On Culture | Juneteenth, the Play’s the Thing, Travel Art and More

This edition of ON Culture was originally emailed to subscribers on June 7, 2024. To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

ON the Stage

My spotlight has definitely been on theater recently, both past and future. I’m still buzzing a bit from the Indy Awards ceremony last month, which honored our local theater community’s work between April 2023 and April 2024. From high school musical singers to set designers, directors, actors, producers, and more, this was a joyous way to celebrate the work that goes into everything we see throughout the year on area stages. In case you missed my cover feature, you can read it here and even better, check out the video recording of the whole glorious event right here. (Navigate to approximately 11:03 on the video to see one of my favorite moments of the evening: the Indy’s own Angry Poodle himself, Nick Welsh, getting “sharked off” the stage for talking too long!)

Looking ahead to the future, we’ve got another fabulous Broadway in Santa Barbara series coming our way to The Granada Theatre, with the Broadway touring productions of Clue, Mean Girls, Ain’t Too Proud — the Life and Times of the Temptations, and The Addams Family starting this fall — with STOMP as an add-on. Read my story here.

Solvang Festival Theater is one of the dreamiest places to spend a summer evening watching theater under the stars and PCPA’’s summer season of shows is shaping up to be a terrific mix of musicals, comedy and drama with four productions coming our way, Little Shop of Horrors, The Play That Goes Wrong, Cabaret, and The Agitators. I’m seeing Little Shop of Horrors later this month, and here’s my story about the whole season of shows coming our way. So many great songs, check out the NPR Tiny Desk Concert of the show here. Read Maggie Yates’s preview of this cult classic musical here.

The Theatre Group at SBCC just announced its upcoming season, with a promising slate of shows, including Legally Blonde The Musical, Lost in Yonkers, Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Crime and Punishment, A Comedy. First up is Legally Blonde The Musical (July 12-27), which I have never seen and can’t wait to finally check it out. The award-winning musical is of course, based on the beloved movie starring Reese Witherspoon. Legally Blonde The Musical, follows the transformation and familiar story of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes and scandal in pursuit of her dreams of going to Harvard Law School. The fantastic musical numbers and dynamic dances should make this a high energy fun-filled production to look forward to. Here’s my story about the whole season.

Speaking of seasons and great entertainment to come, keep an eye out for UCSB Arts & Lectures next season announcements (the big reveal party is tonight). I’m really looking forward to Toad the Wet Sprocket’s show at the Lobero on August 29. It’s the 30th anniversary of the Dulcinea Tour, which makes me feel about a million years old, but it’s great to see the Santa Barbara boys are still making music together.

Also announced recently is the lineup for Outside Lands, one of the great music festivals in the Bay Area (it’s actually at Golden Gate Park). The August 9-11 fest features Tyler, The Creator; The Killers, Sturgill Simpson (who the Bowl just announced is coming to Santa Barbara on September 15, with tickets on sale June 14 at 10 a.m.), and Post Malone. Also announced this week is another great Bowl show, Jon Batiste, who headlines August 9.

And in case you missed my story about it here, Pink will headline the One805Live! Benefit concert on September 20, along with Kenny Loggins and Alan Parsons. Tickets are now on sale at One805.org.

ON the Walls

Santa Barbara watercolorist Matha Inman Lorch has a beautiful travel-themed exhibition on view at Gallery Los Olivos through June 30 called “Far From Home.” The show includes paintings inspired by travels in Ireland, Norway, Egypt, Croatia, China, Botswana, Slovenia, Ireland, and more, giving viewers a peek through her keen eye into a broad scope of cultures and environments.

“Learning to paint forever changes the way you see the world,” says Inman Lorch. During her journeys she captures her unique visuals in her travel journals for later development in her studio. The pages of these journals contain watercolor and ink sketches of local subjects, accompanied by a few thoughts about her experience. Show attendees will be able to see a selection of images from her journals, displayed on the walls alongside the paintings.

The gallery is located at 2920 Grand Avenue, Los Olivos. A reception with the artist will be held on Saturday, June 8 from 2-4 p.m.

ON the Calendar

Celebrate Juneteenth on Saturday, June 15 with a “Joy to the People” free community block party for Black Independence Day presented by Juneteenth SB. Held from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.  at 100 Gray Avenue in the Funk Zone, the day’s festivities include live local music, dancing, poetry, spoken word, artist exhibitions, storytelling, and food. There will also be the Black Artisan Market,  a curated marketplace of creative goods and services which includes Black-led community organizations showcasing their work at their own booths.  See juneteenthsb.org for info.

For a complete calendar of events this week and beyond, visit independent.com/events/.