OLESYA SALNIKOVA
Staff Writer
Almost everyone longs to flock to the Big Apple to soak in the culture and exquisite art the city has to offer among its numerous theaters and museums. New York City is, for many, the pinnacle of cultural excitement and the center of everything sophisticated. The polished art galleries, brightly-lit billboards, and the underground-like theaters with sparkling signs seem to explain exactly why Billy Joel was in a “New York State of Mind.”
What some people do not realize is that they do not have to journey to New York City to experience the same quality entertainment the city has to offer. While Los Angeles is known for its Hollywood scene and notorious for its star-studded hot spots and bars, West Coasters forget that Los Angeles has many more things to offer than just films and bars.
• New York is notorious for the many musical productions that it offers on Broadway, but don’t book a flight just yet. “Wicked” is now playing at the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, and “Spelling Bee” is premiering in Los Angeles at the Brentwood Theatre on May 23. Go to broadwayla.com for tickets and a list of more Broadway shows in Los Angeles.
• The Museum of Modern Art in New York boasts an exquisite collection of contemporary modern artists, but the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is a worthy rival. Renowned modern artists such as Rene Magritte and Jackson Pollock are two of the many artists who can be discovered at the LACMA. The museum also boasts collections of African art, ancient near eastern art, Chinese art and Egyptian art.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art is another upscale museum that is famous in New York, but again Los Angeles features its own version, The J. Paul Getty Center. From Andrea del Sarto to Titian, the Getty has a rich collection of European paintings, as well as numerous photographs, drawings, furniture and vases. The LACMA’s rich collection of European painters also measures up to the Met, showcasing artists like Monet, Rembrandt and Ribera.
• Madison Square Garden is home to some of New York’s most popular events, sold-out concerts and New York’s basketball team, the Knicks. In Los Angeles, fans go wild at the Staples Center, which is home to the Lakers, the Clippers, the Kings and an equally impressive schedule of live concerts. Josh Groban will perform Mar. 31 and the Killers will rock the stage Apr. 9.
• While some might be jealous of those New Yorkers and their Rockefeller rink in the middle of Manhattan, Southern Californians should not despair as there are plenty of ice skating venues in the Los Angeles area so locals can layer up and hit the ice. The Pasadena Ice Skating Center is great for figure skating and hockey alike, without the heavy jackets.
• The jazzy pulsations of “New York State of Mind” almost makes a person want to go to NYC to revel in all that mood music, but one can certainly enjoy a little jazz on this side of the Mississippi. The Jazz Bakery is a non-profit venue with top musical acts in a quaint setting, while the Vibrato Grill Jazz is an eatery with live jazz in Bel Air.
• One cannot go to New York without visiting Chinatown, though in the Busy Apple, one must catch a cab to get there. L.A. offers its own slice of Chinese culture too, and you can actually drive yourself. Whether a person is craving Chinese cuisine or cheap shopping, Chinatown in Los Angeles is an eclectic place to hang out.
So it should be easy to see, one does not have to be in New York to enjoy the culture of New York. One can find their own piece of the Big Apple without leaving home.
03-22-2007