On Sunday afternoon, I stood in line for over an hour for the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition, the hottest ticket in town, in The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The breathtaking exhibition, on view in the Metropolitan Museum’s second-floor Cantor Galleries, features approximately 100 ensembles and 70 accessories from the late Mr. McQueen’s prolific 19-year career, and is a celebration of the fashion designer’s extraordinary contributions to fashion.

Since opening on May 4, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty has been drawing crowds, with the highest attendance of any public opening day for a Costume Institute exhibition; that attendance was second at the Met only to that of Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings in 2005. More than 180,000 people have seen the show. Set to close on July 31, the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition has been extended until August 7.

Don't miss the 14th season of Shakespeare by the Sea with 40 free performances at 21 parks in 19 LA and Orange county cities in Southern California. Once again, admission is free to this season's performances. The season opens June 9, 2011 with the romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing, and one week later on June 16, with the opening of the ultimate family drama The Tragedy of King Lear. Performances continue through August 12. 

All performances are in the evening starting at either 7:00pm or 8:00pm. Audiences are encouraged to gather with friends and family early to dine picnic-style under the stars to make the most of this classic entertainment experience. Learn more at www.shakespearebythesea.org or by calling 310-217-7596. 
 

This season’s performances under the stewardship of founding member and Producing Artistic Director Lisa Coffi, are sponsored by Orange County Community Foundation, Union Pacific Railroad, Newport Beach Arts Commission, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, and Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

Cities on this year’s tour include: Altadena, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, La Crescenta, Laguna Niguel, Lakewood, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, Playa Vista, Rossmoor, Rowland Heights, San Pedro, South Pasadena, Torrance, Whittier, and two different parks in Rancho Palos Verdes. See production schedules, full location information, and times at

Tony Award winner and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) is having a banner summer in Chicago, where three of his plays are being produced.

From June 14-July 17, the Silk Road Theatre Project is presenting the Chicago premiere of Hwang’s semi-autobiographical Yellow Face, directed by Steve Scott at The Historic Chicago Temple Building in collaboration with the Goodman Theatre; from June 18-July 24, the Goodman Theatre is presenting the world premiere of Hwang’s Chinglish, a razor-sharp new comedy about the challenges of doing business in a culture worlds apart from our own, directed by Leigh Silverman in the Albert Theatre; and from August 11-September 4, the Halcyon Theatre is presenting Hwang’s Family Devotions, a comedy where chaos ensues when three generations of an Asian-American family welcome their patriarch from Communist China, directed by Jennifer Adams at the Greenhouse Theater Center.