Bits 'n' Pieces

‘Peter and the Wolf’

On Sunday, June 7, 1-5 p.m., Long Beach Symphony welcomes audiences of all ages to experience music through curiosity, imagination and connection at its beloved RuMBa Foundation Family Concerts – an engaging and interactive experience designed especially for children and their families. Pre-concert activities will take place in the lobby and plaza of the Terrace Theater, with the family-friendly concert held inside the concert hall at 3 p.m.

Led by Music Director Eckart Preu, Long Beach Symphony presents Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf – a beloved musical story filled with bold melodies, playful characters and thrilling adventure. In this charming tale, a brave boy named Peter ventures into the meadow, encountering a bird, a duck, a cat – and a looming wolf. Each character is brought to life by a different instrument, helping young listeners discover how music can tell a story, spark imagination and create vivid emotions.

Designed to inspire children of all ages, the afternoon emphasizes imagination, creativity and community – offering families a chance to unplug, connect and share meaningful experiences together. Through hands-on activities, children are welcomed into the world of music before the orchestra even begins to play.

This concert is ideal for children, parents, grandparents and anyone looking to learn and share the excitement of live symphonic music in a welcoming, family-friendly environment. Learn more at https://longbeachsymphony.org/concerts-events/rumba-foundation-family-co...

‘The Revolutionists’

“Sometimes a revolution needs a woman’s touch.” Playwright Lauren Gunderson gives France’s Reign of Terror a riotous, sharp-tongued makeover with “The Revolutionists,” next up at International City Theatre. ICT favorite Jamie Torcellini (Deathtrap, Life Could be a Dream, The Andrew’s Brothers, The Legend of Georgia McBride) directs a three-week run, June 12 through June 28, at ICT’s home in the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center. Two low-priced previews take place on June 10 and June 11.

Four women to be reckoned with lose their heads (both figuratively and literally) in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution’s La Terreur. Playwright Olympe de Gouges (played by Amie Farrell), assassin Charlotte Corday (Sarah Pierce), former queen and fan of ribbons Marie Antoinette (Lyndsi LaRose), and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle (Nondumiso Tembe) hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793 Paris. This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world.

“I was in Paris with my mom and sister, and we went to the Pantheon to visit Voltaire and Marie Curie,” Gunderson explained in an interview. “While there, I happened to read a footnote about a feminist playwright who was guillotined during the French Revolution that the people of Paris were considering re-interring there. I did a cartoon-style double take and said ‘Wait. A feminist playwright? During the French Revolution? Guillotines?!’

After that, it was a gradual exploration of that time and the striking similarities to our time in America: ridiculous war, drowning national debt, vast divide between rich and poor, institutional racism, and the quest for women’s equality. But the play has really turned into a grander story about stories. Why we need to make art, what art does in times of crisis, how stories connect eras and philosophies across time.”

In real life, Olympe de Gouges was a French playwright and political activist best known for her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen and other writings advocating for women’s rights and abolitionism. Her increasingly vehement political writings led to her eventual arrest and execution by guillotine. Charlotte Corday, believing the Revolution had become too radical, assassinated Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat, facing the guillotine just days later.

Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, became a scapegoat for France’s financial troubles, leading to her infamous execution in Paris’s Place de la Revolution. Marianne Angelle, a character created by Gunderson, represents a composite of free Black women revolutionaries from the Caribbean island of Saint Domingue (now Haiti) who fought against French colonial forces and slavery.

“This play is exactly what we need right now,” says ICT artistic director caryn desai [sic]. “It’s a bold, irreverent  –  and very funny  –  exploration of the power of women to shape history. These characters show us that, even in the face of overwhelming adversity, we can still make our voices heard, fight for change, and, yes, have a little fun along the way.”

The creative team for The Revolutionists includes set designer Mio Okada-Nuñez, lighting designer Donna Ruzika, costume designer Kim DeShazo, sound designer Hunter Moody and prop designer Patty Briles. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA and Richie Ferris, CSA. The stage manager is Donna R. Parsons.

The Revolutionists runs June 12 through June 28 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Two preview performances take place on Wednesday, June 10 and Thursday, June 11 both at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $56 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, except opening night (Friday, June 12), and $59 on opening night and at Sunday matinees. Low-priced tickets to previews are $44.

For more information and to purchase tickets, call (562) 436-4610 or go to InternationalCityTheatre.org.

LBMA Uncorked

The Long Beach Museum of Art, along with its fundraising foundation Phoenix, will host LBMA Uncorked – an evening of fine wines, food and art. The museum’s beautiful ocean bluff venue will welcome guests to enjoy curated wine tastings and food pairings from top Long Beach restaurants, including Due Fiori, Ellie’s, The Attic, Baby Gee’s and Nonna Mercato, alongside wines from Itri, J. Lohr and Presqu’ile. Guests will enjoy music by Good Luck Vinyl Club and live screen printing by Hit+Run, alongside opportunities to sample over 15 wines at the event.

LBMA Uncorked will also feature a silent auction showcasing over 30 emerging and established California artists. Proceeds benefit the museum’s robust special exhibitions and arts education program, which offers free hands-on art workshops and school tours to over 5,000 elementary students in the Long Beach Unified School District each year.

LBMA’s upstairs galleries – featuring work by ceramicists Elyse Pignolet and MyungJin Kim, both Southern California-based artists – will be open for guests to explore during the event.

LBMA Uncorked will be held on June 13, 5-9 p.m. at the LBMA, 2300 E. Ocean Blvd. The event is exclusively 21 and over only. Tickets and a preview of the silent auction are available now at www.lbma.org/events/uncorked.