Things to do in Los Angeles today
Discover these things to do in L.A. today—including free and cheap concerts, screenings, shows, parties and more
A number of events have been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. While we’re doing our best to keep our monthly recommendations up-to-date, do note that some events may be canceled or postponed with short notice.
Looking for last minute plans tonight? Figuring out how to impress a date? Find out the best things to do today in Los Angeles with picks for our favorite concerts, screenings, comedy shows and more. Sometimes, you make plans to go out months in advance. Other times, you’re left scrambling for plans a few hours from now—consider this your social emergency savior for those situations. Whether you’re looking for last-minute ideas with out-of-town friends or trying to mix up your routine, get out there and explore the city with these things to do in Los Angeles today.
RECOMMENDED: Full Los Angeles events calendar
Things to do in Los Angeles today
Comedy Quarantine
If there’s one cathartic release we could use right now, it’s a bit of levity from L.A.’s top-notch stand-ups. Thankfully, some of L.A.’s best comedians are coming together for a live show over Instagram. Each night, you’ll see five or so comedians deliver stand-up sets from the homes. Just head over to @comedyquarantine on weeknights at 7pm to watch the show, and consider tipping each comedian as well via Venmo (@ComedyQuarantine). The series started as a one-off show in mid March with sets from Maria Bamford, Adam Conover, Chris Garcia, Nick Turner, Jena Friedman, Naomi Ekperigin and James Adomian, as well as some of our recent comedians-to-watch picks, including Zach Noe Towers, Jared Goldstein, Atsuko Okatsuka, Paul Danke and Christina Catherine Martinez.
LA Opera At Home
You’ve been meaning to go to the opera for ages, but, well, it’s just too expensive and your Italian is a little rusty. Right now, though, you have no excuse: The LA Opera is livestreaming living room performances on its Facebook account. Tune in each day and you’ll see a couple of different performers tackling their favorite classical songs from the comfort and safety of their living rooms—or, on some days, you might catch an archived stream of a previous production.
“Natural History of Horror”
It’s alive. It’s alive! The Natural History Museum is taking a look at the science and history that inspired some of film’s most iconic, hideous creatures. “Natural History of Horror” showcases scientific breakthroughs, like early experiments in animal electricity, (mis)understanding the spread of diseases, the discovery of the first living coelacanth and the excavation of King Tut’s tomb, to explore how they influenced old-school monster movies, including Frankenstein, Dracula, Creature From the Black Lagoon and The Mummy. Back in the 1930s, Universal Studios donated around 50 props to museum’s still-growing moving images collection. You’ll find some of these, like actor Boris Karloff’s wrappings from The Mummy and a pair of shackles from Frankenstein, alongside their real-life inspirations: millennia-old mummified Egyptian figurines and preserved frog specimens, to name a couple. At the center of the small gallery, clips from the four highlighted films play out. Sure, they all seem stylistically silly by today’s standards—look no further than the featureless face of a wood-and-cloth bat that’s pinned right next to an actual vampire bat specimen. But the monster designs, like the silicone reconstruction of the Creature from the Black Lagoon suit, are timeless and tap into our imaginations’ ability to take a stranger-than-fiction truth and stretch it into something fantastical (see: vampires, missing link sea monsters and walking, talking mummies). Unlike most of the museum’s
Lucha VaVoom Dance Party
The Crazy Chickens may be all cooped up at the moment, but that’s not stopping wrestling-and-burlesque extravaganza Lucha VaVoom from having a little virtual fun. On Thursday at 8pm, the event series will turn its Instagram account (@luchavavoom) into a Cumbia Cartel dance party, with tunes from DJ Chucuchu as well as go-go dancing from Moana Santana and Miss Rita.
Wilco
More than two decades in, Wilco sounds just as magnetic and Jeff Tweedy’s lyrics just as sweet and sharp as they’ve ever been. The Chicago group has shuffled its lineup and sound over the years, mostly ditching its alt country roots for detours into noise rock and jam band territory—or, on its latest record Ode to Joy, more quiet meditations. Live, you can expect to see the incredibly tight band alternate between krautrock grooves and Lynyrd Skynyrd-like guitar attacks.
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Wilco
More than two decades in, Wilco sounds just as magnetic and Jeff Tweedy’s lyrics just as sweet and sharp as they’ve ever been. The Chicago group has shuffled its lineup and sound over the years, mostly ditching its alt country roots for detours into noise rock and jam band territory—or, on its latest record Ode to Joy, more quiet meditations. Live, you can expect to see the incredibly tight band alternate between krautrock grooves and Lynyrd Skynyrd-like guitar attacks.
South Park: Cartman’s Escape Room
Come on down to the Glendale Galleria and try to escape the foul-mouthed fourth graders’ least favorite spot—the classroom—in this official South Park-inspired escape room.
Beyond Black: The Style of Amy Winehouse
[Paid content] Beyond Black — The Style of Amy Winehouse is now open at the GRAMMY Museum. This exhibit showcases the late singer’s most cherished and iconic outfits, as well as never-before-seen handwritten lyrics, journal entries and other reflections from her family’s personal archive.
Free
Comedy Quarantine
If there’s one cathartic release we could use right now, it’s a bit of levity from L.A.’s top-notch stand-ups. Thankfully, some of L.A.’s best comedians are coming together for a live show over Instagram. Each night, you’ll see five or so comedians deliver stand-up sets from the homes. Just head over to @comedyquarantine on weeknights at 7pm to watch the show, and consider tipping each comedian as well via Venmo (@ComedyQuarantine). The series started as a one-off show in mid March with sets from Maria Bamford, Adam Conover, Chris Garcia, Nick Turner, Jena Friedman, Naomi Ekperigin and James Adomian, as well as some of our recent comedians-to-watch picks, including Zach Noe Towers, Jared Goldstein, Atsuko Okatsuka, Paul Danke and Christina Catherine Martinez.
LA Opera At Home
You’ve been meaning to go to the opera for ages, but, well, it’s just too expensive and your Italian is a little rusty. Right now, though, you have no excuse: The LA Opera is livestreaming living room performances on its Facebook account. Tune in each day and you’ll see a couple of different performers tackling their favorite classical songs from the comfort and safety of their living rooms—or, on some days, you might catch an archived stream of a previous production.
At Home with Gustavo
Disney Hall may be down for the moment, but LA Phil director Gustavo Dudamel is still sharing his favorite classical musical selections alongside some personal reflections with this radio series. You can tune in to KUSC (91.5 FM) and KDFC from Tuesday to Friday at 6pm, and a Spanish-language broadcast on Sunday at 7pm.
Mindful Awareness Meditation
In the name of keeping Angelenos sane—and who couldn’t use some sanity right now?—the Hammer Museum holds free weekly drop-in sessions on mindful awareness, which is defined as “the moment-by-moment process of actively and openly observing one’s physical, mental and emotional experiences.” The 30-minute sessions were previously held on-site at the Hammer, but they’ve moved online for the forseeable future. If you can’t make it to each Zoom meeting on Thursdays at 12:30pm, you can listen to the archives. Sessions are led by instructors from the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. Think of them as your experts in stress reduction and overall health improvement.
Lucha VaVoom Dance Party
The Crazy Chickens may be all cooped up at the moment, but that’s not stopping wrestling-and-burlesque extravaganza Lucha VaVoom from having a little virtual fun. On Thursday at 8pm, the event series will turn its Instagram account (@luchavavoom) into a Cumbia Cartel dance party, with tunes from DJ Chucuchu as well as go-go dancing from Moana Santana and Miss Rita.