Things to Do in East Los Angeles

Put on your psychedelic platforms or groovy leisure suits, and treat your ears to the original disco masters in an outdoor venue that looks as if it's a pulsating disco-tastic space ship. With today's Groupon, $18 gets you one ticket to see Disco Fever 3 on September 27 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Hollywood Bowl ($35 value). The show features Kool & the Gang, Chic with Nile Rodgers, the Village People, and special guests Yvonne Elliman, Thelma Houston, and Maxine Nightingale. Rarely do such powerhouses of disco come together to get down and boogie in one venue, so you should go with your disco-lovin' hunnies and funky fans and get this Groupon.

Get a head start on All Hallow's Eve cosplay and horseplay with today's side deal: one VIP ticket to Halloween Eve Preview Night from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on October 30 at Marbella for $14 (a $25 value and a $3 will call fee included). Your VIP ticket gives you access to all four levels of Marbella, and given that dressing up and pretending to be something you're not is an American tradition dating back to the Spanish-American War, you can expect to enjoy killer costumes and top-quality people-watching long past the witching hour throughout the new venue.Is the “dracula” surrounded by sexy nurses? Monster Status: REAL. Only a real dracula is that charming.

Kinetic Theory helps aspiring clowns, acrobats, and plate spinners learn the dangling ropes of circus showmanship with its performance-training program. Led by veteran performers including Cirque du Soleil alums and professionally trained aerialists, the intro to circus arts course incorporates elements of aerial arts, acrobatics, physical training, and basic object skills such as clown-car repair to provide a well-rounded primer on big-top performance. Classes are kept small so students can focus on learning essential skills necessary for safe tumbling and performance, while also improving fitness with a dynamic workout. Kinetic Theory's spacious studio features sturdy safety mats beneath a variety of ropes, silk drapes, and trapezes that provide the playful nostalgia of a playground without the muckraking toddler politics. Introductory classes are held Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons for adults, while youth sessions take place Thursday afternoons for children as young as 6 years old.

Before guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen marks her historic Pasadena Symphony debut with a program that features Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, Grammy award-winning violinist James Ehnes showers the crowd with pulled and stuttered notes in a virtuosic performance of Korngold’s Violin Concerto. Having performed in more than 30 countries and appeared with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras, Ehnes tugs sonic rainbows from his stringed companion in a solo work that earned him Grammy, Juno, and Western Canadian Music awards. Captive audiences seated in Section B will have precious little time to slingshot their rose bouquets onto the stage before Mei-Ann Chen claims her place as the first woman to conduct the Pasadena Symphony’s assemblage of gifted musicians from the motion-picture industry.

The Dinner Detective's renowned troupe of talented actors engages audiences with an evening of laughs, intrigue, and suspense as mock murder accompanies a four-course meal where everyone in attendance is a suspect. A dressed-down cast of professional Hollywood- and Chicago-trained sleuths circulates through the crowd, sniffing out phony alibis and asking the hard questions to solve the mystery of each whodunit. Before the night is over, the fictional criminal is cuffed and the most accurately detecting diner takes home a prize package. The Dinner Detective leases out its gumshoes to clean up crime during private events such as fundraisers, family reunions, or embezzlement hearings. The thespians have sharpened their entertaining chops by performing for such Fortune 500 companies as Universal Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering.

Led by head coach Terry Murray and captain Dustin Brown, the 2010–11 LA Kings' gloved hands are firmly holding steady in the heart of the Western Conference standings. Watch as they attempt to solidify a spot in the playoffs behind sleek passes from Anze Kopitar and the deft puck-stopping of goalie Jonathan Quick. At a hockey game, you get the suspense of watching an object swish against a net (like in basketball or soccer), the thrill of rambunctious brawls (boxing), the elegance of ice skating, and the utter brutality of golf all combined into one action-packed event.