ahmanson offers “Into the Woods” Tuesday, June 27 to Sunday, July 30, followed by “Peter Pan Goes Wrong” Tuesday, August 8 to Sunday, September 10 (213-972-7211); Tuesday, June 13 to Sunday, July 9, the Pantages pays tribute to a legend with “Tina Turner the Musical,” the story of her extraordinary life and career from her childhood through her turbulent marriage and phenomenal successes (323-463-4367); and on Saturday, June 10, one night only, the Los Angeles Opera presents the incomparable Renee Fleming (213-972-8001).
At the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Saturday, June 17, the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic marks the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps and honors the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of the Nazis with “Violins of Hope,” a project created to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit, using a private collection of over 60 instruments all restored since the end of World War II. The selections will span classical works performed on these instruments during the Holocaust to works by composers who were victims of the Holocaust to later works of remembrance by John Williams (theme from “Schindler’s List”) to a medley from “Fiddler on the Roof” lalawyersphil.org).
At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, “Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age 1952-1982” continues through Sunday. International and interdisciplinary in scope, the exhibition explores how the rise of computer technology, together with its emergence in popular consciousness, impacted the making of art in the age of the mainframe, examines the origins of what we now call digital art (323-857-6000).
On the coast to the southwest, the Venice Summer Fest takes over Venice Boulevard with more than 100 vendors, art, workshops, live entertainment on three stages, food and beverages, on Saturday, June 24 (thevenicefest.com).
Up north on Hwy 395, enjoy Father’s Day weekend with free live music in the Village at Mammoth at the Mammoth Feel Good Festival that runs Friday, June 16 to Saturday, June 17 (888-466-2666).
Farther north, the National Park Service warns, “While we welcome you to Yosemite, be prepared for multi-hour delays at park entrances and traffic congestion, especially in Yosemite Valley. Avoid traffic by arriving by mid-morning…. and rivers are surprisingly swift, cold, and dangerous. Rivers and creeks in Yosemite are at or near flood stage. Stay away from rock adjacent to rivers; wet rock is extremely slick. Do not cross bridges that have water flowing over them.” Some roads have opened, others remain closed. Call 209-372-0200 (press 1 then 1) for up-to-date conditions (www.nps.gov/yose).
