South Bay art calendar for Oct. 26 – Nov. 1
Noises in the basement
“The Phantom of the Opera,” being the 1925 silent version with Lon Chaney, screens on Friday and Saturday at 8:15 p.m., as well as Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m., in the Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo. Tickets, $10 general; $8 seniors and zombies. (310) 322-2592 or go to OldTownMusicHall.org.
Along the wide Mississippi
“Big River,” a musical version of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” is being presented by the Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network/MET2 at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and also 2 p.m. on Sunday, in the James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance. For tickets, call (310) 781-7171 or go to met2.org.
Classic composers
The South Bay Chamber Music Society presents the New Hollywood String Quartet at 8 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Music Department at L.A. Harbor College, 1111 Figueroa Place, Wilmington. The Recital Hall is in the Music Building at the north end of the campus. The concert is repeated at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Pacific Unitarian Church, 5621 Montemalaga, Rancho Palos Verdes. The musicians include Tereza Stanislav (violin), Rafael Rishik (violin), Robert Brophy (viola), and Andrew Shulman, (cello). They perform works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Robert Schumann. Free. More at sbcms.net.
Chamber music, jazz tangos
Violinist Lindsay Deutsch is featured in “Poetry and Passion, an evening of sultry jazz tangos at 8 p.m. in Marsee Auditorium at El Camino College, Crenshaw and Redondo Beach boulevards, Torrance. With a small, conductorless chamber orchestra, she’ll be covering the work of Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla. Tickets, $10 to $26; campus parking is $3. Call (800) 832-ARTS or go to centerforthearts.org.
Mayhem at the flower shopThe sci-fi musical “Little Shop of Horrors” is being presented by the Palos Verdes High School Drama Department in the school’s Multipurpose Room, 600 Cloyden Road, Palos Verdes Estates. It’s campy, it’s fun. Audrey I is a girl; Audrey II is a man-eating plant. Performances, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Also Nov. 2 at 3:30 p.m., Nov. 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. Tickets, $20 adults; and $15 students. (310) 378-8471 ext. 237 or go to pvhsdrama.com.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28Swamped with art
“Marsh Madness: Torrance Artists Guild paints the Marsh” has its opening reception from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Madrona Marsh Preserve and Nature Center, 3201 Plaza del Amo, Torrance. Through Nov. 30. Call (310) 782-3989 or go to friendsofmadronamarsh.com.
Pain and suffering
A choral evening service “dedicated to victims of human and natural violence” (which pretty much covers it) takes place at 4 p.m. in St. Francis Episcopal Church, 2200 Via Rosa, Palos Verdes Estates, and it features J.S. Bach’s Motet #6, “Lobet den Herrn,” “Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis” by William Byrd, and Psalm 113 “Laudate Pueri” by Giovanni Pergolesi. Freewill offering. Dr. Jeannie Cobb directs. (310) 375-4617 or go to stfrancispalosverdes.org.
You’ll get the shivers!
The 15th annual “Scary Stories” begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St. (at 32nd St.) in San Pedro. Produced and directed by Melanie Jones, it’s an evening of spellbinding tales told around a big fire (in the amphitheater, the old gun emplacement). Tickets, $5; children six and under are free. Bring your own seating and dress warmly. (310) 519-0936 or go to angelsgateart.org.
Out of this world“Super Dimension Convention 2017” (formerly Macross World Convention) takes place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance. It celebrates the classic anime series, and is a full day of mecha, anime idols, cosplay, and more. Admission, $3 to $100. Info at superdimension.con.com.
Bow down before the queen
That’s Celia Cruz, the Cuban queen of salsa, and Las Chikas perform tribute to her at 8 p.m. in the Grand Annex, 434 W. Sixth St., San Pedro. The full band features vocalist Lily Hernandez and keyboardist Iliana Rose. Tickets, $20 to $42. Call (310) 833-4813 or go to grandvision.org.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29It sings like an angel
“Lou Mannick, Saw and Soul” is a concert of jazz ballads with musical saw and piano, as well as vocals, harmonica and percussion. It looks like a regular saw from Sears, but Mannick makes it sing like an opera diva. With Windy Barnes, Otis Mannick, David Witham, Oliver C. Brown, and Mike McCollum. Takes place at Alva’s Showroom, 1417 W. Eighth St., San Pedro. Tickets, $20. Call (310) 833-7538 or go to alvasshowroom.com.
Musically floating and drifting
“Water Music,” Peninsula Symphony’s first concert of the season, features Felix Mendelssohn’s “Calm Sea” and “Prosperous Voyage,” Aleksandr Glazunov’s “Das Meer” (The Sea), Anatole Liadov’s “The Enchanted Lake,” and Leonard Bernstein’s “On the Waterfront.” Maestro Gary Berkson conducts. Where? The Redondo Union High School Auditorium, 631 Vincent St., Redondo Beach (PCH at Diamond). There’s a members-only pre-concert lecture at 6:15, with the concert at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Free. (310) 544-0320 or go to pensym.org.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1
Put your hands in it
“Blue Water Clay” is a full-service, membership ceramics studio, and it’s opening at 803 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro. The grand opening is Nov. 4 from 2 to 5 p.m. Speak with Jan Govaerts or go to bluewaterclay.com. ER