ON Culture | Horse Whisperers, Comedy Stars, and Christmas Movies
This edition of ON Culture was originally emailed to subscribers on November8, 2024. To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.
ON the (Small) Screen
Currently streaming on MasterClass and coming soon to Apple TV is the documentary The Cowboy and the Queen, about the life of horse whisperer Monty Roberts, a Santa Ynez horse trainer whose nonviolent techniques are a lesson in leading with empathy, trusting your values, and doing the next right thing. His compassionate approach came into the mainstream thanks to his unlikely friendship with Queen Elizabeth II, a kindred spirit whose endorsement of Monty’s process popularized his methods worldwide. A little over 20 years ago, I interviewed Monty at his Flag is Up Farms for the now-defunct South Coast Beacon newspaper. He was a lovely man and it’s great to see him getting more of this kind of recognition. See the trailer here.
Our clocks fall back, the air gets a little chillier, and I get completely in the mood for the seasonal guilty pleasures of holiday movies. Especially these days, I really want to escape. Honestly, the cheesier the better when it comes to these gems. The days of Hallmark having a monopoly on (mostly) Christmas movies are long gone, and Netflix, Lifetime, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ are among the channels getting in on the act this holiday season. One movie that looks promising is Nutcrackers, starring Ben Stiller (in his first leading role in seven years) as a workaholic real estate developer who becomes a guardian to his unruly nephews after their parents die. It’s set to stream on Hulu on November 29. Watch an interview with Stiller and director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) here. Netflix’s Our Little Secret teams Lindsay Lohan with Kristin Chenoweth and Tim Meadows, among others, as a woman who goes home with her boyfriend’s family only to find that his sister is dating her ex (see trailer here). Then we’ve got Chad Michael Murray dancing Chippendales’ style in The Merry Gentlemen (also on Netflix, see trailer). And Hallmark still has some gems coming our way, like Confessions of a Christmas Letter, starring Angela Kinsey of The Office as a woman who enlists the help of a struggling novelist to help her craft the winner of her town’s holiday letter writing contest (now why on earth can’t we have this in Santa Barbara)! Premieres November 17. See a video about it here.
ON the Comedy Stage
Deon Cole, who was such a scene stealer in the sitcom Black-ish, has been featured in three Netflix comedy specials and brings his “My New Normal Tour” to the Chumash Casino Resort’s Samala Showroom tonight, November 8. Also on my comedy calendar is Santa Barbara resident comedienne Jane Lynch’s A Swingin’ Little Christmas Holiday Show at the Lobero on December 17. She’ll be joined by comic actress Kate Flannery (drunk Meredith from The Office), and on the music side by Tim Davis and The Tony Guerrero Quintet for what promises to be a tasty blend of melodic laughs. Click here for details. Other comedians on deck at the Lobero include Paula Poundstone (January 24), Marc Maron (January 30), and Maria Bamford (February 8).
Comedy is also in focus at the Riviera Theatre tonight (November 8), with Tim Matheson discussing his new memoir, Damn Glad to Meet You; My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches, followed by a screening of his iconic film, National Lampoon’s Animal House. Click here for tickets and more information. (The film also screens again on November 9.)
ON the Page
Josh Brolin, who grew up in this area, is making the rounds to publicize his new memoir, From Under the Truck. On Friday, November 22 at 6 p.m. he’ll mix it up with Rob Lowe in a book discussion about “the un-celebrity memoir” at Godmothers in Summerland (click here for info and tickets); then on Saturday, November 23, at 5 p.m. the Riviera Theatre will screen his film No Country For Old Men, followed by a conversation and a book signing with Brolin (click here for info and tickets).
The Book of Delights: Essays by Ross Gay was just picked as the UCSB Reads 2025 book selection. A New York Times bestseller, The Book of Delights is a genre-defying collection of short lyrical essays that celebrate the small, ordinary wonders in the world around us. Written daily over one tumultuous year, the humorous, poetic, and philosophical essays cover a wide range of topics. Throughout the winter and spring quarters, the UCSB Library will sponsor talks, book clubs, workshops, and other learning, experiential, and social events to explore the book’s themes, culminating in a free talk by the author at Campbell Hall on May 8, presented in partnership with UCSB Arts & Lectures. For info click here.
ON the Stage
Our musical cup continues to run over, making me feel lucky, albeit a bit exhausted, every time I look at my calendar. The always fabulous Aimee Mann was at the Lobero last week, see my review here. Zeb Norris had a great night with Joe Bonamassa at the Granada (see “Stealth Superstar” here), while Joe Woodard hung out with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Mariza, among others, while Kat Sophia recently reviewed Brittany Howard’s show.
The Santa Barbara Symphony continues its 2024/25 Season with French Connections, a celebration of three centuries of French musical masterpieces, on Sunday, November 17, at 3 p.m. at the Granada. This thematic one-concert-only performance features internationally renowned conductor and pianist David Greilsammer in a tour de force. Click here for more info. I’m also looking forward to seeing the Symphony perform The Next Waltz with the Doublewide Kings at the Granada this weekend on November 9 (click here for info).
On the dance performance front, I saw a beautiful production from Cloud Gate Dance Theater last weekend (review coming soon), and Jatila van der Veen was blown away by State Street Ballet’s season opener of Scheherazade and The Firebird (read her review here). Also coming soon is the sure-to-be interesting Faculty Dance Concert from UCSB Department of Theater/Dance, co-directed by Christina McCarthy and Monique Meunier. The concert, November 22-24, includes choreographic works and stagings by Brandon Whited, Christina Sanchez, Monique Meunier, as well as two works by Delila Moseley. Click here for details.
ON the Web
Have you heard of the term “kidults”? Neither had I until I read this fascinating story in the L.A. Times about how toy companies are now targeting the “kidults” demographic, now that adults finally have enough money of their own to collect as many Barbies, Hot Wheels, and Star Wars paraphernalia as their hearts desire. Read about it here.
Another fascinating story, which Opera Santa Barbara Artistic Director Kostis Protopapas shared with me, is from the Guardian, which had its sportswriters and arts critics to swap jobs for a bit — with very entertaining and interesting results. Read it here.
ON the Calendar
On Saturday, November 9, Santa Barbara Black Culture House is sponsoring “A Fall Soulful Gathering at Soul Bites,” the restaurant and gathering space at 423 State Street. The Funky Neighbors — one of the more popular, hard-working bands out of the L.A. area — will be playing from 1 to 4 p.m. and organizers Darrell M. McNeill and Sally A. Foxen-McNeill said, “If you wish to come earlier or stay later, by all means do so. As with all Black Culture House events, this gathering is free and open to the public. We hope you all will buy yourselves some of Soul Bites incredible food — if you didn’t already know before, Soul Bites has the best soul food in the county. Do yourself a favor and get yourselves some.”
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