Babatunde HipHopera

Baritone vocalist Babatunde Akinboboye brings a high-energy and genre-defying performance that fuses the power of classical opera with the rhythm and attitude of hip-hop. With a voice deeply grounded in operatic tradition and a performance style rooted in contemporary culture, Babatunde creates an experience that feels both timeless and cutting-edge.

His program traverses arias and vocal works alongside modern rhythms and spoken-word passages, revealing how these two musical worlds reflect one another—both in drama, narrative arc, and emotional reach. On stage you will hear operatic range, hip-hop beats or rhythm-driven structures, and a performer who moves freely between tradition and innovation.

Presented in an intimate setting at Sierra Madre Playhouse, the audience will feel the musician’s voice up close and personal—each phrase, each dramatic turn carried with clarity and immediacy. Whether you are drawn by the operatic technique, the fusion of styles, or the bold live presence, this evening promises a performance where vocal virtuosity meets cultural conversation in a way that is visceral, fresh, and deeply engaging.

Tickets: $40

Asia / America New Music Institute - Echoes of Home

Asia / America New Music Institute (AANMI) returns to Sierra Madre Playhouse for a new show, Echoes of Home!

Composers from across Los Angeles’s vibrant Asian American communities share deeply personal works inspired by the neighborhoods that shaped them — from Little Tokyo to Koreatown, San Gabriel, Gardena, and Historic Filipinotown. Through music and story, the concert traces memories of temples, festivals, and familiar streets, revealing how these enclaves continue to define the city’s cultural soul. Presented by the Asia / America New Music Institute (AANMI), this program celebrates Los Angeles as a tapestry of voices, each carrying the sound of home.

AANMI promotes cultural exchange between Asia and the Americas through the creation and performance of new music concerts. AANMI concerts allow audience members to experience key narratives at the intersections of Asian and American cultures, past and present.

Tickets: $12-35

Suman Laha, Anand Vemuri, and Jyoti Prakas - Samyōga

Part of the Sierra Madre Playhouse Indian Classical Music Series

Samyōga - A Confluence of String, Wind, Rhythm

Samyōga - from the Sanskrit samyoga (संयोग), meaning "coming together"—is an afternoon of Hindustani classical music, the living classical tradition of North India. At its heart lies the rāga: a melodic personality; a constellation of notes shaped by characteristic movements, emphasized tones, ornamentation, and melodic grammar, all of which evoke a distinct emotional atmosphere, or rasa.

The program traces a journey from solitude to confluence. It begins with two solo explorations. Anand Vemuri presents the bansuri (bamboo flute), while Suman Laha performs on the ancient and revered string instrument known as veena. Each artist illuminates a rāga through the unique voice of the instrument, one carried on breath and the other ringing through strings. Though their instruments arise from different musical traditions, both share a deep commitment to the contemplative spirit and expressive subtlety of Hindustani music.

In the final set, these two melodic voices converge in jugalbandi, the celebrated duet tradition in which musicians engage in spontaneous musical dialogue, echoing, answering, challenging, and inspiring one another in real time. Throughout, Jyoti Prakash on tabla provides the rhythmic framework through the intricate cycles of tāla, completing the confluence of string, wind, and rhythm.

Tickets: $12-35

Tesserae Baroque - The Trio Sonata

Tesserae Baroque Ensemble returns to Sierra Madre Playhouse for a  vibrant program of trio sonatas for harpsichord, violin, and recorder, performed with the clarity, flair, and historically informed artistry that define Tesserae’s work.

One of the defining features of the new Baroque style was the so-called “trio sonata ideal.” In this, musical texture became stratified between a bass and two upper parts. This represented a shift from the equal polyphonic textures of the mature Renaissance style; in contrast, in the trio sonata ideal the middle of the texture is provided by the relatively simple chordal structures of the basso continuo. Nowhere is the trio sonata ideal more obviously seen than in the trio sonata, which, along with opera, was one of the defining genres of the Baroque style. This program will explore the evolution of the trio sonata throughout the Baroque period, in works by Castello, Rossi, Bach and more!

Tickets: $12-35

Sandhi ft. Rukhmani Mehta

Sandhi — in Sanskrit, a charged threshold, a meeting point between states — is Rukhmani Mehta's personal exploration of the traditional Kathak solo as an opening or gateway, performed with acclaimed musical artists Jayanta Banerjee on sitar and Salar Nader on tabla. Kathak invites us into a world: the sacred temples of ancient India, the grandeur of the Mughal courts, the ecstatic longing of the Bhakti saints, the songs of the courtesans, the stories of gods and goddesses that have traveled across time. Sandhi is where three currents meet: the story of India and her people, the story of Kathak itself, and the story of one artist at the threshold of both. Here, the ancient and the immediate collapse into one another — and in that collision, artist and audience find themselves changed, remade by an encounter with the living, the sacred, and the eternal.

Rukhmani Mehta is a Kathak artist, choreographer, and educator whose work has shaped the landscape of Indian classical dance in the United States for over two decades. Both lineage bearer and contemporary voice, she works at the intersection of classical Indian dance, contemporary performance, and embodied inquiry. A senior disciple of legendary master Pandit Chitresh Das, she is Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Leela Dance Collective and Artistic Director of Leela Youth Dance Company — where she mentors young South Asian women as artists and cultural ambassadors.

Tickets: $12-35

Midterms: This Will Hurt Someone from Brightwork newmusic

Election season is back, and Brightwork offers a different kind of political theater. Midterms is a night of provocative, funny, and deeply human works inspired by civic life and social change. Curated by Artistic Director Aron Kallay, the program includes Matt Marks’ This Will Hurt Someone, Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together, Ian Dicke’s Counterpundit, and Natalie Dietterich’s Philosophy of Furniture, alongside a newly commissioned video by a local artist. Leave your campaign signs at home—this is politics through sound, not slogans.

Brightwork newmusic is a Los Angeles-based chamber ensemble formed in 2013 by pianist Aron Kallay. The group is built around a sextet instrumentation (piano, violin, cello, flute, clarinet, percussion) and focuses on presenting high-caliber performances of contemporary classical music alongside landmark works from the past hundred years. Their mission is to revitalize the art of new music on the West Coast—commissioning living composers, premiering their works, and inviting listeners into the creative process.

At a Brightwork performance you can expect a polished and fearless ensemble of musicians, many of whom are recognized in the professional music scene, delivering precise, responsive playing and tightly integrated chamber music under modern aesthetic standards.

Tickets: $12-35

Marlonius Jazz Orchestra and Mara Kaye: Billie Holiday and The Blues

Part of the Sierra Madre Playhouse Jazz Series, curated by Greg Porée

Los Angeles-born bassist, composer and band-leader Marlon Martinez brings a powerful blend of classical chops, deep jazz sensibility and modern creative vision to the stage. A product of the Colburn Conservatory of Music, Martinez studied classical bass and orchestral performance before evolving into a leading voice in the city’s jazz community.

Martinez is the founder and artistic director of the Marlonius Jazz Orchestra, where his original compositions sit alongside reinterpretations of jazz classics. He has toured and collaborated with a remarkable range of artists—including Stewart Copeland, Mike Garson and Quatuor Ebène—and continues to bridge genres, instrumentation and musical cultures with his work.

In this performance you’ll experience Martinez’s artistry in a smaller-ensemble setting: expect rich bass tones, melodic leadership from the lower register, crisp interplay between his group and the rhythm section, and compositions that move between swing, funk, lyricism and adventurous rhythm. The evening offers listeners an opportunity to hear the double bass not just as accompaniment, but as expressive voice and creative centre.

Whether you come for the jazz tradition, the virtuosity of bassist/composer collaboration or the vibrancy of L.A.’s evolving jazz scene, this concert provides deep listening, groove and musical heart.

Tickets: $35

Camille Hernandez - Motherlands

Poet, performer, and educator Camille Hernandez presents an immersive reimagining of her celebrated chapbook Motherlands—now transformed into a choreopoem that merges movement, rhythm, and language into living performance. Rather than reciting from behind a podium, Hernandez animates her poetry through gesture, breath, and motion, weaving text and embodiment into a single, fluid expression.

Tickets: $20

Chris Wabich Trio

Part of the Sierra Madre Playhouse Jazz Series, curated by Greg Porée

Los Angeles percussionist Chris Wabich brings a bold, shape-shifting approach to rhythm that defies easy categorization. Known for his versatility across jazz, world music, fusion, and experimental traditions, he has toured internationally, recorded with artists from Leonard Cohen to Mamak Khadem, and developed a reputation for sonic creativity that turns every performance into an adventure.

Onstage, Wabich is equal parts groove-maker and storyteller. His playing moves fluidly from intricate hand percussion to driving drum set work, weaving unexpected textures and global influences into a unified, deeply musical voice. Whether exploring a standard, reimagining a folk rhythm, or crafting something entirely new, he brings a warmth and spontaneity that draw audiences into the heart of the music.

This performance highlights Wabich’s boundless curiosity and his commitment to crossing musical borders. The result is an evening of rhythm-forward artistry that surprises, delights, and reveals just how expansive the world of percussion can be.

Tickets: $35

Bob Baker's Nutcracker

This holiday tradition returns to Sierra Madre Playhouse for its third year! Los Angeles’ beloved Bob Baker Marionette Theater brings its timeless charm and puppetry magic to The Nutcracker, delighting audiences of all ages with dazzling marionettes, colorful sets, and Tchaikovsky’s classic score.

This one-of-a-kind production reimagines The Nutcracker through the artistry and imagination that have made Bob Baker Marionette Theater a cultural treasure for more than 60 years. Dozens of hand-crafted marionettes twirl, skate, and dance through the Land of the Sweets, capturing the wonder of the season with every movement.

Equal parts nostalgia and discovery, The Nutcracker at Sierra Madre Playhouse transforms the stage into a joyful holiday dreamscape where families can share laughter, music, and awe together. Whether it’s your first visit or part of your annual tradition, this cherished partnership between the Playhouse and Bob Baker Marionette Theater promises pure enchantment—up close and unforgettable.

Tickets: $25

A Christmas Carol from Will & Company

Adapted from the beloved novella by Charles Dickens, Will & Company’s A Christmas Carol delivers a warm, non-denominational holiday experience centered on themes of generosity, transformation, and community. In this lively and interactive production, children and adults alike are drawn into the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s extraordinary Christmas Eve journey—from solitaire miser to compassionate citizen—through vivid staging, narration, and audience participation. True to the ensemble’s style, this version gives young people the chance to step onto stage alongside professional actors, enhancing the sense of collective storytelling and shared experience. Designed for Grades K–12 and family audiences, the show is ideal for educational settings and offers a memorable holiday-time performance for the whole family.

Tickets: $25

Matt Johnson & The New Jet Set (Swingin' The Disney Songbook) return to The Playhouse December 20 & 21 at 8:00 PM with their festive, foot‑tapping holiday show you won’t want to miss. A Jet Set Christmas! delivers a sleigh full of holiday classics and Christmas carols drenched in tinsel, jazz and joy. This cool yuletide celebration, complete with a swingin’ sing-along, will put you the holiday spirit and transport you to that “Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.” Ho, ho, ho!

Known for their “retro‑cool jazz interpretations of beloved classics,” the band — led by celebrated drummer Matt Johnson — brings the seasonal spirit to life with swinging arrangements, charming storytelling, and audience sing‑alongs. This festive edition expands on their well-loved format—think holiday tunes sung big‑band style, interactive fun and behind‑the‑scenes anecdotes woven into every song.

Tickets: $35