Alex Theatre

No one taught a young Arturo Sandoval more about the mysteries of bebop and how to approach a life in music than Dizzy Gillespie. At times during their long friendship, the jazz trumpeters referred to each other as father and son. “He was more than a teacher,” Sandoval says of the bop originator. “He was my hero first, and then he became my mentor. He helped me so much, man. Since the first day.” That first day came in May 1977, when Sandoval volunteered to drive the visiting American musician around Havana and the Cuban countryside, before revealing to Gillespie that he also played trumpet in an inspired young Latin fusion band called Irakere.

For those who had other things to do on New Year's Day, it's still not too late to catch an up close look of Glendale's award winning float for the Tournament of Roses Parade. The float -- titled “Living the Good Life!” -- won the Governor's Award for best depiction of life in California. It features a trolley car, a roll of movie film and Glendale's own Alex Theatre, where it will be parked in front of until Friday morning. The float will be on display in front of the Alex Theater at 216 North Brand Blvd.

The spirit of the holidays came in with a rush of wonderful music, dance and humor at the “Holiday Spectacular” performance by the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles last weekend at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. The show featured students from the Creative Planet School of the Arts, who joined chorus members on stage in singing and dancing classic holiday songs like “Joy to the World” and “Chanukah, O Chanukah,” and songs from around the world such as “Betelehemu,” a traditional Nigerian Christmas carol.

The Alex Theatre logged a 22% jump in income during the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2011, when the historic venue was coming out of a summer of intrusive renovations. Still, city officials this week said the surge is nothing to sneeze at. When comparing the first quarter results to the same period over the last four years, the theater saw 8% higher than average total income, according to a city report released Tuesday. Plus, while other first quarters had 10 to 15 days of activity, this most recent quarter had 29. “It's another step forward for the Alex Theatre,” said Philip Lanzafame, Glendale's officer for economic development and asset management.

Thousands of people turned out for the inaugural Los Angeles Jingle Bell Run/Walk, a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation that started at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. More than 2,000 people were expected to take part in the event on Sunday, which surpassed its $100,000 fundraising goal by generating $108,725 in support of the foundation's mission to prevent, control and cure arthritis and related diseases. Dr. Jim Sears, the Emmy nominated co-host of the talk show “The Doctors,” emceed the event as runners and walkers donned their holiday gear and took to the streets of downtown Glendale.

The 40 members of Glendale's youth chorus in grades five through 10 held their second-to-last rehearsal Thursday before their Holiday POP concert at the Alex Theatre on Dec. 7. During auditions, each student performed one of the following songs: “Jingle Bells,” “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” or “Silent Night.” Rosemont music instructor Rod Yonkers oversees the group as choral director along...

With a howl and a grunt, Saturday's monster presidential debate was off. Decked out in suits and ties, Wolf Man and Frankenstein roared toward each other, past a row of American flags on stage at the Alex Theater in Glendale. After a brief wrestle, Wolf Man extended his hairy claw and long black nails to shake his opponent's green hand. When the Alex Film Society planned to screen “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man,” actors Daniel Roebuck and Perry Shields - who Saturday played Wolf Man and Frankenstein, respectively - thought it would be fun to put on a monster debate, just in time for Halloween and Election Day. The monsters would be taking on the hot-button issues, like voter fraud, said producer Randy Carter.

As a 30-year resident, business owner and supporter of Glendale Arts and the Alex Theatre, I must express my disappointment and disbelief at the lack of support for the Alex Theatre. I am bewildered at the lack of interest toward the world-class performers that are being brought there. At no time was this more clearly evidenced than last Saturday night, when the theater was filled, if not by seated patrons, with the energy and enthusiasm of Matt Catingub, a first-rate showman, directing the top-notch talents of the Glendale Pops Jazz Orchestra with special guest Miles Mosley, a transcendental artist that was like seeing a modern-day cross between Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton playing a bass.

Glendale Pops subscribers probably don't know the name or music of 30-year-old Miles Mosley, a bassist and composer who headlines Saturday with the Glendale Pops Orchestra at the Alex Theatre. The pairing is a departure for a series more likely to feature artists with identifiable histories that make for a pleasant date night. “I've always been a proponent of showcasing new talent,” says Glendale Pops director Matt Catingub of the booking. “It's part of my mission to include this type of a showcase along with the things we did in our first season.

"Titanic" made a splash on Broadway in 1997, but full-scale productions of the musical are few and far between, despite that year's Tony Award bonanza for the $10-million show: best musical, score, orchestrations, book and set design. With 37 cast members - many playing multiple roles - a staggering number of costumes and wigs, nearly three dozen songs and the re-creation of the doomed ocean liner itself, an all-out “Titanic” is a budget buster that few theaters can afford. (According to the Los Angeles Times, the $750,000 tab for Civic Light Opera of South Bay's 2001 production included $200,000 for the set alone.)