This week’s San Diego arts roundup: Expect the unexpected at the Oscars on Sunday

Actor Will Smith slaps host Chris Rock during the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony, one of the most shocking moments in the history of the Oscars. CHICAGO TRIBUNE

PUBLISHED: February 27, 2025 at 5:30 AM PST

The Academy Awards were televised for the first time in 1953. The broadcast lasted an hour and 35 minutes.

On Sunday at 4 p.m., the Oscars will be handed out for the 97th time. The show is scheduled to last three hours, but if past history is any indication, that’s a very conservative estimate.

As an article in the industry mag The Hollywood Reporter pointed out, that first Oscars telecast in ’53 was a smash hit with viewers: Reportedly an estimated 50 million Americans tuned in to watch a show that was presented live from both Hollywood and New York. By comparison, last year’s audience numbers for the Academy Awards held in Hollywood was around 19.5 million.

Maybe the best incentive to watch on Sunday is that you won’t have to sit through long, over-produced performances of the songs nominated for the Best of 2024. There won’t be any. That ought to shave a little time off the broadcast.

But recent years have shown that it’s not the host of the ceremony (it’ll be Conan O’Brien on Sunday) nor any suspense about who will take home statuettes that s for the albeit dwindling viewership. It’s the fact that the Oscars show is one of the few remaining non-sports entertainment events broadcast live on network television, to everyone on both coasts and in between.

So for every three-plus-hour snooze-fest there’s a Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announcing the wrong Best Picture winner. Or a streaker running across the stage (that’s an oldie). Or more, recently, the granddaddy of ‘em all: Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.

This is why I still watch the Academy Awards show, even though I’ve seen only half of the Best Picture nominees. Even though it’s usually dull and always self-congratulatory.

Because you never know.

Singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett will perform Wednesday at The Sound in Del Mar. TCA

Pop music

Lyle Lovett isn’t nominated for an Oscar this year, but the singer-songwriter from Houston boasts a long list of acting credits, both on TV and in the movies. My fave is his detective turn in Robert Altman’s 1992 “The Player.” Next would be as a quirky baker in Altman’s “Short Cuts” the year after.

The movies aside, Lovett’s genre-melding music is what’s made him a star and a popular concert choice whenever he comes to San Diego. Wednesday night brings Lovett and his Acoustic Group to The Sound in Del Mar. Its include some familiar sidemen: drummer Russ Kunkel and bassist Leland Sklar.

Americana duo Gillian Welch & David Rawlings will perform next Thursday in El Cajon. (Live Nation)

Country/rock

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings won’t ever be confused with Johnny and June or Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, but they’ve been musical partners since the ‘90s. In that time they’ve trafficked in country but also in everything from jazz to gospel music. Their acoustic sound, however, can be decidedly down-beat – dark and introspective.

Welch and Rawlings are coming our way next Thursday when they perform at the Magnolia in El Cajon. They’re touring in of their most recent release, “Woodland,” named for their studio in Nashville which was destroyed by a tornado five years ago.

Recital

DeAndre Simmons, recently named one of the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle’s 2024 Actors of the Year, is performing, along with pianist Ken Anderson, arias, songs and spirituals by Black composers on Sunday in a program titled “The Negro Speakers of Rivers.”

The show, in which Simmons plays bass, will be held at Vision: A Center for Spiritual Living in the Mission Gorge area. Showtime is 7 p.m. Besides the stage, Simmons is also a frequent performer in productions by locally based Bodhi Tree Concerts. Simmons will also perform in San Diego Opera’s production of “Salome,” March 21-23.

Alan Rust, left, and Rosina Reynolds in a scene from Cygnet Theatre's "Other Desert Cities." (Karli Cadel) — Alan Rust, left, and Rosina Reynolds in a scene from Cygnet Theatre’s “Other Desert Cities.” (Karli Cadel)

Last chance

Sunday also marks the final day of “Other Desert Cities’” production run at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town. Jon Robin Baitz’s family drama is set at Christmas time but there’s very little jolly about it. Not when writer daughter Brooke Wyeth (Melanie Lora) comes home for the holidays bearing a planned memoir that among other things takes parents Polly (Rosina Reynolds) and Lyman (Alan Rust) to task.

There’s also a roiling political undercurrent in Baitz’s play, set in Bush II-era 2004 and with the idealized memory of Ronnie and Nancy Reagan still very much on Polly’s and Lyman’s minds. As if they need another reason to wrangle with Brooke, she’s a confirmed liberal.

Sean Murray directs a show that is taut with interpersonal tension but not without its laughs.

U-T arts and dining stories you may have missed this week

Comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan will perform on the same bill March 27 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. (JS Touring)

UCTV

University of California Television invites you to enjoy this special selection of programs from throughout the University of California. Descriptions courtesy of and text written by UCTV staff:

“Pinar Yoldas: ‘Synaptic Sculpture’”

How can art shape the way we think about the future — our brains, our environment, and artificial intelligence? In “Synaptic Sculpture”, her latest exhibition at ICA San Diego, Pinar Yoldas, Ph.D., blends digital tools, biotechnology, and speculative design to explore these questions. From AI-driven storytelling to sculptures reflecting the brain’s evolving neural connections, her work challenges us to rethink the relationship between technology and nature. Highlights include “Kitty AI,” where an artificial intelligence embodied as a cat governs the world, and “Biodegradable Futures,” which envisions sustainable solutions using algae-based architecture. Through interactive installations and digital media, Yoldas invites us to imagine bold new possibilities for our technological and biological landscapes.

“Ancestral Pathways: Exploring the Indigenous Roots of Regeneration”

Explore the vital contributions of Indigenous practices to modern agriculture in this dynamic discussion. Experts highlight traditional ecological knowledge, addressing how Indigenous wisdom informs sustainable farming and strengthens food sovereignty. The conversation also examines gaps in food access and the need for equitable solutions. See how Indigenous perspectives, combined with contemporary innovations, are shaping resilient food systems and fostering collaboration for a more sustainable future.

“Reaching for the Sky: Materials in Extreme Environments”

From aircraft to spacecraft, advanced materials are essential for withstanding extreme temperatures, forces, and chemical environments. Traditionally, developing these materials has been a slow and costly process, requiring precise control at the atomic level. Tresa Pollock, Alcoa Distinguished Professor of Materials at UC Santa Barbara, explores groundbreaking tools and techniques that accelerate materials discovery. See how new approaches are transforming the design of high-performance materials, enabling innovations in aerospace, satellite communication, and space exploration.