9
Saturday
Guitarist, composer and bandleader Bill Frisell finishes off the Gershwin and Beyond concert series tonight performing with his new quartet. Accompanied by Greg Leisz on dobro and pedal steel guitar, Kenny Wollesen on drums and David Piltch on bass, critically acclaimed jazz guitarist Frisell will explore works by Gershwin as well as performing his own latest compositions. $20 (general admission); $17 (members); $12 (students). 8 p.m. Magnin Auditorium, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. For tickets, call (323) 655-8587. For more information, call (310) 440-4500.
10
Sunday
Avi Hoffman’s one-mensch show “Too Jewish?” includes a moving recitation of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be?” soliloquy – in Yiddish. Through the course of his Yiddish, English and “Yinglish” revue, Hoffman trots out some of the best of the old (“Afn Prepetshik,” the comedy of Menashe Skulnik) combined with his own stories and parodies of Broadway musicals (“My Fair Latke,” “Oy, Glaucoma!”). With Yiddish lyrics translated by large posters onstage, and the pure entertainment and humor of the show, “Too Jewish?” makes a case for the continued vitality of Yiddish theater. $25-$30. Wed. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Thur., Fri. and Sat. 8 p.m.; Sat. and Sun. 2 p.m.; Sun. 7 p.m. Through Dec. 31. Freud Playhouse, UCLA. For tickets or more information, call (310) 825-2101.
11
Monday
Two new exhibits opening this week at The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust evidence the power of memory. Susan Cooper’s “Recollection: Lost Wooden Synagogues of Poland and Russia” is an 80-foot long relief sculpture depicting synagogues built in the 16th-19th centuries and destroyed during World War II. Dedicating the sculpture to her aunt and other family members lost in the Holocaust, Cooper says, “I wish to recall something of significance that was lost, rather than to depict destruction.” The second exhibit, “Every Man a Number: Children’s Art from the Czech Republic,” displays contemporary children’s art made after a visit to Terezin. Museum hours: Mon.-Thur. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sun. Noon-4 p.m. 6006 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. For reservations or more information, call (323) 761-8170.
12
Tuesday
o New York-based Israeli artist Michal Sedaka has her second Los Angeles area solo exhibit, titled “Movements,” on view now at BGH Gallery. Co-sponsored by the Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles, the exhibit of new large-scale oil paintings displays Sedaka’s transition to an abstract expressionist style while retaining elements of her intimate, figurative earlier work. Tue.-Sun., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Exhibit runs through Dec. 31. Bergamot Station, Building D4, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica. For more information, call (310) 315-9502.
13
Wednesday
The Writers Bloc author lecture series tonight presents Mona Simpson in conversation with Christina Schwarz. Simpson is the author of the 1989 bestseller “Anywhere But Here,” the story of a complicated mother-daughter relationship; her latest book is “Off Keck Road.” Schwarz’s debut novel “Drowning Ruth” examines family secrets and the damage done; the book is a recent Oprah selection. $15. 7:30 p.m. Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. For reservations, call (310) 335-0917.
14
Thursday
To the delight of the veteran theater company’s admirers, A Noise Within has returned to its original, refurbished, Glendale home. The season’s opener is Thornton Wilder’s classic “The Skin of Our Teeth.” General admission $26; students and seniors $22. Wed. and Thur., Dec. 13-14, 8 p.m. Masonic Temple Building, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. For tickets or more information, call (323) 953-7795. – Tom Tugend, Contributing Editor.
15
Friday
Chanukah, Kwanza, Christmas and Ramadan, lost love, feuding families and fast food all play their roles in the Cornerstone Theater Company’s “For Here or To Go?” Over the past decade, Cornerstone’s ensemble members have worked with communities throughout Los Angeles, producing theatrical works with neighborhood residents from Boyle Heights to Beverly Hills, with groups of postal workers, police officers, bus riders and people born on June 30. The eclectic, community based work of the theater company comes together in this comic, musical, verse play. The “bridge” production features performers from 14 Los Angeles communities, testifying to the power of cross-cultural communication. $25. Through Dec. 24. Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. For tickets or more information, call (213) 628-2772.
