Things to do in Los Angeles today

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings to LEVEL in Downtown L.A. Known for excellent film choices and a steady supply of snacks and booze, Rooftop Cinema Club is your snazzy, comfortable and less stressful alternative to other outdoor movie screenings. You don’t even need to bring your own camping chair—Rooftop Cinema Club provides you with your very own comfy lawn chair (with optional blankets for purchase to up the coziness). And instead of listening to the movie over loudspeakers, you’ll get a set of wireless headphones so you never have to miss a word. Find the full schedule on their site, or in our outdoor movie calendar.

This special exhibition at the Broad makes its way to Downtown L.A. from the 2024 Venice Biennale—and Angelenos should consider themselves lucky that such a remarkable display has set up stateside. Jeffrey Gibson became the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo exhibition at the Italian art event, and this adaptation of that show, “the space in which to place me,” assembles 30-plus pieces of geometrically-patterned paintings and glass bead–adorned sculptures into the first-floor galleries of the Broad. Born in Colorado with tribal roots in the Southeast U.S., Gibson explores Indigenous identity as well as queer history by fusing pop music lyrics and foundational American documents into psychedelic statements on belonging, history and oppression; the Declaration of Independence’s “we hold these truths to be self-evident…” line—but not “all men are created equal”—is spelled out across brilliantly saturated beads that’ve been affixed to a literal punching bag. But this is ultimately a joyous show, an inclusive celebration of survival, resilience and empowerment that pays tribute to histories of resistance and looks optimistically forward. Unlike the rest of the otherwise free museum, you’ll need to buy a $15 ticket to see Gibson’s exhibition. And while it’s absolutely worth the price, you can save by taking advantage of free admission on Thursday evenings after 5pm. Expect an accompanying slate of performances, talks and workshops, as well.

The Skirball’s latest pop culture exhibition takes a deep dive into the six-decade career of legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby. You might know him as the co-creator of Captain America, Black Panther, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and some of the Marvel universe’s most cosmic characters. But did you know he was also a first-generation Jewish American born to immigrant parents, World War II veteran and family man who split his time between New York and Los Angeles? The exhibition only occupies a few small galleries, but it’s stuffed with information about Kirby’s life, as well as pristine prints of issues plus his original comic illustrations—many on view for the first time. It’s not just a Marvel showcase, either: You’ll find some of the work Kirby did for DC, plus personal collages, a drawing he gave to Paul and Linda McCartney, and a fantastic reproduction of a costume he designed for a UC Santa Cruz production of Julius Caesar. Though not explicitly framed this way, the exhibition also presents a clear-as-day retort to any contemporary fans who decry comic book stories today as too “political”: Marvel has been political from the very start. Kirby’s cover for the first issue of Captain America features Cap punching Hitler—a full year before America would break its isolationist policies and enter WWII. The fifth issue follows Captain America in a battle against the German American Bund, a domestic Nazi organization that staged an infamous...

Shakespeare meets Max Martin in this teenage dream of a musical, which headlines the Ahmanson’s 2025/26 season. Offering a new spin on Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers, the play gives doomed heroine Juliet a second chance at a happy ending—and a soundtrack of pop hits including “Since U Been Gone” and “Baby One More Time.”

A deliciously corny new show? We’re all ears. Broadway’s hilarious “farm to fable” musical looks at a rural enclave that seeks help from a city slicker. You can read more about its New York run in our four-star review.

The Getty Center’s new featured exhibition explores the transformative role photography has played in the history of the LGBTQ+ community as a tool for exploring gender, sexuality and self-expression since the mid-1800s. See examples of the homosocial, homoerotic and homosexual imagery that helped shape the world’s awareness of queer life. During your visit, be sure to check out the accompanying exhibition “$3 Bill: Evidence of Queer Lives,” a look at the contributions of LGBTQ+ artists in the last century, in the museum’s Research Institute Galleries. 

Walk through a pavilion of fluttering tropical butterflies you can’t normally glimpse in Southern California, and peep a chamber with pupae and caterpillars at South Coast Botanic Garden’s seasonal exhibition. For an extra $6, you can pick up a flower vial filled with nectar to attract and feed the butterflies yourself. Carve out some time to explore the gardens afterward.

Well, well, well, what have we here? The Nightmare Before Christmas’s bug-stuffed sack is once again taking over the Halloween duties at Disneyland Resort for Oogie Boogie Bash, an after-hours, specially ticketed seasonal event at Disney California Adventure Park. Here’s the gist if you’ve never been to one of Disneyland’s seasonal parties: Halloween spirits begin to materialize around both parks before Labor Day, with glowing decorations and spooky ride overlays, but this five-hour ticketed event (held on select nights from mid-August through October) throws in a bunch of exclusive Halloween entertainment, plus the promise of considerably shorter wait times for select rides. You’ll find a mix of long-standing Halloween fixtures and more recent additions at California Adventure for the event: trick-or-treating trails, kid-friendly shows, the Headless Horseman-led Frightfully Fun Parade and the maze-like Villains Grove. As for end-of-night entertainment, the World of Color show “Villanous!” that debuted in 2019 never made it back onto the lineup; instead, you’ll need to pick up a general admission ticket to Disneyland, which will shoot off its “Halloween Screams” fireworks show select nights from August 22 through Halloween. The perks of the after-hours event aren’t just Halloween-y: You’ll be able to venture through and hop on rides in most areas of the park, including at Avengers Campus (the Guardians of the Galaxy ride that predates the land will flip to its Monsters...

More than 50 works on display at the Autry showcase how indigenous artists have crafted visions of alternative futures in the face of enduring colonial trauma. The bottom-floor exhibition opens with a semicircle of high fashion, including remarkable crow attire from Cannupa Hanska Luger, which is paired with video footage from his accompanying performance piece. Star Wars plays a surprisingly large role in the vibrant show, including Andy Everson’s Northwest Coast-inspired take on stormtrooper helmets. The exhibition spills into the upstairs galleries, too, with a surreal spacescape from Wendy Red Star and a multimedia installation from Virgil Ortiz, who’s reimagined the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 through a Dune-meets-MCU film-like lens. Also, make sure to check out the museum’s other PST ART show, which opened back in May and runs through January 5, 2025; “Out of Site: Survey Science and the Hidden West” tackles everything from mining surveys to nuclear blasts in its examination of documenting and surveilling Western U.S. landscapes.