Essential Arts: The Divine Miss M, an Ibsen sequel, everything Icelandic and charging bulls

April 22, 2017 5 AM PT

We’ve got Dolly. We’ve got groundhogs. And we’ve got Icelandic music and prickly architects. I’m Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, with the week’s most necessary culture stories:

Hello, Bette!

Times theater critic Charles McNulty says he wasn’t exactly “champing at the bit” for another “Hello, Dolly!” revival. But he says the new Broadway production, directed by Jerry Zaks and starring Bette Midler, “operates under the principle that golden age musicals should keep intensifying the pleasure of the audience until a state of euphoria is achieved.” Los Angeles Times

‘Groundhog Day’ soldiers on

Turning “Groundhog Day” into a Broadway musical hasn’t been easy. There’s been the myriad mechanics of transforming the popular movie (which starred Bill Murray) into something that could work on stage. Plus, leading man Andy Karl, who plays weatherman Phil Connors, injured himself right before the opening. Times reporter Steven Zeitchik chronicles the odyssey. Los Angeles Times

Despite his injuries, Tony-nominated Karl gamely took to the stage (with a knee brace) on opening night — and The Times’ McNulty there. “His limp, subtle at first, became more noticeable in the second act,” he writes. “But it didn’t detract from his performance, which is the biggest asset in this otherwise shaky show.” Los Angeles Times

‘A Doll’s House’ Redux

Shannon Cochran as Nora in Lucas Hnath's "A Doll's House, Part 2," at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.

Attempts have been made to follow up Henrik Ibsen’s seminal “A Doll’s House,” but they haven’t made much of a mark. Lucas Hnath’s “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” on view at South Coast Repertory through the end of the month, may be another story, reports McNulty. The play, he writes, is “smart, compact and stirring” and “seems destined to have a life as a puissant postscript to Ibsen’s masterwork.” Los Angeles Times

L.A.’s hottest ticket

“Building the Wall,” the new political play by Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan, has become one of the bestselling shows in the history of L.A.’s Fountain Theatre. And it is scheduled to open in the coming weeks and months in New York, Denver and Washington, D.C. “We hope it triggers a flurry of midnight tweets from the White House,” artistic director Stephen Sachs told The Times’ Craig Nakano. Los Angeles Times

Since we’re on the subject of politics, Times contributor Margaret Gray reviews “The Originalist,” the drama inspired by late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, at the Pasadena Playhouse (on view through May 7). It is, she writes, “ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ reconfigured as a debate on American jurisprudence.” Los Angeles Times

Changing of the architecture guard

UCLA's Hitoshi Abe, left, with Qingyun Ma of USC — both are leaving their posts as architecture deans.

Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne sat down with Hitoshi Abe, who departed as UCLA’s architecture dean last year, and Qingyun Ma, the outgoing architecture dean at USC, for a conversation that took place in a neutral, non-university location. (So much rivalry, so little time.) In it, the two talk about how they shaped their respective departments, how L.A. has changed and why the city erects ugly buildings. Los Angeles Times

Get to know Galka Scheyer

German-born art dealer Galka Scheyer helped organize exhibitions that promoted a key group of 20th century artists known as the Blue Four: Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, Alexei Jawlensky and Vasily Kandinsky. The Times’ Jessica Gelt reports on a show at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena that shines a light on the importance of Scheyer’s work. Los Angeles Times

Artist walls

Those wild construction barricades covering the walls of the Beverly Center during its renovation? They were designed by artists, reports The Times’ Deborah Vankin. The project was done in association with the Hammer Museum and features installations by a who’s who of L.A. art, including Lisa Anne Auerbach, Catherine Opie and Barbara Kruger. Los Angeles Times

Must see: The ghost of Goya

In a new exhibition at Coagula Curatorial, painters Manuel Ocampo and Irene Iré take on the legacy of the 18th century Spanish painter Goya, known for his acidic takes on high-class folly and war. “Goya, like many artists, had a problem with authority,” writes Times contributing reviewer David Pagel. “This exhibition suggests that if he were still with us, he’d like Iré and Ocampo.” Los Angeles Times

Breaking through Icelandic clichés

Jóhann Jóhannsson performs at Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Reykjavik Festival.

Times classical music critic Mark Swed has been soaking up Icelandic music the last week as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Reykjavík Festival (now largely over — except for the “Björk Digital” concert on May 30). “A lot of the music sounded, to non-Icelanders, the same,” he writes. “Acoustic and electronic drones abounded.” Among the best experiences: The six orchestral pieces played during sold-out programs at Walt Disney Concert Hall, including works that reflected “an ear for texture, color and an original sound world.” Los Angeles Times

L.A. without the NEA

The Times continues its series on the SoCal cultural programs that would be affected if the National Endowment for the Arts were eliminated:

— The lively Craft and Folk Art Museum, which operates on a budget of $730,000 a year and relies on NEA grants to stage shows devoted to book arts, set design, ceramics and quilting. Los Angeles Times

— The myriad community efforts led by the L.A. Phil, which partners with organizations such as Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times

Sort of related: The NEA, in collaboration with the Bureau of Economic Analysis, has compiled data showing the economic impact of the cultural sector at the state and federal level. California rises to the top in a number of key areas. Los Angeles Times

‘Fearless Girl’ vs. ‘Charging Bull’

"Fearless Girl," in the foreground, faces "Charging Bull" in downtown Manhattan.

New York art types have been in a kerfuffle over Arturo Di Modica’s famous “Charging Bull” sculpture, meant to symbolize a booming Wall Street, and Kristen Visbal’s “Fearless Girl,” a bronze sculpture of a girl recently planted opposite the bull as a way of calling attention to gender inequity in Wall Street boardrooms. Writer Jillian Steinhauer has criticized the work as “fake corporate feminism.” Di Modica says the girl changes the meaning of his piece and wants it removed. Everybody’s got an opinion. Including me: This is, like, the most amazing mall art face-off. Citylab, Hyperallergic

In other news…

Donald Trump arrives during the presidential inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in January.

— Prominent art world patrons such as Steven Cohen, Henry Kravis, Sheldon G. Adelson and others helped fund Trump’s inauguration. The Art Newspaper, Hyperallergic

— In a custody case, lawyers for Alex Jones, the far-right host of Infowars, are claiming he is a performance artist. Performance artist Carolee Schneeman calls it a “load of crap,” while noting that the lines that define performance art are blurry. Austin-American Statesman, Huffington Post

— Barkley L. Hendricks, known for rendering the black figure on canvas in monumental and cinematic ways, has passed away. ARTnews

— The museum for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is late and overbudget. Variety

— A profile of Kara Walker. Vulture

— “I was a lazy smart-aleck who felt sorry for himself, resented anyone with money, and felt the world owed me a living.” Art critic Jerry Saltz on his life as a failed artist. Vulture

— Twenty Latin American art galleries will stage a pop-up in L.A. during Pacific Standard Time this fall. Los Angeles Times

— A town on the Salton Sea has become an artsy destination during Coachella. LA Weekly

— Zachary Woolfe says that L.A. has the most important orchestra in the world. Well, duh. ;-) New York Times

— Critic Alex Ross writes on the importance of Lou Harrison, a composer whose work is closely identified with California. New Yorker

— Three of ballet’s most important living choreographers in a single interview. New York Times

— Kevin Spacey will host the Tony Awards. The Hollywood Reporter

— L.A.’s Center Theatre Group will partner with theaters in Chicago, New York and London to co-commission works by renowned playwrights. Los Angeles Times

— The George Takei musical “Allegiance” will land in SoCal in 2018. Los Angeles Times

— How the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles gives singers a voice. Los Angeles Times

— A museum dedicated to the ephemera of the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles Magazine

— A story about the Cuban man who is building the world’s tallest bike — with images by photographer Tod Seelie (who, I’m happy to report, recently moved to L.A.). BBC