Extra

Los Angeles Ballet

• By AC Remler
• Photo Courtesy of Los Angeles BALLET

Los Angeles Ballet will perform An Evening of Christopher Wheeldon exclusively at the The Broad Stage in Santa Monica—with three performances from March 16-18, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. 

The evening features three iconic works by the celebrated English-born master choreographer, including Ghosts, Fool’s Paradise, and Morphoses—the latter two being premieres for the company.

According to the press release, Ghosts offers a realm where ethereal beings manifest in a shadowy playground. Fool’s Paradise suggests the atmosphere of an enchanted forest as in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a work that inspired Wheeldon even as a child. Morphoses is an athletic ballet for four dancers. Each couple presents a complex pas de deux requiring flexibility and lyricism. 

This marks the second production for the 17-year old company under the new artistic direction of Melissa Barak following last year’s Nutcracker. Barak, who performed with the company during its first five seasons, was appointed as Artistic Director in August 2022.

The 538-seat Ely and Edythe Broad Stage is the perfect space to experience this trio of works. According to the Broad’s Board Chair, the venue is “the Westside’s destination for new ideas, to ambitious programming.” With Barak forging a new era for Los Angeles Ballet, what better venue to showcase her first major foray with the company featuring works of one of the most inventive choreographers of the 21st Century? It certainly fits the bill.

For tickets and more, click here.

Wolf Pack

• By Jeni Pearsons
• Photo Courtesy of Paramount Plus

Amidst the chaos of a California wildfire, a group of teens must flee their school bus on foot or meet certain death. Something monstrous lurks in this bedlam. High school students Everett (Armani Jackson) and Blake (Bella Shepard) are bitten. That’s how Wolf Pack on Paramount+ begins. Creator Jeff Davis brought us the TV version of Teen Wolf but don’t expect a quippy teen romp. Wolf Pack starts dark and stays moody. A park ranger lost in the blaze found a pair of wolf pups in a previous fire. Those twin pups are now twin teen werewolves Luna (Chloe Rose Robertson) and Harlan (Tyler Lawrence Gray). Sarah Michelle Gellar, an icon of the genre from her starring role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer,plays an arson investigator who seems to give no credence to stories of a seven-foot monster. But give it time… five episodes to be exact — there’s more to this investigator than meets the eye. In line with shows like Buffy and Teen Wolf, Wolf Pack explores teen issues — Everett suffers from anxiety, and teen sexuality abounds. Everett, Blake, Harlan, and Luna are a pack now. Bound together by their werewolf natures, they’re on a quest to learn what this monster that emerged from the fire really is and to save others from its wrath.

For more, click here.

A Good Person

• By Debbie Emery
• Photo Courtesy of MGM

Former Scrubs star turned writer/director Zach Braff told The Guardian that both his films, Garden State and A Good Person, are “authentically me in different times of my life.” Braff’s latest directorial effort even stars his ex-girlfriend, Florence Pugh, and is inspired by a challenging time in his own life after the deaths of his father, sister, best friend (actor Nick Cordero), and even his dog. 

A Good Person examines how grief permeates all aspects of our life as it follows Allison (played by Pugh) in the aftermath of a fatal car crash that killed her future sister-in-law. She plummets into depression and substance abuse before finding solace through a friendship with her would-be father-in-law, Daniel (beautifully portrayed by Morgan Freeman), who is a widowed Vietnam vet. 

“I wanted to write about grief and how people stand up after grief,” Braff said. “I wanted to write something that would feel universal, so it wasn’t necessarily about a horrific car accident, but rather about the audience’s personal low point in their own lives. It could have been a divorce, it could have been losing their job, it could have been a death.”

The independent comedy drama also stars Molly Shannon, Chinaza Uche and Celeste O’Connor. It opens in theaters on March 24. 

For more, click here.

OUTER BANKS

• By PAIGE PETRONE
• Photo Courtesy of NETFLIX

Season Three of Outer Banks, now streaming on Netflix, has been the tween “it” show for the past several years. It began airing during the pandemic and really is bingeworthy. It moves fast. The show is based on a group of sexy teenagers (BFFs) living on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It’s like The OC meets the “NC” (see what I did there?) … these boys came to play, and there are lots of fists flying in every episode. It’s a standard drama surrounding the haves and have nots of this community. The story revolves around John B (played by breakout hottie Chase Stokes), and the girl he falls for, Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline), as they navigate the disappearance of John’s father, acting on a mysterious clue that leads to a treasure hunt, and murder! It’s a lot! All of this and they are also being chased, shot at, and basically beaten up or physically attacked throughout it all. The series also stars Madison Bailey (as Kiara), Drew Starkey (as Rafe), Rudy Pankow (as JJ), Jonathan Daviss (as Pope), and Charles Esten (Nashville) as Sarah’s devious dad, Ward. Bad boys and intense first loves — that’s Outer Banks. It’s a wild ride. So get onboard and add it to the top of your watch list!

For more, click here.