‘Purple’ springs musically to life
“The Color Purple”: John Doyle’s Tony-winning revival, a radical distillation of the musical based on Alice Walker’s novel, converted critics like me who had resisted the show in its original Broadway outing. Tuesday-June 17 at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd.; $35 and up; (800) 982-2787; www.hollywoodpantages .com. Also June 19-24 at Segerstrom Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa; $29 and up; (714) 556-2787; www.scfta .org — Charles McNulty “Bordertown Now”: Culture Clash revisits an old hit about the Southern border, a subject that has only grown in political heat. Diane Rodriguez directs. It runs Wednesday-June 24 at Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave.; $28 and up; (626) 356-7529; www.pasa denaplayhouse.org — Charles McNulty BodyTraffic: Co-artistic directors Lillian Barbeito and Tina Finkelman Berkett lead their company in the premiere of “A Million Voices” by Matthew Neenan, co-founder of BalletX. Set to eight songs by Peggy Lee, the dance is meant to smolder with sensuality. The program also includes pieces by Ohad Naharin, among others. ThursdaySaturday in the Bram Goldsmith Theater, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. $45-$125. (310) 7464000. www.thewallis.org — Laura Bleiberg “Das Paradies”: Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil (with help from director Peter Sellars) stage Schumann’s seldom-heard oratorio “Das Paradies und die Peri” (Paradise and the Peri), based on a Persian legend about a fairy sprite. Friday-June 3 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. $60-$209. (323) 850-2000. laphil.com — Mark Swed Norm Laich: The artist is a skilled fabricator who has worked for other artists, helping them to realize their ambitions over nearly 30 years. “This Brush for Hire: Norm Laich and Many Other Artists” gathers together signage, wall paintings, canvases and largescale installations to which Laich contributed, including works by Ed Ruscha, Barbara Kruger and others. The show runs June 3-Sept. 2 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1717 E. 7th St., L.A. Free. (213) 928-0833. www.theicala.org — Christopher Knight