Thursday, September 22
Girl in hot water
Jennifer Gooch Hummer is the author of “Operation Tenley: The Fair City Files,” and she’ll be talking about it at 7 p.m. in [pages], 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach. It’s a fantasy novel about a girl who can alter the weather. But Mother Nature doesn’t like that one bit! (310) 318-0900 or go to pagesabookstore.com.
Sunset serenades
You can hear live music while you eat and drink at Paul Martin’s, 2361 Rosecrans Ave., El Segundo. Tonight it’s Aragorn & Olivia from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Coming up (the times stay the same) are Dani Armstrong on Sept. 29, Laura Dickinson on Oct. 6, and Aragorn & Olivia again on Oct. 13. After that, well, we will just need to wait and see. (310) 643-9300.
Friday, September 23
Do you hear them ringing?
Lionel Barrymore and Boris Karloff appear in “The Bells” (silent; 1926), screening on Friday and Saturday at 8:15 p.m., plus Sunday at 2:30 p.m., in the Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo. Note: There’s no Saturday matinee this week. Tickets, $10 general; $8 seniors. (310) 322-2592 or go to OldTownMusicHall.org.
Which one squealed?
“The Ithaca Ladies Read Medea,” written by Arthur M. Jolly and directed by his wife, Danielle Ozymandias, receives its world premiere at Little Fish Theatre, 777 S. Centre St., San Pedro. It takes place in a university town in 1953 during the Red Scare. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with one 2 p.m. Sunday performance on Oct. 16. Closes Oct. 22. Call (310) 512-6030 or go to littlefishtheatre.org.
Touch and go
The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy’s “Beauty of Nature” series presents “Touching the Void” (2003) at 7 p.m. in the Hermosa Beach Community Theatre, 710 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach. Tickets for the “R”-rated film are $10 adults, but free for those 18 and under. It’s about a mountaineering trek gone awry. Details at pvplc.org.
Saturday, September 24
Jump in and play
The “2016 Los Angeles International Ukulele Festival,” presented by Kala Koa Entertainment, takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance. Tickets, $45 general, but kids under 12 get in free. (562) 556-4824 or go to KalaKoa.com.
Improv comedy troupe
Jump Start improvises funny scenes using audience suggestions at 7:30 p.m. in the Second Story Theatre, 710 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach. Tickets, $15 general; $5 if you’re under 12. Call Julie Martin, (310) 697-3674 or go to JumpStartImprov.com.
Whistle while they work
The 12th Annual Palos Verdes Peninsula “Artist Studios Tour” takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Cost, $25 includes a light lunch. More at artists-studio-pvac.com.
Show ‘em what you got
“South Bay’s Got Talent III” takes place at 8 p.m. in the James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance. Open to all ages and genres of performance, and the audience gets to help decide who’s got it and who doesn’t. Tickets, $15, $20, $25. Call (310) 781-7171 or go to TorranceArts.org.
Them dancin’ feet
“Rhapsody in Taps” gets moving at 8 p.m. in Marsee Auditorium at El Camino College, Crenshaw and Redondo Beach boulevards, Torrance. Dancers, jazz musicians, and percussionists together on stage for choreographer Gregory Hines’ “Toeing the 3rd and 5th” and many other works. Tickets, $25 and up. (310) 329-5345 or go to centerforthearts.org.
Sunday, September 25
Films of their own
“Hollywood Home Movies – Treasure from the Academy Film Archive” screens at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo. Randy Haberkamp is your host. Footage of Betty Grable, Natalie Wood, Gene Kelly, Alfred Hitchcock, and more. Tickets, $10 or $8 if you’re a senior. (310) 322-2592 or go to OldTownMusicHall.org.
Japanese anime film for free
There’s a free screening of “The Boy and the Beast,” from Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda, at 2 p.m. in the James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance. In Japanese with English subtitles. Doors open at 1 p.m. and it’s first come first seated. (310) 781-7171 or go to TorranceArts.org. ER
