Venezuela's Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra cancels Hollywood Bowl shows: L.A. arts and culture this weekend

Los Angeles Times

11-07-2025

In early July, the Los Angeles Philharmonic quietly canceled all four Hollywood Bowl performances featuring Venezuela's Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. The L.A. Phil, in a statement, attributed the cancellations of the L.A. leg of the orchestra's 50th anniversary tour to 'travel complications,' and said it looks forward to 'welcoming the Orchestra back in the future.'
Venezuela is on the list of countries on President Trump's recently announced travel ban list. The ban for the country is partial, but it does affect the types of visas typically used for tourism and business. A number of readers wrote in about the cancellations, speculating about visa issues and the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies. Asked if this was the case, or if any further details about the cancellations were available, a rep for the L.A. Phil declined to comment beyond what was provided in the organization's statement.
In a review of the Bowl's opening night, Times classical music critic Mark Swed credited the loss of the orchestra's visit to Trump's travel ban and lamented that the cancellation would reduce Dudamel's appearances on the Bowl's stage to a single week during his 16th and penultimate season before he leaves L.A. to become music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic in 2026.
The Bolívar Orchestra likely won't have any trouble traveling to the United Kingdom, however, because it is set to play as a special guest alongside Dudamel for 10 sold-out shows with the rock band Coldplay at Wembley Stadium in late August and early September. (Turns out Coachella was just a warm-up for Dudamel, who really has achieved rock star status in the music world.)
Ticket holders for the canceled Bowl shows received emails about the cancellations and were told that their tickets would remain valid for newly announced programming: Elim Chan, James Ehnes, and the L.A. Phil on Aug. 12 for Tchaikovsky and The Firebird; Gemma New and the L.A. Phil performing Tchaikovsky's 4th on Aug. 14 with Pacho Flores; and Enrico Lopez-Yañez and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra performing Aug. 15-16 with Los Aguilar.
When the Bowl season was first announced, L.A. Phil President and Chief Executive Kim Noltemy told me that much of the season was organized to highlight Dudamel's work, including performances featuring composers, musicians and music that he is particularly fond of.
At that time, Dudamel was set to conduct eight shows in August, four of which were with the Bolívar Orchestra — a situation that speaks to his deep, decades-long ties with the organization, which started as a youth ensemble and is composed of musicians trained by Venezuela's famed music education program, El Sistema, which also counts Dudamel as an alumnus.
I'm arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, dreaming of a trip to London for an extraordinary show. In the meantime, here's your arts news for this weekend.
'A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical'This jukebox musical that ran on Broadway for more than a year finally reaches L.A. on its national tour. Featuring nearly 30 of Diamond's songs, including 'Solitary Man,' 'Sweet Caroline,' 'I Am … I Said' and 'Song Sung Blue,' the show is framed by therapy sessions in which the singer-songwriter reflects on his life's highs and lows and the genesis of his writing with different actors playing 'Neil - Then' (2015 'American Idol' winner Nick Fradiani) and 'Neil - Now' (Tony nominee Robert Westenberg).7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, through July 27. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. broadwayinhollywood.com
'Lines of Connection: Drawing and Printmaking'The exhibition shares the narrative of how European artists worked on paper with various media from the 15th through 19th centuries. The show also includes large-scale works by L.A.-based artist Toba Khedoori.10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays; closed Monday; through Sept. 14. J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu
A Joan Crawford Triple FeatureThe Academy Museum screens three late-period Crawford vehicles in 35 mm in its Ted Mann Theater. 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' (1962), directed by Robert Aldrich and co-starring Bette Davis (who received an Oscar nomination) relaunched the actors' careers and became a cult classic. In 'Strait-Jacket' (1964), directed by British horrormeister William Castle, Crawford played a woman released from a psychiatric hospital 20 years after being convicted of murdering her husband and his lover with an ax. Finally, Crawford's last big-screen appearance came in 'Trog' (1970), wherein she starred for director Freddie Francis, the noted cinematographer, as an anthropologist who attempts to domesticate a caveman in the 20th century U.K.2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Saturday. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
The Cinematic Scores of Alexandre DesplatHot on the heels of the release of the hit movie 'Jurassic World Rebirth,' in which Desplat incorporated John Williams' stirring 'Jurassic Park' theme into his new score for the film, the celebrated French composer takes the Hollywood Bowl stage to conduct a career-spanning evening of his work. In addition to his Oscar-winning scores for Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and Guillermo Del Toro's 'The Shape of Water,' the program includes musical selections from 'The Imitation Game,' 'The King's Speech' and more.8 p.m. Tuesday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
Times theater critic Charles McNulty writes an appreciation of playwright Richard Greenberg, who died July 4 of cancer at age 67. Greenberg's rise to fame began with his 1988 play 'Eastern Standard,' which received a rave review by theater critic Frank Rich in the New York Times. McNulty remembers seeing the play on Broadway as a student and was 'dazzled by Greenberg's New York wit, which struck me as an acutely sensitive, off-angle version of George S. Kaufman's Broadway brio.'
The casting news continues for 'Jesus Christ Superstar' at the Hollywood Bowl. We already know that Cynthia Erivo is set to play Jesus and Adam Lambert will play Judas — now we have it that Milo Manheim will play Peter and Raúl Esparza will play Pontius Pilate. The musical will run Aug. 1, 2 and 3.
The Pasadena Playhouse is fast moving toward artistic director Danny Feldman's goal of once again making its historic campus a buzzing hive of educational activity. The playhouse announced earlier this week that it is expanding its offerings, adding options for adults and seniors to its still-growing roster of classes and camps for kids and teenagers. A musical theater community choir, a storytelling workshop and acting lessons for non-actors are also joining the lineup. Check out the schedule, and sign up, here.
IAMA Theatre Company announced its 18th season at the Atwater Village Theatre, featuring the world premiere of Matthew Scott Montgomery's 'Foursome,' a story about queer love and family that is produced in association with Celebration Theatre. There will also be two original workshop productions, including Mathilde Dratwa's 'Esther Perel Ruined My Life,' directed by Ojai Playwrights Conference Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen. The 8th annual New Works Festival gets things started from Oct. 9 to 13, and offers audiences the ability to see fresh stagings by playwrights in need of early reactions to help develop and hone their writing. The season ends with a final workshop production of JuCoby Johnson's '…but you could've held my hand,' about the ongoing relationships of four Black friends.
Pack snacks and a blanket and head for the 405 because the Getty's annual Garden Concerts for kids are back. The series begins Aug. 2 and 3 with 123 Andrés. The next weekend will bring Kymberly Stewart to the stage, followed by Divinity Roxx Presents: Divi Roxx Kids World Wide Playdate on Aug. 16 and 17. The fun begins at 4 p.m., so make a day of it and check out the art first. A free reservation at Getty.edu is required for entry.
— Jessica Gelt
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