Movie costumes, a shuttle, and music

Sorry for the long gap between posts. A back injury and lingering cold kept me and the mrs. home for much of the past two months. We're only just now getting out and about.

One of our more recent dates was to see the opening of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising "Art of Motion Picture Costume Design." This is FIDM 22nd time hosting this exhibition and I believe it's their best.

There are some 100-odd costumes from more than 20 movies included in the exhibition, ranging from "The Invisible Woman," about the woman who was mistress to Charles Dickens, to "The Great Gatsby" to sci-fi adventures, including "Star Trek: Into Darkness" and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."

At the reception I had the good fortune to interview Michael Wilkinson, an Oscar nominee for his work on "American Hustle." Michael said he spent eight months researching the 70s for ideas for the clothing, including looking at arty photographs of the time and perusing mail order catalogs. He nailed the look.

Several of the "American Hustle" costumes are included in the exhibit, some that Michael built from scratch and some that among his finds in storage units and rental shops. One of his finds as a vintage Bob Mackie dress worn by Amy Adams. The dress, Wilkinson said, made Adams "feel like a million dollars."

Costumes from American Hustle.

Next to the motion picture exhibition is a smaller, but no less stunning exhibition of 19th Century Wedding dresses from the Helen Larson Collection. There are 10 gowns on display, one from each decade of that century, and accompanying accessories that are of the period.

The dresses are part of a mind-blowing 1,400 piece collection that Larson assembled over 50 years, beginning in 1946. FIDM is trying to raise $2.5 million to buy the collection from Larson's estate. Are hopes are with FIDM in acquiring the collection. It would be nothing short of tragic to see it sold off piecemeal.

Dresses  from the Helen Larson Collection.

FIDM's exhibitions are free. The movie costume exhibition runs through April 26. FIDM's galleries are located at 919 S. Grand Avenue (corner of 9th and Grand). The galleries are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

QUICK HITS

SPACE SHUTTLE

If you haven't gone to see the space shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center, you need to put a visit on your must-do list. The orbiter is beautiful and inspiring. And how often do you get to walk up to a real manned spacecraft?

Endeavour, up close.

You need to get timed tickets in advance to see it, but they are only a couple of bucks apiece. You will have a line (a line that traverses much of the center), but it moves very quickly. Space-related artifacts on display include Endeavour's tires from its last landing, a real mission control center (from the Rocketdyne folks who monitored the first minutes of launch), and, of course, the ever-popular space potty.

The science center makes for a great day outing. Parking runs about $10. We like taking the Metro Expo Line, which saves us the parking fee and the often horrible traffic around Exposition Park.

MUSE/IQUE

The second half of MUSE/IQUE's "Uncorked Series" will start on Monday, Feb. 24 with the presentation of Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring." MUSE/IQUE's is partnering up with A Noise Within, a very fine repertory company, for this show.

Here's a description of the show from MUSE/IQUE: "Aaron Copland’s 1945 Pulitzer Prize winning composition Appalachian Spring sounds like America - gutsy, beautiful, complex, and always emerging to new ambitions. MUSE/IQUE musicians with a wild collection of instruments team with dancers to revive the visceral WWII energy of the music while our collaborators at A Noise Within provide dramatic surprises in their stunning performance space that literally brings the action right to the audience."

The show will be A Noise Within's theater at 3352 E Foothill Blvd in Pasadena. The theater is right off the 210 Freeway and there's plenty of free parking.

This definitely isn't a cheap date with tickets at $50 each (sometimes you can find discounts on Goldstar), but we got our money's worth at two of the previous Uncorked shows we went to. I also put forth a recommendation because of the work these folks do in bringing music to foster kids.

MUSE/IQUE and Raymond Chandler

Just a couple of quick items today.

In my last post I mentioned MUSE/IQUE’s November Uncorked series. I just found out about a more immediate show, this Monday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at Pandora on the Green, 33 West Green Street in Pasadena. The show, a Motown-inspired concert, is also a benefit for Union Station Homeless Services, a San Gabriel Valley social services organization that provides assistance to the homeless and low-income families.

The show will feature Motown mashups by MUSE/IQUE, Pasadena's "counter conventional" orchestra led by conductor and artistic director Rachael Worby, the legendary Ellis Hall (formerly of Tower of Power) and an energetic lineup of virtuoso Motown musicians, artists and guest stars. Tickets include hors d'oeuvres and a dessert reception.

As of this writing, Goldstar had tickets for $20 (plus their fee).

Kim and I have now gone to two MUSE/IQUE events and enjoyed both. We are also very impressed with the organization’s KIDS/IQUE! Program, which brings live music to foster kids. This is the description from the organization’s website: “We visit foster care facilities throughout the season and ask the children to join us for each show because their presence and spirit enriches our audience and diversifies the energy of every live performance.”

Kim and I met KIDS/IQUE! program team leader, and MUSE/IQUE violinist, Julie Rogers at a recent dinner. She is an absolute delight – and a rocking musician as well.

Julie Rogers

MUSE/IQUE is just a little over two years old now. I’m looking forward to seeing this organization grow and reach more kids.

Here again is the information about the November show:

The next entry in the Uncorked series, "Girl/Band," which will be held Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Avon Distribution Center, 2940 East Foothill Blvd. Tickets are $50 each, but Goldstar has them for $20 (with their fees, it'll be closer to $25).

The program for "Girl/Band" will open with a screening of the documentary "Girls in the Band," directed by Judy Chaikin. The documentary traces the history of all-girl bands from the 1930s through present day, exposing sexism and racism faced by the women who have broken through primarily male music bastions.

A performance by "fiery female jazz musicians" will cap the program.

Raymond Chandler

Want to go on a date with us? We’re cashing in another of Kim’s tour gift certificates, this time to go on Esotouric’s Raymond Chandler tour this Saturday. As it turns out, Goldstar happens to have discount tickets for this one: $29 (again, not including Goldstar’s fees). The regular price is $58.

We did Esotouric’s Black Dahlia tour awhile back and had a great time. Tour guides Richard Schave, Kim Cooper, and Joan Renner are very knowledgeable about Los Angeles - its literary figures and its crimes. You'll see mentions of them and Esotouric in the LA Times and Los Angeles magazine. The tour will hit such sites as the Los Angeles Athletic Club, the Larry Edmunds Bookshop, the Hotel Van Nuys, Paramount Studio’s gates, and a Chandler-themed gelato stop.

Some Quick Hits

Content, content, content. It's been a hectic couple of weeks so I haven't been as active as I had hoped. Going forward, the goal is to post a couple of times a week, giving you the best date ideas I can glean. Some will be road tested, some will be things that I think might make for a great outing, but can't get to with my love.

I'll be writing soon about a couple of Hollywood tours Kim and I have done the last couple of weekends. In the meantime, here's a few quick hits:

MUSE/IQUE

One of our newest discoveries is MUSE/IQUE, which describes themselves as "Pasadena's counter-conventional orchestra." Among MUSE/IQUE's offerings is its "Uncorked" series, performances held in unusual locales.

Kim and I went to the series opener, a selection of songs from the Beatles White Album. The show was held in the Rose Palace, one of the buildings where Rose Parade floats are under construction. The show featured Kevin McHale, Artie of TV's Glee (the lad really can sing). It was a pretty solid show.

I bring this up because Goldstar has discount tickets for the next entry in the Uncorked series, "Girl/Band," which will be held Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Avon Distribution Center, 2940 East Foothill Blvd. Tickets are $50 each, but Goldstar has them for $20 (with their fees, it'll be closer to $25). From what we saw of the series opener, that's a good value for your entertainment dollar.

The program for "Girl/Band" will open with a screening of the documentary "Girls in the Band," directed by Judy Chaikin. The documentary traces the history of all-girl bands from the 1930s through present day, exposing sexism and racism faced by the women who have broken through primarily male music bastions.

A performance by "fiery female jazz musicians" will cap the program.

A New tool

While we were at MUSE/IQUE, one of the women at our table told us about the website performingartslive.com. One of the nice features about this site are the filters, allowing you to search for free events, events in particular regions, and events by date or date range.

I did a search for free events in Los Angeles County for the date range of Oct. 19 through Oct. 31 and got over 40 items. If you have any interest in the performing arts, this site needs to be in your date toolbox.

New Date for a Couple of Our Favorites

Histo-tainer Charles Phoenix has a new batch of dates, both for his architecture show and for his annual holiday show. Kim and I highly recommend both shows. Check out my post on Sept. 13 “Villains, Charles, and Becoming L.A.” if you want to get more of a feel of the events.
Charles has two dates for the L.A. Architecture:

- Nov. 10, 3 p.m. at the Mudd Theater, 1325 College Avenue, Claremont. Tickets are $35 and $40.
- Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. at the Art Center College, 1700 Lida Street, Pasadena. Tickets are $25 and $30.
Charles has three dates L.A. and Riverside counties for his holiday show:
- Dec 1 at 7 pm at the Mission Inn Foundation, 3696 Main Street, Riverside. Tix are $29. Kim and I are eyeing this one. We’re thinking of combining this with a visit to the nearby Mission Inn to see their annual Festival of Lights.
- Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. at the Art Theater of Long Beach, 2025 East Fourth Street. Tickets are $25.
- Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Curtis Theater,1 Civic Center Drive, Brea. Tickets are $21 to $30.

Vaud and the Villains have two shows listed for November – The 2nd, at Harvelles, 201 East Broadway, Long Beach and Nov. 27 at Fais Do Do, 5253, West Adams in Los Angeles. Tickets are $20 for those who don’t mind standing and $25 for those who want a chair. Go. Dance. Be joyful, people.