GO LA: Rum, Sodomy and John Waters’ Filthy World

For Celebrate Dance 2009, she has ferreted out an intriguing lineup of local ensembles for a one-night performance that rewards both L.A. dance fans and the participating dance troupes. Audiences enjoy an affordable curated sampler of established and emerging local dance while the companies benefit from being presented in a major venue with top-notch production elements and promotion that individual companies can seldom afford.

This year, nine companies take the stage, with styles ranging from hip-hop (Jacob “Kujo” Lyons’ Lux Aeterna Dance Company) and jazz (Nathan Hodges’ RhetOracle Dance Company) to ballet (Josie Walsh’s MyoKyo and Erin Holt’s California Contemporary Ballet) and Brazilian (Viver Brasil Dance Company) and lots of contemporary dance (Holly Johnston’s Ledges and Bones Dance Project; Method Contemporary; Keith Johnson/Dancers;  and Deborah Rosen and Dancers). Lots of talent assembled under one roof and for one night only.

Aimee Semple McPherson

Coping: Mary Apick

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• Alice Johnson
• Tom Davis
• Martha Argerich
• The Pogues
• Dance

Alex Theater, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale; Sat., March 14, 8 p.m.; $17-$35. (818) 243-2539 or www.alextheatre.org.  —Ann Haskins

Tours

HOUSES OF THE HOLY ROLLERS

From the If-You-Build-It-They-Will-Come Dept., the Los Angeles Conservancy’s Modern Committee  brings us “City of the Seekers: L.A.’s Unique Spiritual Legacy.” It’s a one-time-only tour of religious sites, including Angelus Temple, where Aimee Semple McPherson started her Foursquare Gospel Church. Okay, that one’s a given, but then you’ll see the Bonnie Brae House in Filipinotown, where the  modern Pentecostal movement started, and Chapel of the Jesus Ethic at the Foundation of Niscience in Glendale.  You’ll also do a praise-by of the Mission Revival–inspired Self-Realization Fellowship Mother Center in the former Mount Washington Hotel on the crest of Mount Washington. And in case you were wondering, there will be no inclusion of any Scientology structures, since we all know what a bogus nonreligion that shit is.

Call for meeting spot; Sat., March 14, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; $30.  (213) 623-2489.  —L.M.

Comedy

CRACK UP, WRITE A CHECK, GO HOME

It feels good to guffaw, right? Not only does tossing your head back, dropping your jaw and letting loose with some real diaphragm-shaking laughs relieve stress and burn calories (40 for every 10 minutes, says science), but doing so this weekend will also improve things on a karmic level. Doris Roberts — Momma Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond — hosts A Night of Comedy VII, the annual top-talent event that benefits the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. And if that combo isn’t reason enough to crack open the ol’ checkbook, she’ll be joined by TV offspring Ray Romano, Kevin James (The King of Queens), Bob Saget (The Aristocrats), Jeffrey Ross (March 15’s Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy) and Bryan Callen (original cast member of MADtv). With the official literature boasting an evening of “fun and frivolity,” chances are good that the gags will be kept relatively clean; all in all, an evening your grandma, therapist and accountant — don’t forget, those charity write-offs come April 15 — can support wholeheartedly.

Entry is limited to 21 and over; get pledge forms at www.caaf4kids.org or by calling (312) 580-1150. Wilshire Theater, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; Sat., March 14, 8 p.m.; $30-$125. (213) 480-3232.  —Julie Seabaugh

SUNDAY, MARCH 15

Kids

IN-ZANITY ENSUES!

Dan Zanes is a very cute man with a smile that says, “Come dance with us.” His band members are also especially adorable, and look like they buy all their clothes at a thrift store in Wonkaville. If that doesn’t make you want to hokey your pokey like a goofy caterpillar, nothing will. Zanes doesn’t come to town enough, though I know a 7-year-old who has grown up on his multi-culti-patchwork Amerirocko. This kid can sing all the words to “Rock Island Line” and has banged his head — literally, there was blood — to “All Around the Kitchen.” Zanes’ shows are so much fun, you’ll want to figure out how to stunt your kids’ growth so you can go every year! Wait — did I just type that?

Royce Hall, UCLA; Sat., March 14, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m.; Sun., March 15, 11 a.m.; $25, $15 kids 12 & under. (310) 825-2101.  —L.M

MONDAY, MARCH 16

Theater

OY, VEIL

This week in cut-’n’-paste blurbstruction: “Intense and realistic, equally involved with personal stories and social issues, Beneath the Veil takes us inside a slice of life in the Middle East we rarely see, and makes our time there hard to shake off. But though societal pressures are a key aspect of the play, it is first and foremost a gritty yet comedic glimpse into private lives, and how women cope with stresses that are at once personal, cultural and political, anxieties that have complicated causes and no easy answers. The portrait of life is grim but Mary Apick delights with mimetic detail, empathy and the deep drama of sheer human survival. Add to the mix hypnotic dance sequences to a drumbeat, choreographed by Apick and performed and featuring a live vocal performance by international singing sensation Shãni Rigsbee.”