FILM
Sorry to Bother You – 7:30 PM, July 30: Gardena Cinema’s schedule also includes Boots Riley’s wildly inventive satire, a fierce, funny, and unmistakably political film from one of the most distinctive Black artists working in American cinema. For DIASPORA readers, it’s a natural fit: local repertory cinema meeting sharp critique, labor politics, and unapologetic Black imagination. Gardena Cinema, 14948 Crenshaw Blvd., Gardena.
Interview with the Vampire in 35mm, 7:30 PM, July 29: Vidiots lists this title for July 29, and the 35mm presentation should make the gothic style feel especially lush and sinister. It’s the kind of midnight-adjacent screening that turns a familiar title into something more decadent, seductive, and alive. Vidiots, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Los Angeles.
Painting Clouds with Studio Ghibli Artist Yoichi Nishikawa – 6:30 PM, July 29: The Academy Museum’s July listings include this program, which promises a visually rich and fan-friendly evening centered on animation artistry. It’s the sort of event that can draw both animation obsessives and casual visitors looking for something beautiful and transportive. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.
Network – 2 PM, July 30: Vidiots’ calendar places this screen-time staple in the week’s lineup, offering a reminder that great repertory programming can still feel blisteringly current. Satirical, furious, and still uncomfortably relevant, this is exactly the kind of screening that can feel like a public service. Vidiots, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Los Angeles.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids – 12:15 PM, August 1: Vidiots’ coming-soon page places this family-friendly favorite on August 1, which adds a playful, crowd-pleasing note to the week. It’s a great reminder that repertory calendars can swing from horror to heart to full-on childhood wonder. Vidiots, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Los Angeles.
COMEDY
Ify Nwadiwe’s Big Facts – 7:00 PM, July 27: Ify Nwadiwe kicks off the week at Dynasty Typewriter with a stand-up showcase shaped by sharp observations, fast turns, and a room tuned for live comedy energy. Expect a set that blends personal perspective with the kind of big-laugh momentum Dynasty does so well. Dynasty Typewriter, 2511 W. Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
The Incubator Finale: LOHAN Spins the Wheel! – 5:30 PM, July 27: UCB’s Los Angeles calendar spots this improv finale in the Franklin space, where the premise alone promises a chaotic, audience-fueled payoff. The format suggests a high-spirited mix of games, invention, and whatever surprises the wheel decides to unleash. Upright Citizens Brigade Annex 1925 N Bronson Ave., Los Angeles.
20th Television Presents: A Night of Stand Up Comedy – 7 PM, July 30: Hosted by babe motel (Haley Stiel, Avery Girion, Kel Cripe) and featuring emerging comics, presented by 20th Television. Courtney O’Donnell, Rachel Pegram, Vinny Thomas, Avery McClure, Paige Gallagher, Zavior Phillips, Ivy Wolk + more! Dynasty Typewriter, 2511 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles.
Asian AF – 8:30 PM, July 30: Experience ASIAN AF, the premier comedy variety show spotlighting the hottest Asian American talent in Los Angeles, New York, and beyond. Upright Citizens Brigade, 5919 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles.
Show Me Your Dick: A Lifetime of Dating in a Larger Body – 7 PM, July 30: A solo show exploring the trials and tribulations of dating while being fat. Told through unsolicited dick pics and gross messages from men online. Yes, you will be seeing dicks. Upright Citizens Brigade, 5919 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles.
Free Donut Tuesdays w/ Maria Bamford – 9 AM, Tuesdays: Wake up early and have a laugh and a donut with Maria Bamford. All new material! No one will be turned away for lack of funds. All proceeds go to support Outside In Theatre.
Outside In ArtBox, 5317 York Blvd., Los Angeles.
BOOKS
Unsoupervised Readers Club: Queer People by Carroll & Garrett Graham – 7 PM, July 29: This is a hilarious, biting satire of Hollywood that had long been forgotten until it was re-released this year! Book Soup, 8818 W Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood.
Sebastian Tillinger in conversation with Moon Unit Zappa: How the Ferris Wheel Was Broken: A Love Letter to Los Angeles – 7 PM, July 30: Join Book Soup for a conversation about Tillinger’s book about L.A. in the mysterious year 2000 and the life of a kid desperate to shine. Book Soup, 8818 W Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood.
MUSIC
Slum Village and Friends! – 7 PM, July 27: The legendary Detroit group brings its sleek, sample-rich hip-hop back to Blue Note Los Angeles for a night built on deep grooves and old-school chemistry. Expect a set that honors the group’s classic sound while keeping the room moving all night long. Blue Note Los Angeles, 6372 W Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.
India Shawn – 7:00 PM, July 29: India Shawn brings her polished blend of R&B, soul, and quietly devastating emotional precision to Blue Note Los Angeles. A night of velvety vocals and finely tuned feeling, this is the kind of show that lingers long after the last note fades. Blue Note Los Angeles, 6372 W Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.
THEATRE
Tranquility– through July 31: An improvised space Western that explores the human connection, Tranquility takes place In the year 2517. The universe is a vast frontier where lawlessness reigns and adventure awaits! Join a motley crew of space traders on the spaceship Tranquility. They take on any job as long as it puts food on the table. Outside In Theatre, 5317 York Blvd., Los Angeles.
Mexodus – through August 2: This electrifying experience explores a hidden chapter of the Underground Railroad – one that moved south, by crossing the Rio Grande toward liberation in Mexico. This groundbreaking musical amplifies the story of a freedom seeker and an unlikely ally as they forge a remarkable bond that transcends borders. It’s history remixed. It’s a ride you won’t want to miss. Pasadena Playhouse Theater, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena.
2026 LA Writers’ Workshop Reading Series – through September 27: Since 2005, CTG has invited a cohort of local playwrights to spend a year researching and writing new works with feedback from the artistic staff and their fellow writers. The program is designed to foster important voices, inspire playwrights to create their best work, encourage bold writing, and build relationships among local playwrights, CTG, and the Los Angeles theatre community. CTG’s growing list of LA Writers’ Workshop alumni is currently comprised of more than 100 playwrights. Various locations.
COMMUNITY
Skate Hunnies Party on Wheels at the Academy Museum – through September 3: The Academy Museum is rolling with Skate Hunnies to host a party on wheels, taking you around the Wilshire-Fairfax neighborhood. We’ll finish with a music-filled night of dance-skating on the Academy Museum Walt Disney Family Piazza. Bring your own skates for this free, guaranteed fun event. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles.
Gay Ass Trivia at Precinct – 7 PM, Thursdays: Queen Sheeba hosts this weekly trivia night with prizes including bar tabs, shots, and bar apparel. Maximum team sizes of six people. No cover! Precinct, 357 S Broadway, Los Angeles.
May the Balls be with You: Drag Queen Bingo 7 PM, Tuesdays and Wednesdays: Legendary Bingo is LA’s most popular Drag Queen Bingo & charity event! Come play at Hamburger Mary’s every Tuesday and Wednesday! Hamburger Mary’s, 8288 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.
MUSEUMS AND ART
Community: Selections from the Texas African American Photography Archive – through September 5: Throughout the twentieth century, nearly every small town in the United States boasted a local studio photographer. These skilled image makers were dedicated to recording the people and events of their communities. Much of this vernacular visual culture has been dispersed or destroyed. Kinship & Community takes a look at a rare slice of that history, focusing on the work of Black photographers working in urban neighborhoods and rural villages across eastern Texas from 1944 to 1984. Presented at Art + Practice, 3401 W. 43rd Place, Los Angeles.
A New Song: Langston Hughes in the West – through September 13: One of the world’s most famous Black poets, Langston Hughes (1902–1967) is often associated with the writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance in New York. But starting in the 1930s, though the upheavals of the Great Depression, World War II, and McCarthyism in America, Hughes spent significant time in the West where he maintained deep connections and produced important work, including lectures, film scripts, plays, and his first book of short stories. Through recorded interviews, lyrical texts, archival photographs, and historic posters and prints, A New Song: Langston Hughes in the West reveals little-known aspects of Hughes’s work as a champion for justice and the special relationships he cultivated during his many sojourns in California, Nevada, and Mexico. California African American Museum, 600 State Dr, Los Angeles.
Willie Birch: Stories to Tell – through October 26: The first-ever career retrospective of renowned artist Willie Birch, this exhibition brings together groundbreaking works from 1968 to the present that chronicle his unique vision of Black American life and the interconnected nature of global art forms. Born and raised in New Orleans and trained in Europe, Baltimore, and New York, Birch often speaks about “retentions,” a term he uses to describe evidence of one culture’s narratives and traditions within another. Throughout his career, Birch has explored particularly how African traditions have been retained in music, art, and culture in America as part of the Black experience and beyond. California African American Museum, 600 State Dr, Los Angeles.
Free and Queer: Black Californian Roots of Gay Liberation – through February 28, 2027: Free and Queer: Black Californian Roots of Gay Liberation presents California as a pioneering site of sustained, Black-led struggles for LGBTQ equality, civil rights, and recognition. The exhibition recovers histories largely excluded from existing narratives and exposes powerful ways that print culture, artistic practice, and performance styles shaped, advanced, and interpreted Black queer social movements alongside political and legal activism. California African American Museum, 600 State Dr, Los Angeles.
Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon – through February 28, 2027: Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon celebrates Marilyn Monroe—born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926—as a visionary actor and image-maker, examining how she created and shaped her public image in the context of the classical Hollywood studio system. Presenting hundreds of original objects, including posters, portraits, photographs, production documents, letters,… and rarely seen personal materials—many on display for the first time—the exhibition offers unique insight into her agency in becoming a Hollywood icon. The exhibition also features an extensive array of Monroe’s screen-worn costumes, ranging from a dress featured in Love Happy (1949) to items from her final and unfinished film, Something’s Got to Give (1962). Major highlights include two costumes by Orry-Kelly from Some Like it Hot (1959), as well as the rarely exhibited famous pink dress by William Travilla from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles.
