L.A.'s hottest arrivals in shopping, nightlife, dining, entertainment, attractions, museums, theater, culture, sports and recreation. MAPS of Los Angeles

SHOPPING
Designing Women
Fashion houses founded by three grande dames of design have opened new locations in Los Angeles. A smart and abbreviated version of Chanel has opened on starlet magnet Robertson Boulevard, offering ready-to-wear, accessories, jewelry and L.A.–inspired nail polishes—Melrose, Rodeo Drive, L.A. Sunrise and L.A. Sunset—available only at this location. 125 N. Robertson Blvd. L.A., 310.278.5505 • Miu Miu has opened on Rodeo Drive, two doors from Miuccia Prada's sister label Prada. Décor features mirrors and gold details. A collection of four dresses is exclusive to L.A. 317 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, 310.247.2227 • Kate Spade is best known for her handbags, but the line now includes shoes, eyewear, luggage, baby items and paper. Until recently, the closest boutique was in Orange County. Now there are three L.A. locations. The Americana at Brand, 116 Caruso Ave., Glendale, 818.956.1705; 39 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, 626.356.9460; Westfield Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., 310.788.0791

MUSICALS
Eye Opener
The Drowsy Chaperone, which went from its premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre to five Tony Awards including Best Music and Best Book on Broadway, comes home to the Ahmanson July 8–20. The musical comedy begins when a die-hard musical fan plays his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit, and the show magically bursts to life; in it, a celebrity bride's uproarious wedding day offers thrills and surprises that take both the cast (literally) and the audience (metaphorically) soaring to the rafters. "Clever, gleeful and intelligent," wrote John Lahr in The New Yorker. "Few productions have ever pulled an audience so immediately and unconditionally on their side," noted Ben Brantley in The New York Times. A Chorus Line is at the Ahmanson through July 6. 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown, 213.628.2772 Map H16

MUSIC
Upbeat at the Bowl
Two appointments enliven the season at the Hollywood Bowl. Bramwell Tovey, music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the New York Philharmonic's summer concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, succeeds Leonard Slatkin as principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. July 8, he leads Richard Strauss' Don Juan, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana and his own Urban Runway. Thomas Wilkins, music director of the Omaha Symphony and resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony, is the new principal guest conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Bowl's first titled leader since the departure of founding director John Mauceri; he leads "A Night of Romance" with Chris Isaak July 11–12. 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, 213.480.3232 Map W20

PHOTOGRAPHY
Paradise Visited
Los Angeles conjures up imagery as seductive and contradictory as the place itself, equal parts glamour and cataclysm, sunshine and noir. For more than 150 years, photographers have been documenting—and mythologizing—the city. This Side of Paradise: Body and Landscape in L.A. Photographs, at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, uses 250 images from the mid-19th century to the present to examine the emergence of a distinct Los Angeles style of visual expression. Images of the landscape and human body encapsulate both the glories and the unfulfilled promises of both the seminal city and the great American enterprise. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, 626.405.2141 Map R21

ARCHITECTURE
Lautner Lauded
The buildings of John Lautner (1911-94) amaze architects with their formal freedom, structural originality and sculptural force—but are little known or misunderstood by the public at large, from his Googie-style coffee shops to poetic experiments misconstrued as Space Age and meditative houses dismissed as Hollywood showcase. Between Earth and Heaven: The Architecture of John Lautner, the first major retrospective of Lautner's work, opens July 13 at the Hammer Museum. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, 310.443.7000 Map J10

DANCE
Rapture on the RiveR
Rhythms and hips rolling, Viver Brasil Dance Company returns to the Ford Amphitheatre for its sixth season July 5 with The Gift on the Water/Omi Odára, its dancers and musicians evoking the healing power of water spirits, its myths carrying audiences down the wide and gentle river of Brazil's Afro-Bahian culture. The premiere promises high-energy drums and exuberant colors and costumes that bridge the gap between sacred rituals and contemporary choreography. Children are free (but reservations are required) at a morning performance the same day. 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. E., Hollywood, 323.461.3673

DINING
New-Style Dining
Several spots have opened in happening Culver City. Never mind that the menu at M Café de Chaya, sibling to the popular Melrose Avenue spot, is macrobiotic, designed for vegetarians and vegans: Dishes are as flavorful as they come at any kind of restaurant. Maid or butler cafés—where staff play roles, serving as if they are in a private home—are popular in Japan. Royal/T combines art gallery, shop and maid café. Vinoteque offers Spanish, French and Italian small plates and live music; order two glasses of wine and they'll open any of 350 bottles on the list.
• M Café de Chaya 9343 Culver Blvd., 310.838.4300
• Royal/T 8910 Washington Blvd., 310.559.6300
• Vinoteque 4437 Sepulveda Blvd., 310.482.3490

DINING
LONDON DIRECT
Internationally acclaimed chef Gordon Ramsay opens Gordon Ramsay at The London West Hollywood, near the Sunset Strip, a sibling to the two-Michelin-starred Gordon Ramsay at The London in New York and his eponymous three-Michelin-starred London restaurant. On the menu: apple-cured duck breast and crispy tongue and foie gras with amaranth; pan-fried dorade with gremolata, pickled baby cucumber and escargot; and broiled black cod, pig tails with Kumamoto oysters and celeriac purée. Chef de cuisine Andy Cook joined Ramsay in London, then headed up the kitchen of Gordon Ramsay at The Conrad Tokyo. 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd, West Hollywood, 310.358.7788

NIGHTLIFE
Seven Plus Two
Downtown nightlife options increase by three welcome additions. Seven Restaurant and Bar features sexy, glass-bubble chandelier décor; try the Momokawa Coconut Lemongrass saketini. Bacaro L.A., co-owned by a former A.O.C. sommelier, calls itself a "small introduction to the wine bars of Venice" and offers cicheti, Venetian small plates, near USC. Tranquility Base, in the Sky Lofts building, has color-kinetic lighting and a patio with fireplace.
• Bacaro L.A. 2308 S. Union Ave., 213.748.7205
• Seven Restaurant and Bar 555 W. 7th St., 213.223.0777
• Tranquility Base 801 S. Grand Ave., 213.404.0588

GALLERIES
TIMELESS MARILYN
The Andrew Weiss Gallery in Beverly Hills launches Forever Young, a landmark exhibition and sale of original photographs of film icon Marilyn Monroe. The photographs, selected from the Edward Weston Collection cinematic photography archive, span Monroe's career; many are being exhibited for the first time. Highlights include Tom Kelley's infamous "Red Velvet" series; some of Monroe's last photos, shot by George Barris on Santa Monica Beach; and the unforgettable final photos known as "The Last Sitting," by Vogue photographer Bert Stern, shot over three days at the Hotel Bel-Air; she died six weeks later. 179 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, 310.246.9333