San Diego, CA
San Diego weekend arts events: A new spin on 'Thelma and Louise'; Richard Keely and more
Top picks
‘TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix’
Theater | Moxie Theatre and Diversionary Theatre, two of San Diego’s most beloved and adventurous small theaters, are joining forces to produce this world-premiere musical. Playwright and lyricist EllaRose Chary and composer and lyricist Brandon James Gwinn take the iconic and tragic friendship of Thelma and Louise and turn it into the beginning of an anthemic, queer empowerment story.
For more arts events or to submit your own, visit the KPBS/Arts Calendar. If you want more time to plan, get the KPBS/Arts Newsletter in your inbox every Thursday to see event picks for the weeks ahead.
Chary said they wanted to answer one question when it comes to diverse representation: “Why do strong female characters always gotta die?” In this musical, the collaborators set out to flip the script — beginning with the moment our iconic road trip characters plummet off the road into the Grand Canyon, except this time they survive.
“We’re not going to do that same thing again, and we’re not going to bury our gays, and we’re not going to bury our strong women, and we’re not going to cancel our queer television shows after one season. We’re gonna get to see what happens next,” Chary said.
There’s a “riot grrrl” band, with the musicians serving as full-fledged characters on stage. For the world premiere, Sophia Araujo-Johnson is “T” and Sara Porkolob is “L.” Directed by Sherri Eden Barber.
Details: Event information. On stage May 9 through June 2. Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Bvld. #101, University Heights. $25-$70.
Richard Keely: ‘Lookout’ and more at Bread and Salt
Visual art | This Saturday is Barrio Art Crawl, so in addition to a massive block party and self-guided art tour along Logan Avenue, you can skip over a few streets to Bread and Salt for several new art exhibits throughout many of their galleries, plus a panel discussion in the Brick Room event space.
Courtesy of Richard Keely
Influential local sculptor, installation artist and educator Richard Keely will open a new solo show at Bread and Salt’s main gallery. Keely’s work is industrial, minimalist and geometric, with lots of suspended or mounted circular shapes. I’ve also lost count of the number of times Keely’s name has come up in interviews over the years as an influence on students and emerging artists.
Opening at Best Practice is Tijuana photographer Monice Arreola’s “Echoes of Abandonment: Photographs of Utopia,” which is a series of photography chronicling abandoned housing projects in Tijuana.
Monica Arreola
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Best Practice
At Athenaeum Art Center, the San Diego State University Art Council Scholarship Exhibition will be on view, spotlighting the work of five student artists. And Max Daily’s always-delightful and always-strange “Oslo Sardine Bar” will be set up in the Not An Exit gallery.
Details: Event information. 5-8 p.m. Saturday, May 11. Bread and Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. Free.
Peel Lit Reading: Akari Komura, Ilana Waniuk, Amy Sara Carroll, Ana Carrete and Adam Strauss
Books, Poetry | This new local indie reading series continues with a new slate of writers and performers. In addition to poets and writers Amy Sara Carroll, Ana Carrete and Adam Strauss, the reading will feature Akari Komura, an interdisciplinary artist, writer and composer, who will perform with violinist Ilana Waniuk. This reading series held its first two events at the now-closed Lang Books in North Park, but will now be at Libélula Books.
Details: Event information. 7 p.m. Saturday, May 11. Libélula Books, 950 S 26th St., Barrio Logan. Free.
GI Film Festival San Diego: ‘Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea’
Film, Visual art | The GI Film Festival San Diego presents a screening of a 3D documentary feature about the life and work of H.C. (Cliff) Westermann, surrealist artist, marine … and acrobat. The documentary is narrated by Ed Harris.
I will moderate a panel discussion after the film, which screens at the Museum of Photographic Arts at San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. Panelists include Steve Dilley, executive director and founder of The Veterans Art Project, and Diana Donaldson, an artist, art collector and friend of Westermann.
Details: Event information. 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 10. MOPA@SDMA, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. $10.
‘Latine Entretejida / Interwoven’
Visual art | Visions Museum of Textile Arts, an always-free fiber arts space in Liberty Station, will show a new multi-part exhibition with work by four Latina textile artists Irma Sofia Poeter, Olivia Arreguin, Marisa Raygoza and Mely Barragán. It’s a designated World Design Capital event.
The artists will be on-site for the public opening reception and will participate in a panel discussion.
Work by Carolina Betancourt will be added to the “Latine Entretejida” exhibit in late July.
Details: Event information. Opens with a reception and artists’ talk 1-2 p.m. Saturday, May 11. On view May 11 through Oct. 5. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Visions Museum of Textile Arts, 2825 Dewey Road, Suite 100, Liberty Station. Free.
Bodhi Tree Concerts: ‘The Falling and the Rising’
Music, Theater, Opera | Zach Redler and Jerre Dye’s opera, cut from San Diego Opera’s recent season due to budgetary reasons, will now have its San Diego premiere thanks to Bodhi Tree Concerts. The opera is the story of a soldier’s imagined dreamscape as she’s stuck in a coma, and is informed by extensive interviews with veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center. Musical direction is by Karen Keltner and stage direction is by Kym Pappas.
Details: Event information. 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, May 10-12 at Point Loma Assembly, 3035 Talbot St., Point Loma. $25-$60.
San Diego New Music: ‘The Sounds of Community’
Music | Woodwind performer, conductor and professor Ellen Weller will be spotlighted at this San Diego New Music production. Weller will be supported by a bunch of local stars in classical and experimental, improvisational music, including trumpeter Stephanie Richards, percussionist Nathan Hubbart, bassist Mark Dresser, violinist Kris Apple and more. They’ll perform Weller’s “1918” for “piano, winds and community” — that means you, the audience. Before the show, audience members will be given a color-coded sticker and taught a sound to make, and when to make it.
Details: Event information. 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 10. Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. $12-$30.
Live music picks
* Indicates local act
Thursday: Lol Tolhurst and Budgie at Casbah (punk/rock/pop); G Flip and Kat Cunning at Music Box (synth pop, indie); Snow Strippers at House of Blues (electronic); The San Diego Jazz Orchestra Supper Club* at Lou Lou’s (jazz).
Friday: Pacific Avenue and The Diz* at Casbah (indie/rock); The Isley Brothers at Starlight Theatre (Pala Casino) (funk/R&B); Tipling Rock, Private Island and Blue Hour* at Soda Bar (indie); Chulita Vinyl Club* Dance Party at Whistle Stop (DJ); Xtine and the Reckless Hearts, Sik Sik Sicks and Flailing Idiot* at Pour House Oceanside (punk/rock); Olmecs*, Hurricane Kate* and Medusa’s Disco at Black Cat Bar (indie/rock/funk); Little Lizard, No Interest, Minority, Bug Stomp* and Citrus Jr at Che Cafe (punk, hardcore, indie); Sudan Archives, Channel Tres, Saint Luna, T-Pain and more at Wonderfront Festival.
Saturday: We The Commas*, Cheyenne Benton* and Topeka Clementine* at Casbah (R&B/surf, pop); Shawn Rohlf* at Whistle Stop (singer-songwriter); Bird of Paradise*, Leavers* and Popular Music at Black Cat Bar (alt/indie/lo-fi); City Soul Collective* with Head Hi and Elegant Tern at Til Two Club (soul); Sure Fire Soul Ensemble at Lou Lou’s (funk); Brenton Wood, Barbara Mason, Aaron Frazer and more: Catch You on the Rebound Tour at Pechanga Arena (R&B); Carly Rae Jepsen, Weezer, little luna, Trash Panda and more at Wonderfront Festival.
Sunday: Aaron Lee Tasjan and Molly Martin at Casbah (indie); Gabacho, Valley Wolf, La Diabla* (Tijuana) and Peralta Y Los Paisanos* at Soda Bar (indie, Latin); Mike, 454 and Niontay at House of Blues (rap/hip-hop); Aaron May, Jay Millz, O.E. and Twenty24Four at SOMA (rap/hip-hop); Fruit Bats, Beck, Mt. Joy, Natasha Bedingfield, Alice Phoebe Lou, The Roots and more at Wonderfront Festival; Rayland Baxter and Fruit Bats (solo): Wonderfront After Party at Music Box (alt country, indie).
More local art and culture
The Hill Street Country Club and Queer Surf Present: ‘Gaza Surf Club’
Film | “Gaza Surf Club” is a 2016 documentary that followed a group of surfers in Palestine for five years. In partnership with Queer Surf, The Hill Street Country Club will host a screening along with Palestinian food for sale. Event information. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 9. The Hill Street Country Club, 530 S. Coast Hwy., Oceanside. $0-$10 donation-based.
La Jolla Music Society Community Arts Open House
Music, Dance, Family | The La Jolla Music Society will open their doors to the public this weekend for a series of mini performances and workshops in music and dance, plus artmaking activities for kids. Drummers Without Borders, Alyssa Junious, Malashock Dance and more will appear throughout the event. Event information. 1-5 p.m. Saturday, May 11. La Jolla Music Society, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla. Free (RSVP required).
‘Next to Normal’
Theater | Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s 2010 Pulitzer-winning play “Next to Normal” explores the complicated impact on a mother’s long battle with bipolar disorder on a seemingly typical family. Oceanside Theatre Company’s production, directed by Frankie Errington. Event information. May 10 through May 26. Sunshine Brooks Theatre, 217 N Coast Hwy., Oceanside. $20-$50.
‘Kuchipudi’: Traditional Indian Dance Performance for Children
Dance, Family | Kuchipudi is a type of traditional South Indian dance that’s both athletic and rooted in folklore and storytelling. This kid-centered event includes a performance, artmaking activities and Indian food. Event information. 2 p.m. Saturday, May 11. Mission Valley Branch Library, 2123 Fenton Pkwy., Mission Valley. Free.
The U.S. military identified a Minnesota Marine stationed in Southern California who went missing off San Diego last week, and confirmed his death.
Lance Cpl. Armando Ortiz Canseco was declared deceased Saturday. It is believed he was lost at sea after a training exercise.
“On behalf of the Marines and sailors of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Lance Cpl. Ortiz Canseco,” Col. Richard Alvarez, the commanding officer of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said in a statement.
Ortiz Canseco was reported missing from the amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage early Thursday morning. His disappearance resulted in an extensive search and rescue operation, with efforts beginning around 1:20 a.m. Thursday.
The search spanned roughly 2,400 square miles and involved officials from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force who used three surface ships and 12 aircraft, according to the military.
The Marine went missing during a training operation involving the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group.
After nearly two full days of searching, the Navy transitioned to recovery operations.
“He earned the title of United States Marine and served his country with honor and commitment,” Alvarez said. “We mourn alongside his family, and we remain committed to bringing him home.”
This incident marks the second time in recent weeks that the U.S. military has searched for missing service members.
The remains of two Army soldiers who went missing while off duty from military exercises in Morocco were recovered in May, according to the Army.
Officials did not initially identify Ortiz Canseco on Thursday or disclose the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, saying his family needed to be notified first.
His death continues to be under investigation.
Ortiz Canseco enlisted in the Marine Corps in April 2023 and reported for training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
His individual awards include the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Times staff writer Alene Tchekmedyian contributed to this report.
Blink, and you might miss it.
Adobe Falls isn’t Niagara Falls — or anything close — but after winter rains, a seasonal waterfall briefly appears in a narrow Del Cerro canyon, hidden beneath streets, homes, and San Diego State University property.
The waterfall forms along Alvarado Creek, which drains parts of eastern San Diego, including the SDSU area and surrounding neighborhoods. In wet months, runoff moves through a steep canyon and drops over a short rock ledge known locally as Adobe Falls. In dry periods, the flow often fades to a trickle or disappears entirely, leaving exposed sandstone and a shaded canyon bed.
What makes the site stand out is its setting. Above the canyon are Del Cerro residential streets and university property tied to San Diego State. Below it, Alvarado Creek continues west as part of the Mission Valley watershed, eventually feeding into the San Diego River system. Like many urban drainages in San Diego, its flow is shaped by stormwater runoff, paved surfaces, and altered drainage patterns tied to development.
Access is restricted. The canyon sits on a mix of SDSU and city-managed land and has long been closed to the public due to safety concerns, including steep terrain, erosion, and unstable footing after rain. Although widely referenced in maps and online posts, it is not an official trail or recreation site.
The canyon itself pre-dates modern development in Del Cerro. It is part of a broader network of inland waterways and canyon corridors used for thousands of years by the Kumeyaay, whose presence shaped movement and settlement patterns across the region.
In the mid-20th century, as Del Cerro developed, homes and roads were built along canyon rims rather than through them, leaving Alvarado Creek intact as a drainage system. Adobe Falls remained within that corridor even as surrounding hillsides filled with residential and institutional development.
Today, Adobe Falls remains a small but persistent reminder that San Diego’s natural drainage systems still function within a heavily built environment — appearing briefly after storms, then receding back into the canyon until the next rain.
Read more history stories here, and do you have a story to tell? Send an email to DebbieSklar@cox.net.
Sources:
City of San Diego – Stormwater & Watershed Division (Alvarado Creek / Mission Valley watershed)
San Diego State University – planning and environmental impact documentation for adjacent canyon areas
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) – San Diego County watershed and hydrology mapping (Alvarado Creek / San Diego River system context)
San Diego History Center – Kumeyaay regional land use and inland canyon corridor history
City of San Diego Planning Department – land use records and access restrictions for Adobe Falls area
California State Historic Landmark files – Adobe Falls (Landmark No. 80)
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