WEEKEND FORECAST

L.A. Times Archives

May 31, 2007 12 AM PT

TODAY

BOOKS

Rickles reflects

The legendary insult comic often referred to as “Mr. Warmth,” Don Rickles, shares his insights and reflections in his new memoir, “Rickles’ Book.” Perhaps surprisingly, it’s a feel-good autobiography brimming with stories about the luminaries who populated his world: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Johnny Carson and Bob Newhart. And let’s not forget the audiences of the last 50 years who have been savaged by his razor-sharp, merciless wit.

Don Rickles, Book Soup, 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 7 tonight. (310) 659-3110.

FRIDAY

MOVIES

The globalchallenge

Set in the capital of Mali, filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako’s “Bamako” takes aim at globalization. Questioning the effects of Western institutions such as the World Bank on the economies of Africa, the film weaves courtroom rhetoric with the story of a family -- a singer, her husband and young daughter. Danny Glover has a cameo and is an executive producer.

“Bamako,” unrated, opens Friday exclusively at Landmark’s Nuart, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. (310) 281-8223.

THEATER

A classic at SCR

Hamish Linklater plays the brooding Prince of Denmark in South Coast Repertory’s first production of Shakespeare’s epic tragedy “Hamlet.” The classically trained Linklater (Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ slacker brother in “The New Adventures of Old Christine”) headlines a veteran cast that includes Robert Foxworth, Dakin Matthews, Michael Urie, Richard Doyle, Hal Landon Jr. and Linda Gehringer.

“Hamlet,” South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. $28 to $60. (714) 708-5555. www.scr.org

* Runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 8 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays; ends July 1.

SATURDAY

THEATER

Fun with opera buffs

Irish playwright Bernard Farrell sets his new comedy, “The Verdi Girls,” in Milan, Italy, where opera aficionados from around the world gather for an annual Verdi Weekend. The highlight of the visit: the Verdi Quiz, sparking fierce passions that rival those of the participants’ operatic idol. A world premiere commissioned by the playhouse.

“The Verdi Girls,” Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Opens 8 p.m. Saturday. $25 to $65. (949) 497-2787. www.lagunaplayhouse.com

* Runs 8 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; ends July 1.

EVENTS

High style for a mile

Here’s your chance for a glimpse of the luxurious life of culture and style you’ve only dreamed about. A mile-long stretch of more than 150 high-end interior design showrooms, art galleries, fashion boutiques, specialty shops and restaurants will stay open late for the 10th annual West Hollywood Art & Design Walk. Such prestigious names as Armani Casa, Stella McCartney, Kitson Men, Fendi Casa and Hamilton-Selway Fine Arts will participate. This late-afternoon soiree will also include food, drink, live entertainment and special displays. Parking meters in the area will not be enforced during the event. Proceeds will benefit inner-city art projects.

West Hollywood Art & Design Walk, centered around Robertson Boulevard between Beverly Boulevard and Melrose Avenue, and adjacent streets, West Hollywood. 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Free. (310) 407-3559.

www.avenuesartdesign.com.

ART

A female perspective

Aiming to bridge the gap between “Then” (the 1970s) and “Now” (the present), “Women Artists of Southern California Then and Now,” curated by Bruria Finkel, presents diverse works from the 30-odd years in between by 36 female artists, among them Nancy Buchanan, Barbara Carrasco, Carole Caroompas, Bernice Colman, Marion Estes, Robin Mitchell, Margaret Nielsen, Deborah Sussman and Ruth Weisberg. Readings and performances will be held in conjunction with the exhibition June 16; a panel discussion is set for closing night, June 30.

“Women Artists of Southern California Then and Now,” Track 16 Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., Building C1, Santa Monica. Opens Saturday. (310) 264-4678.

* Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Ends June 30.

JAZZ

An offbeat approach

The intermittent Jazz Funk Fest returns to an appropriate location for genre-busting music: the Sponto Gallery, once a legendary Beat Generation hangout called the Venice West Cafe. The Venice-based performers reach for a variety of influences in their music: Black Shoe Polish combines radical poetry with an attempted channeling of Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor. Freddy Ginns & Zebra Party embrace Mose Allison and Detroit funk. And the Vampors, with multi-instrumentalist Eric Ahlberg, claim inspiration from Public Enemy, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and John Coltrane.

Jazz Funk Fest, Sponto Gallery, 7 Dudley Ave., Venice. 7 p.m. Saturday. Free. (310) 306-7330.

EVENTS

Join the shoreline rendezvous

The grunion, a fish bearing a name that means “grunt” in Spanish for the sound it is said to make while spawning, spends an active and romantic few days after each full moon from March through August. The female and male grunion make a massive exodus to the shore one to three hours after high tide to lay and fertilize up to 3,000 eggs. After about 10 days of development, the eggs hatch and new grunion are born, to spend a year maturing to shore-swimming size. The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium presents Meet the Grunion, a set of two events

allowing visitors to watch the “grunion dance”

in vivo.

“Meet the Grunion,” Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro. Saturday, 10:20 p.m. to 12:20 a.m. $1 to $5. (310) 548-7562.

* Also June 16, 10:35 p.m. to 12.35 a.m.

SUNDAY

OPERA

It’s all in the family

Here’s a role you might say superstar tenor Placido Domingo was born to sing: Vidal Hernando, the self-sacrificing hero of Federico Moreno Torroba’s 1932 zarzuela, “Luisa Fernanda.” The composer employed the company owned by Domingo’s father and mother, Placido Domingo Sr. and Pepita Embil, to produce the Latin American tour of the work after World War II, with Placido Sr. singing Vidal opposite his wife’s Luisa. Now Domingo Jr. takes up the challenge with Maria Jose Montiel as Luisa in Los Angeles Opera’s presentation of Moreno Torroba’s popular Spanish operetta in a co-production with Teatro Real, Madrid and Washington National Opera.

“Luisa Fernanda,” Los Angeles Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Sunday. $30 to $220. (213) 972-8001. www.laopera.com.

* Also 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and June 12, 14, 16; 2 p.m. June 9, 10.

WORLD MUSIC

Ending with the new

Music director Grant Gershon and the versatile Los Angeles Master Chorale are concluding the chorale’s 43rd season by launching “L.A. Is the World,” a multiyear initiative to create new choral compositions. The first is the world premiere of “Sang” (the Farsi word for “stone”) by composer Eve Beglarian. The work, inspired by images of jewel-like stones, combines the chorale with featured artists Manoochehr Sadeghi playing the santur (a hammer dulcimer) and Pejman Hadadi on the Iranian tombak (a goblet-shaped drum).

Los Angeles Master Chorale, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Sunday, 7 p.m. $19 to $109. (800) 787-5262.

* Also Wednesday, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY

POP MUSIC

An elegant songbook, Burt’s way

Classical music has its Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, and when it comes to a distinctive, personal style, you could argue that pop’s Big B’s -- the Beatles, Bob and Brian -- should also include Burt, as in Bacharach. Working mainly with lyricist Hal David, the composer crafted a sophisticated, eccentric form of elegant pop song that found fruition in classic recordings by such singers as Jackie DeShannon (“What the World Needs Now Is Love”) and, principally, Dionne Warwick (“Walk On By,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” et al.) At Disney Hall, Bacharach will shuffle through the songbook, joined by a string section and eight-member band.

Burt Bacharach, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A., Tuesday, 8 p.m. $33 to $93. (323) 850-2000.