UnHip LA

 

Opening Night, Friday, June 29, 2007  From the Pasadena Playhouse website: "CAN-CAN centers on Pistache, the only woman in Paris who owns a café that features the sexy and provocative Can-Can.  During this dazzling, if not naughty, evening of musical theater, Pistache faces both a fervent attempt to shut down her business as well as her own complications in love."

I’m not much of a musical fan so Can-Can bored me a bit in the first act in which singing dominated.  But the second act kicked in with more exciting plot lines, humor, romance, and even a well-choreographed sword fight.  The costumes and set design were beautiful and whimsical.  The audience gasped with delight when the first curtain parted to the interior of a Paris night club.  I found the play’s frequent mention of the "special can-can" dance  a little unsettling said before an audience of white-haired Pasadenans, but the audience loved it.  Amir Talai as Boris, an undiscovered sculptor, gave the best perfomance of the night, both comical and touching. My favorite musical number was "Never, Never, Be an Artist," sung by Boris and his fellow starving artists.  All in all, a really enjoyable night!  Afterwards you can chill out at the Caravan Serai, the Middle Eastern restaurant next door, Zona Rosa cafe or Famima.

(Tip:  Bring a jacket because the theatre is VERY cold.  I even had to wear a hat.  Also to avoid the long line at the ladies’ restroom, use the adjoining restaurant’s restroom.)

I’ve been to most of the museums in Los Angeles, and my two, hands-down, favorites are the American Military Museum (aka Tankland) in South El Monte and the Museum of Jurassic Technology in West Los Angeles.  Both offer truly eclectic collections that will get your imagination going, and both are in unique settings.  Tankland is all outdoors.  There is so much to write about this place but I’m saving it for an article I’m angling for.  In the meantime, here are some pics. 

My favorite tank.  Cute eh?  Used in the North Hollywood shootout.

 

 

The Museum will be participating in Sierre Madre’s Fourth of July parade.  The city has a four-day celebration starting Saturday, June 30th, details on the link above. More pics of the Museum are here  and on their site: http://hometown.aol.com/tankland/museum.htm

Hours:    

The American Military Museum
1918 North Rosemead Boulevard
South El Monte
626.442.1776 

Jill over at EyeLevelPasadena.com, one of my favorite local blogs, has posted something very interesting and Bay Area-ish sounding.  Go here to see!

I’ll be there with a recorder, wool sweater, jeans, books, and other things I hope someone can use; maybe I’ll even offer some editing services.  I’ll report back with photos of this community event.  Here is the Craigslist ad for the event.

*** UPDATE ***  

Here are my pics from the market:
http://unhipla.blogsome.com/2007/07/01/really-really-hot-day/
The next one is Saturday, July 14, 8am - 1pm.  Same place. 

July’s Los Angeles magazine has a wonderful listing of summer outdoor movie screenings, one probably happening near you.  Of course, there’s Cinespia, the graveyard cinema (been there, done that), which is charging a whopping $10 to get in the gates.  Do the dead get any cut of that?  I hope so considering everyone is trampling on their graves.  No, but seriously, I went to Cinespia when it first started.  It was spooky and crowded.  If you go, don’t forget your wine glasses and candelabras. 

Closer to home, South Pas starts their screenings on July 7.  Theirs is a family-friendly line up.  I may just show up for Kiki’s Delivery Service (Aug. 11) and The Wizard of Oz (Aug. 25).  Beware - there will be lots of munchkins around, but hopefully it will be a nice, non-mob scene.  Pasadena also has their long-running One Colorado Film Festival.  This year it’s Westerns.

The two Santa Monica Pier movies series sound like fun, one is free, the other is $10. The article says that the pier will be covered with a synthetic lawn for people to picnic on.  Check out the article for all the details!

(Note: The picture is of an outdoor movie screening in New York City,  but you get the gist.)

 

The Levitt Pavillion free concert series starts tonight (Wed.), kicking off with children’s music.  So dust off the lawn chairs, grab a kid, and head down over to Old Town Pasadena.

 

 

Here is my review of one of the shows and also a few Levitt tips.

 

 
Please also visit her companion Iggy.

 

 

Please also vist his neighbor Betty. 

The Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center in the San Gabriel Mountains is having a Summer Solstice Celebration on Saturday, June 23, 2007, from 10 am - 5 pm.  Storytellers, performances, arts and crafts, and more.

CONTACT: Call 310-455-1588, 626-449-8975, or email at katcalls@aol.com
http://www.haramokngna.org/ 

I wish I could go but I have plans already.  If you go, please let me know how it is.  A trip up into the mountains sounds like a great way to spend the day.  (Sorry for the late posting.)

In need of an escape, E and I drove down to Artesia for a Bollywood break.
We saw the recently released "Cheeni Kum," which stars Amitabh Bachchan (Abishek’s father) and Tabu (Namesake).  It’s an engaging romantic comedy about the relationship between a 64-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman.  I didn’t think such a dynamic would be believable, but Amitabh and Tabu had the chemistry of two people who got each other.  Tabu’s character says: "I would rather spend 5 - 10 years with someone I love, rather than a lifetime with someone I didn’t."  This movie did make me think differently about love and age differences.  There is also a terrific suppporting cast: a 9-year-old neighbor girl with leukemia named "Sexy," a wise-cracking, wrestling fan, mother (played by a 95-year-old actress), and a protective father who goes on a hunger strike.  What was interesting was that no character seemed to be their true age. 

 

The movie is now playing at the Naz 8 in Lakewood/Artesia, billed as "Southern California’s First Multicultural Entertainment Megaplex showing movies from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Taiwan, Korea and Philippines."  On Tuesdays, it’s $5 all day for Hindi movies.  The Naz 8 has a homey, comfortable feel. A whiteboard propped in the lobby featured an IT job opening in Burbank and ads for computer classes, written in dry-erase marker. Next time, I want to get the Desi Family Combo: one large popcorn, two waters or tea, and one plate of samosas (2 pc) for $9.95.  Yum!

 

I totally recommend this as a cheap Tuesday date. There is an Indian restaurant in the plaza but E and I didn’t get there early enough to try it out.  Nearby is Pioneer Boulevard where many Indian restaurants and shops line the street.  See my previous post on this.  Get some delicious Indian ice cream at Saffron Spot after the movie.

Here’s the wonderful website for Cheeni Kum.  Check it out!

http://www.naz8.com/artesia/ 
The movie theatre only takes cash.  There is an ATM in the liquor store near the theatre. 

For more Bollywood posts, please click here. 

(The only downside of our night was the terrible rush hour traffic we went through down the 605 and the half tank of gas that it took.  Remember to use the car pool lane!)

 

I often pop by this Japanese market in San Gabriel on Las Tunas to grab some tea, sushi, and Pocky.  I love to look at the products labelled in Japanese and wonder what they are.  The shop has a lazy, small town vibe, and I’ve never been manhandled here as in other Asian markets (read: Korean and Chinese).  As much as I love Famima, I prefer Mitsuwa because it’s old school and not as expensive.  Snack for snack, I think they’re about the same.  Mitsuwa also has the dainty, little old lady, Japanese cashiers.  At Christmas time, the place has great gift boxes and baskets for all price ranges, featuring beauty products, soap, and foodstuffs.

 

These slippers are really comfortable and have lots of foot-molding cushion under them.  Hurry before they’re all gone!

Ah, the ready-made food aisle, not as good as dining in a restaurant but great if you’re in a hurry.  Beware of the bottles of green tea against the wall; they will keep you up for days.

To find a Mitsuwa near you. 

Gallery of Dads on the walls of Mitsuwa Marketplace (Japanese grocery store)
in San Gabriel:

 

 

  Click to see more!  Who’s your fave dad?

Mitsuwa Marketplace
515 W Las Tunas Drive
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 457-2899
9:00AM - 8:00PM

Summer is here and Levitt Pavillion in Memorial Park (Old Town Pasadena) hosts a huge, free concert series, starting June 27th.  The series (five nights a week!) offers an eclectic line-up of world music, jazz, latin, R&B and children’s music. A performance of Shakespeare’s Henry V, beginning September 7, caps off the run.  I saw a great performance here last year of Hamlet in the Park.  With snacks from Famima (in Old Town) and cream puffs from Beard Papa (in San Gabriel), the evening was really pleasant.    The festival is a perfect time to picnic and it’s not a mob scene.  Take a date!  Afterwards, you can stroll through Old Town.

Levitt details here. 

July 12 sounds a lot of fun:
ARABIC WORLD PERCUSSIONS, DHOL DRUMS, BHANGRA DANCE TEAMS, AND ARAB, NORTH AFRICAN DANCE TROUPE + SURPRISES

Here is my review of the above show and also some Levitt tips.

The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena is going to screen Bollywood film "The Raincoat" on

Friday, June 15, 2007, 6:30 pm
Sunday, June 17, 2007, 2:00 pm

 

This appears to be a serious movie with no dancing, but hey, I bet it will still be very interesting.  I am not sure if I’ll go though.  Instead I might be spending my weekend with www.bwcinema.com. Abhi here I come! 

From the PasadenaNow.com website:  The screenings are free with paid admission. The Norton Simon is located at 411 West Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena. Admission prices are, Adults $8.00, Seniors (ages 62 and above) $4.00, Patrons aged 18 and under Free, Students with valid I.D. Free, and Museum Members Free. For more information call (626) 449-6840 or log onto www.nortonsimon.org.