May 30, 2014
Outdoor & Indoor + Comedy & Drama

  

There's plenty to do this weekend whether its indoors or out. Summer is just starting which means outdoor film screenings but also cool shows that won't leave you sunburned.

 


INDOORS:  
OUTDOORS:
Dates and Nuts TICKET GIVEAWAY: We are giving away 3 pairs of tickets to see Dates and Nuts at the Bootleg Theater on Thursday, June 5 with a showtime at 7 p.m.  The West Coast premiere of a romantic comedy by Gary Lennon (Orange is the New Black) about an animal rights activist in Brooklyn who searches for love in the dating jungle of New York City. In Dates and Nuts, Eve has just been dumped by her fiancé - for a man. Angry at the male species, she becomes increasingly frantic as she searches for Mr. Right. Will she ever find the man of her dreams? May 29 - July 13; Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057. Drop us a line at eyespylareviews@gmail.com


 

MORE:

 

EVEN MORE: Some things are always fun to do... Check out our Places to Go Anytime and Things To Do pages for plenty of ideas that are available on a regular basis.

  • KIDS STUFF - Shows, activities, teas and more for families with toddlers, tykes and teens.
  • FESTIVALS - There's always something to celebrate in almost every neighborhood.
  • FOOD & WINE EVENTS - Inspire the foodie in you by savoring a new dish.

See what's going on all month on the MAY CALENDAR  

  HorzLine

 Find more? Check out our Editor's Picks selected at the start of every week.  

  

DiscountsDISCOUNTS - there are some really good ones right now. From whale watching to kids shows to festivals... entertain yourself at a discount. All at very reasonable prices. Even better, most of the discounts offered are direct from the event/activity producers and do not involve additional fees to receive the discount.

  

TIP OF THE ICEBERG: you'll find lots more events and other things to do near you - on our neighborhood and regional calendar links at the bottom of all Eye Spy LA web pages.


Have a Happy Weekend!

 
"Gruesome Playground Injuries" is a Hard Pill to Swallow
by M.R Hunter

GPI Rogue Machine
 
Rajiv Joseph's dark romantic comedy is a typical boy meets girl story with a twist: every defining moment boy spends with girl is marked by his injuries requiring trips to the school nurse's office, later a hospital, until he ends up incapable of bringing on more self-harm. The relationship that spans 30 years between them is as gauzy as bandages, wobbly as crutches, consistent as an IV drip and as constrictive as a wheelchair. They connect on the physical plane of pain and act as salves to their emotional hurts brought on by their choices and by each other.

It's an interesting concept but the lack of verisimilitude in the artificial setup undermines this grisly courtship with heavy-handed symbolism and an unsatisfying lack of resolve or epiphany. Further exacerbating the superficial appeal is the playwright's inscrutable demand of setting up scenes in a non-sequential order. The injuries, primarily inflicted by the white knight's brave but foolish boyhood antics such as jumping off the school roof on his bike or lighting firecrackers too close to his face are uncomfortably juxtaposed by mortal accidents like being struck by lightning.

This irony is lost in the tenuous cohesion of a timeline connecting these incidents by etching an age and a theme onto a small chalkboard. Towards the final two scenes, Joseph is forced by his own hand to collapse the chronology into a final conclusion riddled by query, vague sentiments and a lack of closure both for the characters point of view and the audience. It is frustrating because there is a lot of promise to the premise too orchestrated perhaps to escape its conceit.


HorzLine

Eyestrology: Happy Birthday Gemini! by Cici Psy-Chic

Psychic Reader Dog For the month of 5/21/14-6/21/14
 
Happy birthday to these celebrity May Gemini's: Naomi Campbell (5/22), Drew Carey (5/23), Bob Dylan (5/24), Ian McClellan (5/25), Lenny Kravitz (5/26), Christopher Lee (5/27), Gladys Knight (5/28), Daniel Tosh (5/29), Idina Menzel (5/30), Clint Eastwood (5/31)
 
Celebrity June Gemini's: Morgan Freeman (6/1), Justin Long (6/2), Anderson Cooper (6/3), Angelina Jolie (6/4), Mark Wahlberg (6/5), Robert Englund (6/6), Prince (6/7), Joan Rivers (6/8), Johnny Depp (6/9), Kate Upton (6/10), Shia LaBeouf (6/11), Ella Joyce (6/12), Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen (6/13), Donald Trump (6/14), Ice Cube (6/15), Abby Elliott (6/16), Venus Williams (6/17), Blake Shelton (6/18), Paula Abdul (6/19), Nicole Kidman (6/20), Prince William (6/21)
 
Although summer is upon us and most of us would like to be out catching the rays by dashing off to the beach, many signs will be feeling introspective and homebound in the next few weeks. Choose events and activities that stimulate the mind and lift the spirit but be prepared to cozy up with a Kindle or simply wile away the day in PJ's. There is a good opportunity for weekend trips, meeting new people or positive changes in career towards mid-June but for now take it easy. Use this time to plan, reorient or address anything requiring resolution and a sense of peace...
 

HorzLine

In-N-Out-Land, Baldwin Park, CA, 2014 
by Charles Phoenix

In-N-Out-Land CP

The world's most honest-to-goodness hamburger chain has gifted us with a faithful replica of its iconic original 1948 drive-thru stand.
 
Everything about this replica is picture perfect. From the oh-so classic neon sign to the matching candy striped awnings and hand-painted menu board, every single dreamy detail seems authentic inside and out. There is even an old cigarette machine hanging from the signpost...
 


HorzLine

"Pray to Ball" Makes a Bank Shot at the Skylight Theatre
by M.R. Hunter

Pray to Ball It isn't often when sports are realistically performed onstage. Spatial limitations along with unpredictable physical coordination generally rules out taking such dramatic risks, but Amir Abdullah's rousing play successfully incorporates the game of basketball into its enlightening drama concerning a friendship tested when one coverts to Islam.

The risky endeavors in terms of the subject matter and required athletic improvisation combined make for a rewarding payoff and an engaging storyline about two rising star NCAA players at University of Miami, Lou (Abdullah) and Hakeem (Y'Lan Noel) who seem to have the world by the tail. As they are surrounded by fans, groupie girls, and potential professional offers, the duo revel in their instant stardom until an unexpected loss forces Hakeem to reexamine his life and beliefs. A flyer inviting him to the Muslim Student Association sparks his interest and newfound discovery in Islam.

Lou rejects and undermines his best friend's efforts as Hakeem's budding faith grows under the guidance of an on-campus counselor and his Muslim tutor, Tamana (Ulka Simone Mohanty). The tension leads to frustrations both on and off the court, heated exchanges and seemingly impossible reconciliation as the men drift further apart until a career-changing accident takes one of them out for the season...


HorzLine
 

ABOUT EYE SPY LA
 

Eye Spy LA has been the online Local's Guide to L.A. since 2003. Content is written, edited and maintained by locals and focuses on local and nearby events and the local creative community.

 

Editorial policy: Eye Spy LA editorials are stories written about places, entertainment and events that we go to. The opinions are those of our editorial staff and the writer of the piece. Calendar listings are ads posted by the people producing events and activities in the local area. Each week we pick and recommend events and other things to do based on our experience or sometimes because they look particularly unusual, unique or in some other way interesting. We do not recommend them based on any fees they may or may not have paid us for advertising.

 

You'll always find the latest events & activities plus commentary about where we've been at eyespyLA.com - updated daily. 

 

Andrea Kirk, publisher (editor@eyespyLA.com)

 

Eye Spy L.A. EYE SPY LA CONTRIBUTORS:

 

M.R. Hunter - editorial and reviews

Mark Share - reviews

Kelly Hargraves - dance and reviews

Leena Deneroff - food adventures

Charles Phoenix - retro slide of the week