By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival returns for its 31st year March 28–31 with an overall theme of “Telling Our Truths.”
It kicks off this year’s celebration with its champagne gala at the Lankershim Arts Center, before moving next door to Theatre 68 Arts Complex — The Rosalie that evening for the awards ceremony at 8 p.m.
The evening will be hosted by Hattie Winston (“Becker,” “The Electric Company”) and Margaret Avery (“The Color Purple,” “Being Mary Jane,” “Which Way Is Up”). The event will honor eight deserving women of exceptional achievement and contribution to the world of theatre.
The awardees include the late Shirley Jo Finney, caryn desai & Maria G. Martinez, Wendy Raquel Robinson & Naomi Grossman, Lisa Sanaye Dring & Carolyn Ratteray and Jessica Lynn Johnson.
Other highlights include “Cultural Road Maps” hosted by Florence LaRue (The 5th Dimension) and Rosie Lee Hooks (Sweet Honey in the Rock); and “Outside The Lines” hosted by Fay Hauser-Price (“The Young and the Restless,” “Roots: The Next Generations”) and producer/host Jahna Cole Houston, both on March 30.
For a complete schedule of the many performances, workshops and panels, visit lawtf.org or call 818-760-0408.
TIMELY: Famed documentarian Raoul Peck (“I Am Not Your Negro,” “Exterminate All the Brutes”) will next investigate the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise for a film called “The Hands That Held The Knives.”
“I am eager to tell my country’s real story beyond the usual exotic clichés and preposterous clickbait,” said Peck, who spent a year as the country’s minister of culture, of the film, which spent two years in production. “I want to reveal for once, without holding back, the core stories and real reasons for Haiti’s tragic situation.”
TICKET WATCH: The Hollywood Bowl 2024 season has been updated to include Cynthia Erivo with Michael Bublé and Dave Koz for June 23’s Opening Night at the Bowl celebrating Henry Mancini at 100; Gregory Porter and Lizz Wright with George Benson and orchestra on Aug. 18; Danielle Ponder with Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Big Boi on Sept. 4; and Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals debuting with the Color of Noize Orchestra led by conductor Derrick Hodge on Sept. 24. Visit HollywoodBowl.com for more information.
Wasting no time after last weekend’s festival with Nicki Minaj, Post Malone and Future, Rolling Loud California announces it will return to Hollywood Park, on the grounds adjacent to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood March 14-16, 2025. Pre-sale tickets are available March 22 at noon via rollingloudca.com.
Also on sale are tickets to “CTG: The Gala 2024,” an annual fundraiser for the Center Theatre Group hosted by actor, producer and former NFL star Nnamdi Asomugha; Emmy Award-winning actress Kerry Washington; the Emmy Award-winning, and Oscar and Tony-nominated actor Colman Domingo; “Fake It Until You Make It” playwright and 2020 MacArthur Fellow Larissa FastHorse; Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang; the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and composer behind “A Strange Loop” Michael R. Jackson; Tony Award-winning producer Justin Mikita; Tony Award-winning actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson; and the Tony Award-nominated director of “Slave Play” Robert O’Hara.
For more on the April 28 event at the Mark Taper Forum, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org.
PEEP THESE: On March 23, the Hammer Museum screens “The Rockford Files: Gandy & Rockfish Trilogy” which stars James Garner and Grammy and Academy Award-winning music superstar Isaac Hayes as Rockford’s prickly, short-tempered former cellmate, Gandolph “Gandy” Fitch.
Following Hayes’ debut lead in the 1974 “Blaxploitation” film “Truck Turner,” this role set the framework for three Rockford episodes, including a proposed spin-off co-starring Louis Gossett Jr. and Dionne Warwick.
The afternoon of March 24 has the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures presenting 1934’s “Zouzou” starring Josephine Baker in 35 milimeter preceded by 1935’s “Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life,” a musical short featuring a 19-year-old Billie Holiday in her screen debut and Duke Ellington with his orchestra.
CLIPPETTES: “Bob Marley: One Love,” the biopic starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the reggae icon and Latasha Lynch as wife Rita Marley, is now available on demand …
Terrace Martin & Alex Isley are paired at The Novo March 22, while jazz pianist Aaron Diehl plays Walt Disney Concert Hall, Seth Macfarlane’s Big Band swings at Vibrato Grill, Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre (leader of Spanish Harlem Orchestra) have a “Birthday Celebration” at Catalina Jazz Club, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater does three nights at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion …
Take 6 sing at the Wallis Center March 23, as Jacquees is at The Novo, Jon B at 930 Mateo St, and Keith Washington begins two nights celebrating the music of Teddy Pendergrass at Catalina Jazz Club …
10-year-old North West, daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, announced she has a debut album on the way titled “Elementary School Dropout” — a play on her father’s smash “College Dropout” …
Sunday Jazz is presented by Leimert Park Jazz Festival at ORA with Chris Powe Quartet on March 24; with Yolo at the El Rey Theatre the following evening …
Idris Elba will next direct a Nigerian film titled “Dust To Dreams” to star vocalist Seal …
The Grammy Museum holds “A Conversation with Martha Reeves” on March 27, while Laurie Anderson is at The Orpheum, Roger Eno at Hollywood Forever, and reggaeton star Don Omar at The Forum …
Vocalist Lynne Fiddmont headlines at Catalina Jazz Club March 28, as Kevin Gates raps at The Novo …
“That Girl Lay Lay,” the 2021 Nickelodeon sitcom created by the late David A. Arnold starring Alaya High, will not continue after this current season.
HE SAID IT: “Now more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: More connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.” – T’CHALLA (CHADWICK BOSEMAN) in “Black Panther”
TC ON TV: March 22 – “Shirley” (Netflix): Written and directed by Oscar winner John Ridley (for his “12 Years A Slave” screenplay), this biopic stars Regina King as Shirley Chisholm, the Brooklyn woman who made history throughout her political career including a 1972 run for the U.S. presidency. “Anatomy Of A Fall” (Hulu): The French courtroom drama that won this year’s Oscar for Best Original Screenplay streams at last. “The Tonight Show” (NBC): Alicia Keys and a performance by the cast of her new Broadway musical “Hell’s Kitchen”
March 23 – “Ramy Youssef: More Feelings” (HBO): The Golden Globe-winning Egyptian American actor, writer and comedian currently seen in “Poor Things,” returns to the stage to offer his unique reflections on our divided world, the unexpected perils of charitable giving, and more. The special filmed at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, sees Youssef delving into issues big and small, including the 2024 presidential election, the importance of prayer, and a childhood book report that changed the course of his life — all with his signature laid-back and affable style.
March 24 – “2024 National Women’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony” (OWN): This first ever telecast of the event honors Serena Williams, Ruby Bridges and others. “Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard” (Bravo): The returners are joined by new friend for season two, Atlanta’s Noelle Hughley, who is also “single and ready to mingle.” “Unsung” (TV1): Candi Staton “Uncensored” (TV1): Jasmine Guy
March 25 – “The Neighborhood” (CBS): Marcel Spears (Marty) is reprising his Broadway role for the West Coast premiere of the “Fat Ham,” a Pulitzer Prize–winning take on Hamlet at the Geffen Playhouse March 27 through April 28.
March 27 – “Vice News Presents: When Black Women Go Missing” (Tubi): Explores the painful truth of missing and murdered Black women whose stories too often go overlooked by mainstream media and law enforcement. “Grown-ish” (Freeform): Marcus Scribner, who stars as Junior from “black-ish” in college, says these final episodes are groundbreaking.
March 28 – “Hope on The Street” (Prime): A six-episode docuseries that highlights BTS member j-hope‘s returning to his dancer roots. Accompanied by his former instructor, the popping champion Boogaloo Kin, he explores the streets of Osaka, Seoul, Paris, New York, and Gwangju, meeting inspiring street dancers along the way. “The View” (ABC): Zoe Saldana
END QUOTE: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of the supporters of ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ and ‘16 Carriages.’ I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.” — BEYONCE
As featured in the Los Angeles Wave and Independent, Tasty Clips is one of the leading entertainment columns in the nation, serving nearly one million weekly readers. Bill Vaughan may be reached attastyclips@yahoo.com, via Twitter @tastyclips, or Instagram @tasty_clips.
