The Book And Word ‘Herder’

Author and Bookshop Owner Larry McMurtry Receives the LAPL Literary Award in tonights Art Events Los Angeles

Larry McMurtry will receive the Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award this week because he is a “bibliophile par excellence.” That’s how City Librarian Fontayne Holmes describes the novelist, essayist and screenwriter. “He really is such a book person in every single meaning of the word, as a bookstore owner, as a book collector, as a writer and as an incredible reader of literature,” she said.

McMurtry, who has published 41 books, is known for depicting an un-idealized vision of the Old West and his native Texas. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1985 novel Lonesome Dove, which became a television mini-series starring Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones and Danny Glover in 1989.

Among his other novels that have become popular films are Terms of Endearment, Hud (from the novel Horseman, Pass By) and The Last Picture Show (which …

Puppet Theater Tangled in Debt

Bob Baker, 84, Must Raise $30,000; Says Venue Will Not Close

by Anna Scott

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – The Bob Baker Marionette Theater, an easy-to-miss white box in City West, has entranced the young and young-at-heart with its string-operated figurines for 45 years. But the country’s oldest puppet theater finds itself in a financial tangle.

The theater, at 1345 W. First St., has fallen into debt, and 84-year-old owner Bob Baker has been told by his mortgage holder that he must raise approximately $30,000 to avoid foreclosure proceedings, said theater assistant manager Richard Shuler. A Dec. 3 deadline was recently extended, as negotiations are ongoing.

In an attempt to raise the funds, Baker earlier this month hired a real estate firm to put the property up for sale, hoping to find a buyer who would lease him back the space. By last Thursday, however, Baker’s spokesman said it was no longer on the market. Baker, who can still be found

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What a Way to Make a Living

Dolly Parton’s Toe-Tapping Songs Stand Out in Premiere of ‘9 to 5’

by Jeff Favre

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – After only three songs, technical malfunctions stopped the opening night performance of the world premiere musical 9 to 5 for 15 minutes – and the crowd was thrilled.

That’s because the show’s composer, country music legend Dolly Parton, led the audience in a sing-along of the title number, which she wrote for the 1980 movie.

Parton also filled time by introducing her co-stars from the hit film, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman, who were sitting in the audience with her, before the glitches were fixed and the onstage entertainment resumed without incident.

Audiences during the rest of the performances through Oct. 19 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles – or during its planned Broadway run next year – likely will be less forgiving of unexpected stoppages unless Parton is there to save the night.

Still, if all

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The New Face of Theater

New LATC Launches 2008 Season With Three-Month World Festival

by Kathryn Maese

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – When the New LATC raises the curtain on its second season this Friday, theatergoers will get a rare chance to see Mexican icon Ofelia Medina, who dazzled audiences as Frida in the eponymous 1984 film, perform her one-woman show based on the book of poems Poesia No Eres Tu.

With Intimamente – Rosario de Chiapas, the actress, writer, director and activist will open the New LATC’s 2008-2009 season in dramatic fashion as part of the three-month Face of the World Festival, which features 25 shows on four stages. It’s a fitting choice, since Medina’s exploration of happiness, solitude and the search for freedom mirrors the LATC’s own tumultuous journey in recent years.

The Latino Theatre Company won a contentious fight to operate the city-owned theater under a 20-year contract and, following a $4 million renovation, reopened the venue last year. The space

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Farmlab Gets Technological

This week’s Farmlab salon confronts the computer age’s latest multiple personality disorder: avatars. An avatar is a computer user’s icon or representation of himself to another party in a chat, instant messaging or multiplayer gaming session. It’s a caricature, not a realistic photo, and can be a simple image or a bizarre fantasy figure. In the noon Friday, May 16, salon called Identity and Virtual Space (Or, Are We Our Avatars?), a panel of experts will discuss just that – the meaning of relationships, fame, experiences and community in a virtual world. Among them are Sean Percival, a Second Life expert, and Kristen Rutherford, an actress and writer who starred in the Alternative Reality Game ilovebees (and whose voice, they readily admit, still terrifies the game’s players). Farmlab Public Salons are at 1745 N. Spring St., #4, (323) 226-1158 or farmlab.org.

Coffee Anyone?

How to Find the Coffeehouse That’s Right for You

by Richard Guzm�n

As in many neighborhoods, coffeehouses Downtown are social gathering hubs where the ambiance is often as important as the brew.

But with dozens of coffeehouses that cater to various tastes and personalities, where you go for your cup of Joe can say a lot about who you are. In Downtown Los Angeles, in fact, there’s a place for everyone, whether you’re an artistic type who likes to discover hidden gems, a serious coffee aficionado who can’t talk enough about Brazilian beans, or a stressed-out office dweller who just needs an excuse to leave the cubicle.

Behold, a few Downtown destinations, along with descriptions of some of the people who frequent them.

The ConnoisseurIf you think of coffee as a drink worthy of discussion and admiration, and are yearning to explore exotic beans with the help of a coffee sensei, then Caf� Corsa may be the ideal place

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A Walk on the Wildflower Side

Downtown Gets a Springtime Surprise, as Cornfield Site Blooms

by Richard Guzm�n

It took about two years for this piece of art to bloom. Now that it has, the blanket of green, purple, pink and gold that dances with the breeze will only live for a few more weeks.

But that’s just long enough to leave an impression on those who walk through the unexpected piece of natural art in Downtown Los Angeles.

“It’s really beautiful, and you don’t really expect to see this here. It almost feels like you’re in a painting,” said 32-year-old Ernesto Mendoza as he and his girlfriend, Ana Maria Torres, strolled through the field of wildflowers at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. The 32-acre plot, which a few years ago was a dead brown patch of earth, is in a largely industrial area at the northern end of Chinatown.

Thanks to this year’s wet winter, more than a dozen types of California wildflowers have

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Purple’s Reign

Oprah Winfrey-Produced Musical of Empowerment Arrives at the Ahmanson

by Julie Riggott

Toward the end of The Color Purple: The Musical About Love, actors Felicia P. Fields and Stu James share a duet as Sofia and Harpo. Fields, a full-figured gal, jumps up in James’ arms and wraps her legs around him in a playful scene that has become a definite crowd-pleaser.

“We played around with it to the point where if you can’t figure out what’s going on with them in ‘Any Little Thing,’ then God help you,” Fields said with a laugh.

She kept laughing as she added, “I came up with the jump, and he came up with the pelvic movement. It’s a tribute to Stu’s strength. When you’ve got access to muscles like Stu’s, you need to utilize them. So I keep him in the gym.”

“This song is like the icing on the cake,” James said. “It’s my favorite number in the show.”

Fields,

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Big Ideas

L.A. Phil Mixes It Up With Famous Finns,

New Works and a Glimpse of the Future

by Julie Riggott

Bigger is better when it comes to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

“One of the things that I’ve noticed about working with Esa-Pekka [Salonen] is that ideas can’t be big enough,” said Chad Smith, who as vice president of artistic planning interprets and implements the music director’s vision for the Phil.

The new season brings a variety of programming. After the gala opening night with celebrity soprano Renée Fleming on Thursday, Oct. 4, the Phil has three festivals featuring orchestral works complemented by new music, symposia and other events: Sibelius Unbound, the International Youth Orchestra Festival and Concrete Frequency.

“We have to scale our projects bigger. Our audiences expect it, the city expects it, our orchestra expects it, and, indeed, Esa-Pekka expects it,” Smith said.

The season kicks off this Thursday with a program of French and Italian music by Ravel, Berlioz

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