{"id":410897,"date":"2025-11-28T16:06:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T16:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/410897\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T16:06:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T16:06:35","slug":"joey-mcintyre-sings-holiday-songs-l-a-arts-and-culture-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/410897\/","title":{"rendered":"Joey McIntyre sings holiday songs: L.A. arts and culture this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror we are now hurtling toward Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the New Year. December can bring stress, but it also brings the feel-good holiday shows, including \u201cTinselcolor,\u201d which opens Dec. 2 at CineVita<\/a>, a 15,000-square-foot double-decker Belgian spiegeltent operated by For the Record, which stages live musical revues of well-known film soundtracks.<\/p>\n

Joey McIntyre \u2014 the youngest member of the ultra \u201890s boy band, New Kids on the Block \u2014 signed on as host of the candy-colored world-premiere extravaganza, which features an eight-piece band and 14 singers performing holiday movie music from 25 film scores including \u201cHome Alone,\u201d \u201cNational Lampoon\u2019s Christmas Vacation\u201d and \u201cWhite Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the Record has been putting on shows for more than 15 years<\/a>, starting in a small bar and restaurant in Los Feliz and moving up to bigger venues leading to CineVita. Over the years, the company became known for attracting celebrity clientele. Quentin Tarantino and Rosario Dawson attended a performance based on Tarantino\u2019s film scores, and Demi Moore\u2019s daughter, Rumer Willis, once joined the troupe. Moore is now an investor.<\/p>\n

In an email, McIntyre wrote that he saw the Tarantino show years ago and loved it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew the caliber of talent and production that this company puts up, and then I stepped foot into this unparalleled space and almost verbatim said \u2018sign me up,\u2019\u201d he wrote. \u201cI\u2019m a theater kid. The venue was like Jessica Rabbit calling me in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unparalleled space McIntyre is referring to contains 3,000 hand-beveled mirrors, hand-cut stained glass windows and carved wood ornamentation. It will be decorated with outsized holiday flair for \u201cTinselcolor,\u201d but it will also feel cozy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe theater holds about 700, but it is so warm and intimate, like you\u2019re in my living room for the holidays,\u201d McIntyre wrote. \u201cOur guests are going to feel that. Our director, Anderson Davis, and the creative team have been super open to making it feel authentic to me and showcasing what I bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Performers joining McIntyre onstage include Brian Justin Crum, who recently played the role of Annas alongside Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert in the Hollywood Bowl\u2019s electrifying \u201cJesus Christ Superstar\u201d; Vintage Trouble frontman Ty Taylor; Cheyenne Isabel Wells, who starred in \u201cGrease: Rise of the Pink Ladies\u201d on Paramount+; and Dionne Gipson from \u201cFound\u201d on NBC and \u201cHaus of Vicious\u201d on BET.<\/p>\n

McIntyre noted that he gets to sing the Andy Williams classic, \u201cIt\u2019s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year\u201d in full holiday regalia. His favorite holiday movie song of all time, however, is not in the show. That would be \u201cA Brand New Christmas,\u201d which he co-wrote for last year\u2019s Roku Original \u201cJingle Bell Love.\u201d <\/p>\n

His favorite Christmas carol of all time? \u201cO Holy Night.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt sits right in my wheelhouse vocally, and it checks all the boxes: heartfelt, classic melody with a pop bluesy accessibility. And you get to \u2018fall on your knees\u2019 when you\u2019re performing it,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cTinselcolor\u201d runs through Dec. 30. After that, McIntyre will head back to Las Vegas to continue the New Kids on the Block residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, which was extended through 2026 due to high demand. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just announced 3 more stints for 2026. We are a blessed bunch of guys. We\u2019ve been able to keep it fresh and exciting over all these years, and the fact that we still had Vegas on the table was something we have really taken advantage of,\u201d McIntyre wrote about the residency. \u201cOur diehards are genuinely blown away, and Vegas is yet another hook for folks who haven\u2019t seen us in a while. And those newbies are loving it too. It feels like a slam dunk all around.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt wishing you a very happy holiday season filled with love, kindness, health and hope. Here\u2019s your arts and culture news for the week.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re reading Essential Arts On our radar \"Clockwise <\/p>\n

Clockwise from bottom left: Grand Kiev Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and Inland Pacific Ballet.<\/p>\n

(Los Angeles Times photo collage; illustrations by Katie Smith \/ For The Times; photographs from Grand Kyiv Ballet, Cheryl Mann and Marsha McNeely Photography)<\/p>\n

Nutcracker roundup<\/b>
The season of Sugar Plum Fairies is upon us. In last weekend\u2019s holiday preview, Ashley Lee did the legwork gathering intel on productions of the holiday perennial<\/a> that will be dancing their way across Southern California stages in the coming weeks. From downtown L.A. to the South Bay, Orange County and the Inland Empire, the variety of imaginative interpretations offer something for almost everybody. This week alone sees the openings of Anaheim Ballet\u2019s \u201cNutcracker\u201d (Friday and Saturday. City National Grove of Anaheim, 2200 E. Katella Ave. anaheimballet.org<\/a>); American Contemporary Ballet\u2019s \u201cThe Nutcracker Suite\u201d (Saturday through Dec. 24. Bank of America Plaza, 333 S. Hope St., downtown L.A. acbdances.com<\/a>); \u201cBob Baker\u2019s Nutcracker,\u201d a marionette version of the show (Saturday through Jan. 4. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org<\/a>); and Debbie Allen Dance Academy\u2019s \u201cThe Hot Chocolate Nutcracker,\u201d which subs Mariah Carey and other contemporary artists for Tchaikovsky (Thursday through Dec. 14. Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd. debbieallendanceacademy.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

What the Dickens!<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The cast of \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d at A Noise Within.<\/p>\n

(Craig Schwartz)<\/p>\n

Like \u201cThe Nutcracker,\u201d the holidays are heavy with varied interpretations of Charles Dickens\u2019 \u201cA Christmas Carol.\u201d Friday night in Anaheim, Chance Theater opens Leslie Bricusse\u2019s \u201cScrooge! The Musical\u201d (Through Dec. 21. Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center, 5522 E. La Palma Ave. chancetheater.com<\/a>). Saturday night, two long-standing productions of \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d make their traditional returns. In Pasadena, Geoff Elliott (who also adapted and co-directs with Julia Rodriguez-Elliott) once again steps into Ebenezer\u2019s slippers for a night of ghostly visitations (Through Dec. 4. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. anoisewithin.org<\/a>). <\/p>\n

\"Richard <\/p>\n

Richard Doyle in \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d at South Coast Repertory.<\/p>\n

(Robert Huskey)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, down in Orange County, South Coast Repertory celebrates the 45th anniversary of resident dramaturg Jerry Patch\u2019s adaptation (Through Dec. 28. Emmes\/Benson Theatre Center, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scr.org<\/a>). And on Dec. 5, Independent Shakespeare Co.\u2018s David Melville plays not Scrooge, but the author himself in \u201cA Christmas Carol With Charles Dickens,\u201d a solo storytelling tour-de-force (Through Dec. 22. ISC Studio, Atwater Crossing, 3191 Casitas Ave., Suite 130, Atwater Village. iscla.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The week ahead: A curated calendar<\/p>\n

FRIDAY<\/b>
Heisenberg <\/b>
Paul Eiding and Juls Hoover star in Simon Stephens\u2019 drama about a middle-woman and an older man who meet in a London railway station. Directed by Cameron Watson.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday, through Dec. 22. Additional show 8 p.m. Dec. 18. Skylight Theatre, 1816 1\/2 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz. skylighttheatre.org<\/a> <\/p>\n

SATURDAY<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Drew <\/p>\n

Artist Drew Struzan signs his Oscar poster in 2008.<\/p>\n

(Mark Mainz \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Drew Struzan Tribute<\/b>
The American Cinematheque salutes the artist, illustrator and designer who died in October<\/a> with a triple-feature of films for which he designed the posters: \u201cBack to the Future,\u201d \u201cThe Goonies\u201d and \u201cE.T.\u201d Struzan also designed iconic one-sheets for such films as \u201cStar Wars,\u201d \u201cRaiders of the Lost Ark\u201d and \u201cBlade Runner.\u201d
11 a.m. Saturday. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com<\/a> <\/p>\n

TUESDAY<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Tom <\/p>\n

Tom Morello at South by Southwest in Austin in 2025.<\/p>\n

(Jack Plunkett \/ Invision \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The REVOLUTION(S) will be Amplified<\/b>
Musician\/activist Tom Morello joins curator Douglas Fogle for a discussion about art, activism, creativity and resistance on the occasion of the exhibition \u201cCorita Kent: The Sorcery of Images.\u201d
7 p.m. Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd. marcianoartfoundation.org<\/a> <\/p>\n

THURSDAY<\/b>
Children of the Winter Kingdom<\/b>
Orphaned twins escape a circus and encounter a king and his dragon, a wild girl, a crow, a sorceress and an ice spider in a holiday adventure filled with music and puppetry. Written by Adam Dugas & Mary Eileen O\u2019Donnell, directed by Adam Dugas.
8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 20. The Actors\u2019 Gang at the Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. theactorsgang.com<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u2018Die Heart\u2019<\/b>
Yippee-ki-yay, Heart lovers! Troubadour Theater Co. revives its holiday musical-comedy synergism of the 1988 Bruce Willis action movie \u201cDie Hard\u201d with the songs of the Wilson sisters. Don\u2019t even think about asking if it\u2019s really a Christmas movie.
Dec. 4 to 21. Colony Theatre, 555 N. Third St., Burbank. troubie.com<\/a> <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A scene from \u201cPutney Swope,\u201d directed by Robert Downey Sr.<\/p>\n

(Cinema 5 \/ Photofest)<\/p>\n

Putney Swope<\/b>
The Academy Museum\u2019s celebration of film preservation kicks off with the world premiere of a new 35mm print of Robert Downey Sr.\u2019s 1969 social satire.
7:30 p.m. Thursday Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org<\/a> <\/p>\n

Tchaikovsky\u2019s Swan Lake<\/b>
The Pacific Symphony and pianist Alexandra Dariescu, conducted by Tianyi Liu, perform works by Cassandra Miller, Maurice Ravel and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Ren\u00e9e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org\/events<\/a> <\/p>\n

Dispatch: The Butterfly Effect \"Liviera <\/p>\n

Liviera Lim as Vivian Fang in \u201cThe Butterfly Effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Charly Charney Cohen)<\/p>\n

Young local theater troupe Last Call Theater specializes in interactive, participatory productions, and its latest, \u201cThe Butterfly Effect,\u201d is an intimate affair that encourages one-to-one and small group pairings with actors. The show examines past choices and the consequences of changing them. There\u2019s a fantastical bent, as it\u2019s set in a cafe that promises the ability to time travel. The decade-hopping coffee shop backdrop gives the company a chance to play with multiple storylines that touch on L.A. history, from immigrant tales of a family-run business to those often overlooked by our city\u2019s emphasis on celebrity. The production, which opened in mid-November, runs Thursday through Saturday at Stella Coffee and closes Dec 6. ticketleap.events<\/a>
\u2014 Todd Martens<\/p>\n

Culture news and the SoCal scene \"Robert <\/p>\n

Robert Therrien\u2018s \u201cNo title (red chapel relief),\u201d 1991, enamel on paper and wood.<\/p>\n

(Christopher Knight \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

A place at the (big) table<\/b>
If you\u2019ve ever visited the Broad, you\u2019re quite familiar with the large table and chairs in its permanent collection that dwarf even the tallest viewer. Times art critic Christopher Knight (who is retiring as of today) calls the Broad\u2019s new exhibition, \u201cRobert Therrien: This Is a Story,\u201d a \u201csmashing retrospective\u201d and one of the year\u2019s best museum solo shows. Therrien, who died at 71 in 2019, was a unique talent who sits comfortably among the most significant L.A. artists since the \u201860s and \u201870s. \u201cWhether he was making a 3D sculpture to stand on the floor, a 2D painting to hang on the wall, or a 3D sculpture attached to a wall like an ancient frieze,\u201d writes Knight, \u201che managed the same uncanny result \u2014 objects where the purely visual and the utterly physical demand equal time.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Maya <\/p>\n

Maya Keleher in the national tour of the musical \u201cSuffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Joan Marcus)<\/p>\n

Suffragette City<\/b>
An all-female and nonbinary cast dramatizes the inspiring story of American women fighting for the right to vote in the musical \u201cSuffs,\u201d playing at the Hollywood Pantages through Dec. 7. Shaina Taub<\/a> won Tony Awards<\/a> for its book and score, while also starring as suffragette leader Alice Paul in the Broadway run. In L.A., the national tour\u2019s Maya Keleher \u201clends alluring warmth to the role,\u201d writes Times theater critic Charles McNulty<\/a> in his review. \u201cThe teamwork of the performers honors the messy yet undeniably effective cooperation of Alice and her freedom fighters \u2014 women who changed the world by not staying silent in their prescribed place.\u201d <\/p>\n

Viola time<\/b>
Times music critic Mark Swed noted<\/a> a recent \u201cfall-harvesting viola bandwagon,\u201d with multiple ensembles spotlighting the humble middle child of stringed instruments played with a bow. \u201cThe L.A. Phil began viola week with a Tuesday evening program, \u2018Brahms Strings,\u2019 as part of the orchestra\u2019s chamber music series at Walt Disney Concert Hall that included the blazing early First Sextet and late, luminously serene Second Quintet,\u201d wrote Swed. \u201cAs part of its chamber music series across the street in the Colburn School\u2019s Zipper Hall, Saturday, [the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra] coincidentally held \u2018A Brahmsian Affair,\u2019 in this case featuring both the sextets.\u201d On Saturday, recent Colburn graduate Lan Cao and current conservatory student Ran Tae performed Korean composer Isang Yun\u2019s 1988 \u201cContemplation,\u201d for two violas, \u201cplayed with gripping meditative intensity\u201d during a day-long MOCA seminar on South Korean artist Haegue Yang. <\/p>\n

Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times<\/p>\n

Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ray <\/p>\n

Ray Ushikubo will play a rare 1741 Guarneri \u201cdel Ges\u00f9\u201d violin at a free concert at the Colburn School on Dec. 3. <\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

History in his hands<\/b>
Ray Ushikubo of San Gabriel, a 24-year-old virtuoso musician, has been selected to play the Playfair violin, an ultra-rare model crafted by the famed luthier Guarneri \u201cdel Ges\u00f9.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m only 24,\u201d Ushikubo told reporter Emma Madden<\/a>. \u201cThis instrument is from 1741. It\u2019s older than the United States. I can barely comprehend that amount of history. But mostly I feel happiness. And honor. It sounds better than any violin that\u2019s ever been made.\u201d The musician will debut the instrument in a free concert at the Colburn School\u2019s Zipper Hall on Dec. 3. <\/p>\n

East L.A. Youth Orchestra gets a reprieve<\/b>
\u201cAfter recently announcing major cuts to its youth orchestra, the L.A. Phil has secured additional donor funding to ensure the East L.A. branch of the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) program will continue at full capacity until the end of the school year,\u201d reports The Times\u2019 Cerys Davies<\/a>. The initial cuts to the programming at the Esteban E. Torres High School site included laying off teaching artists, gutting programs for younger students and reduced practices for older students. The parents of students and members of the local community responded to the cuts by organizing an Instagram campaign and town hall meeting, imploring the L.A. Phil to temporarily preserve the Torres site.<\/p>\n

An architectural whodu<\/b>nit<\/b>
In 2013, Robert Mosher, one of San Diego\u2019s most respected architects, called Keith York, founder of Modern San Diego, a digital archive devoted to the region\u2019s mid-century design, asking to meet for lunch. \u201cI have something I need to tell you,\u201d he said. A revelation at that meeting led York and fellow architecture buff Stephen Buck to investigate the provenance of Balboa Park\u2019s Timken Museum of Art, which opened in 1965. Did two of the biggest names in American design have a hand in it? Sam Lubell has the details<\/a> on the decades-old mystery. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Kevin Crust<\/p>\n

And last but not least<\/p>\n

I give you the 2025 Times holiday gift guide<\/a>. Even if you don\u2019t see anything on these carefully curated lists that you like, it\u2019s a great inspiration starter.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jessica Gelt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror we are now hurtling toward Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the New Year.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":410898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,18282,18286,18287,18283,2961,224,2444,5337,18284,18278,18280,18281,18285,18279,4370,645,2452,8066],"class_list":{"0":"post-410897","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-design-columnist-carolina-a-miranda","11":"tag-existential-questions","12":"tag-group-show","13":"tag-l-a-museum","14":"tag-la","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-los-angeles-times","17":"tag-losangeles","18":"tag-matthew-lopez","19":"tag-opera","20":"tag-pauline","21":"tag-performance","22":"tag-private-jet","23":"tag-schindler-house","24":"tag-show","25":"tag-story","26":"tag-week","27":"tag-work"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115628185462031283","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}