Good morning, and welcome to the U-T Arts & Culture Newsletter.

I’m David L. Coddon, and here’s your guide to all things essential in San Diego’s arts and culture this week.

Television’s late-night talk shows need a shot of estrogen. Who better to deliver it than Chelsea Handler?

No disrespect to Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, the current 11:30 p.m. network hosts, but come on, it’s nearly 2023. What in the name of Joan Rivers (who hosted a late-night talk show on Fox back in the 1980s) are we waiting for?

Handler, who brings her “Vaccinated and Horny” standup tour to town Friday at the San Diego Civic Theatre, is well-qualified to preside over a late-night program. For seven years, she hosted a talk show (“Chelsea Lately”) on the E! network, followed by a couple more years with her “Chelsea” on Netflix. She’s also been a talk-show guest many times, so she knows what it’s like to sit on the other side of the desk.

The reach of the late-night talk-show host has changed with the evolution of the digital era. Where once practically everybody stayed up to hear Johnny Carson’s monologue, then later talked about it at work the next morning, the quips and observations of today’s late-night hosts instantaneously become memes or viral YouTube snippets. That’s a lot of influence on a meme- and viral-obsessed America.

Should the guys be having all the power and all the fun?

Chelsea Handler isn’t everybody’s cuppa, but she’d bring a different sensibility and a different voice to the 11:30 p.m. network time slot. In the meantime, in addition to Friday’s live show downtown, she’s got a new comedy special, “Revolution,” dropping Dec. 27 on Netflix.

Visual art

If Disneyland is the “Happiest Place on Earth,” “Banksyland” is … what? The “Edgiest Place on Earth”? Beginning this weekend and continuing through Dec. 18, the touring exhibition “Banksyland” is showcasing the work of the planet’s pre-eminent street artist at the onetime Adams Avenue Theater space in Normal Heights.

Graffiti to some, high art of political import to others, Banky’s images have been a subcultural phenomenon since the ‘90s, reflecting society with humor or darkness or a mixture of both. This exhibition highlights over 80 works by the unidentified British artist.

Tickets are limited, and I’m not just saying that.

READ MORE: Analysis: Banksyland and the proliferation of the immersive art ‘experience’

NOT pop music

Among the many technical achievements of the classic sci-film from 1956 “Forbidden Planet” was a score by Bebe and Louis Barron composed entirely of electronic sounds. No musical instruments were employed. The same can be said for the soundscape curated by Joe Cantrell for Project BLANK’s “Machine Music.”

This “Night of Electronic Sound” happens Saturday at 8 p.m. at Bread & Salt in Barrio Logan. Cantrell and others will fill the gallery space with new music created by electromechanical or electronic technology. Intrepid audiences, this one’s for you.

Classical music

Less than a month after staging its popular holiday show “All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” at St. James-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in La Jolla, local producers Bodhi Tree Concerts is teaming up with New York City Opera for performances of the music-theater work in Connecticut running through Saturday.

Bodhi Tree co-founders Walter and Diana DuMelle are the producers. You haven’t really heard “Silent Night” unless you’ve heard it in this show. Hear what I mean? Congrats to Bodhi Tree.

More visual art

If seeing “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” at the Old Globe Theatre has you in a Seussian mood, a trip to Solana Beach may be in order. The Exclusive Collections (or EC) Gallery there is exhibiting works by the great Theodor Geisel from “The Art of Dr. Seuss Collection” through Christmas Eve.

This show’s titled “Merry Grinchmas – The Art of Dr. Seuss.”

Incidentally, if you haven’t returned to the Globe to see yet again “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”, it runs through Dec. 31.

READ MORE ABOUT HOLIDAY SHOWS IN SAN DIEGO: San Diego holiday shows that’ll help knock the ‘bah, humbug’ out of you

Holiday pop music

When asked by Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to go with her to see Mel Torme in concert in the “Seinfeld” episode “The Jimmy,” Jerry retorts: “I can’t watch a man sing a song. They get all emotional, they sway. It’s embarrassing.”

I don’t know if he’ll be swaying, but Harry Connick, Jr. will be swinging Sunday night at the Civic Theatre downtown in a holiday concert that begins at 7. This man loves the holidays. “Make It Merry,” released just a couple of weeks ago, is Connick’s fourth yuletide album.

READ MORE ABOUT HOLIDAY CONCERTS IN SAN DIEGO: So much music to choose from! Holiday choices abound in San Diego this season

Theater

When someone says they grew up in the theater, it may conjure up visions of a youngster acting up a storm on stage. But for arts administrator Ahmed Kenyatta Dents, his love of the performing arts began behind the scenes.

Recently named associate artistic director at New Village Arts, an expanding and well-respected theater in Carlsbad, the San Diego native started “hanging out” at the historic Spreckels Theatre at a young age.

In a somewhat circuitous and decidedly unique route to New Village Arts, Dents donned many hats. He has been an administrator at the former San Diego Repertory Theatre; an on-air personality at a smooth-jazz radio station; founder and co-host of the pandemic-era online series “We Are Listening: A Live Salon About Black Artists’ Experiences in the Theatre Industry”; and a software-applications specialist for Tessitura, an arts-focused platform.

READ MORE: Ahmed Dents brings his unique work experience to expanding Carlsbad theater

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:

“Tribute to Arts and Humanities Producer John Menier”: It is with great sadness that we announce that the longtime UCSD-TV Arts and Humanities producer John Menier died in November after a brief illness. As one of the original television producers at UCSD-TV, he was instrumental in the launch of the station that grew to include the far-reaching UCTV. He worked with artists, musicians and arts organizations throughout San Diego to bring viewers around the world insights into the artistic process and masterful presentations of many musical and dance performances. His work has been recognized with several Emmy Awards along with numerous national video awards for both his productions and his craftsmanship. To celebrate John’s incredible work, we’ve collected many of the series he produced during his years at UCTV and UCSD-TV into one inspiring archive. He will be greatly missed.

“Social Disruption, Stress and Substance Use During the Pandemic”: There has been a sharp increase in unrest in America, even among normally upstanding, law-abiding citizens. Violence in public school board meetings, smash and grab looting incidents and unruly passengers on airplanes are just some examples of this uptick in social disruption. It begs the question: Why are people acting so weird? In this program, experts discuss what may be causing these new patterns of behavior, including the impact of COVID-19 and how that has led to increased opioid use and overdose deaths. Policymakers at the local, state and federal level are seeking solutions to address rising rates of substance misuse and addiction, as well as other social problems.

“Understanding Diversity in Autism Research”: Diversity is a hallmark in autism, yet autism research does not capture the full heterogeneity of individuals on the spectrum. Constance Smith-Hicks, M.D., Ph.D., Bradley Schlaggar, Ph.D., Ebony Holliday, Ph.D., and Omar Shanta discuss the current state of diversity research in autism and the roadblocks to include individuals of diverse backgrounds and abilities as participants in autism research as well as the strategies that could address these challenges.

And finally: Best weekend events

Here are the top events happening in the area from Thursday, Dec. 1 to Sunday, Dec. 4.

Coddon is a freelance writer.