Need any more convincing that Broadway is back? How about a cultural festival spanning six of Downtown's historic theaters and movie palaces. All of the venues will open their doors for free on January 28 during Night on Broadway to host performances and installations, along with outdoor shopping pop-ups, VR demos, a family-friendly kids area and a music main stage between 3rd Street and Olympic Boulevard.
There's a staggering amount of programming to squeeze into a single evening, including a dublab takeover of the Theatre at Ace Hotel, a VJ showcase at the Orpheum Theatre, an LGBTQA block party curated by the Boulet Brothers and a celebration of the Golden Age of Mexican music at the Million Dollar Theater.
You can check out the full Night on Broadway lineup here, but we've picked out some of the Downtown festival's can't-miss activities and performances below.
Dodgeball Cage Match
8th St, 4pm onward
Eagle Rock Yacht Club is organizing an all-night dodge ball tournament in the streets of DTLA. We can only assume the "cage match" part is to prevent innocent passersby from being pelted.
Funky Sole Dance Party
Globe Theatre, 4pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm
This raw soul party straight from the Echo sees DJs digging deep in their crates to bring you unique, obscure grooves from the late 1960s and early '70s.
Chessboxing
3rd St Ring, 4:30-7:15pm
Combine three-minute rounds of chess and boxing and you have the basic idea behind chessboxing, where the winner can claim victory by knockout or checkmate.
KCRW Sound Clash: A Silent Disco
9th St, 5pm onward
The popular Silent Frisco/HUSHconcerts series takes its silent discos to the streets with a slate of KCRW DJs spinning mash-ups via wireless headphones throughout the evening.
Drennon Davis
Palace Theatre, 7:25pm
Davis mixes beatboxing and and comedic character sketches in his uproariously innovative Imaginary Radio Program.
Lucha VaVOOM
3rd St Ring, 7:30pm
The beloved lucha libre series takes its exuberant, high-flying Mexican wrestling bouts to the streets.
Oingo Boingo Dance Party
Olympic Stage, 8:30pm
What this assembly of former Oingo Boingo members lacks in Danny Elfman, it makes up for with high energy and a little bit of weird science.
Tim Hecker
The Theatre at Ace Hotel, 9pm
Ethereal and crushingly dense at the same time, Montreal-based Tim Hecker puts out some of the heaviest ambient music around.
Mayer Hawthorne
Olympic Stage, 10pm
This Ann Arbor native draws the most inspiration from Smokey Robinson and Hall & Oates to create music with a lush and infectious, retro-modernist soul.
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