Top photo by Ian MacKinnon

FRIDAY, October 21
The sibling architect firm Greene & Greene launched the Arts and Crafts movement
on the West Coast with 1908’s Gamble House, a model of Japanese and nature-influenced
simplicity that stood out from its stodgy Victorian peers like a beacon of the
future. This weekend you can see the Gamble House, and a lot more, at the 14th
annual Pasadena Heritage Craftsman Weekend, a dizzying package that includes
bus and walking tours of key Craftsman-era homes; lectures; a Fine Arts and Furnishings
Show; and a private tour and reception at the historic Batchelder House, where
the new magazine Arts and Crafts Homes will be launched, followed by a
three-course dinner at the elegant Bistro 45. Various locations throughout
Pasadena; Fri.-Sun., Oct. 21-23; individual events $25-$145. (626) 441-6333, www.pasadenaheritage.org.

In the mood for commedia dell’arte? Try Arlecchino, Servant of Two Masters,
Carlo Goldoni’s classic 1745 farce about a conniving servant who’s really the
master of the house. The great Italian actor Ferruccio Soleri plays Arlecchino,
a role he has made his own for over 45 years. That’s even better than Yul Brynner
in The King and I! UCLA, Freud Playhouse, Westwood; Fri., Oct. 21, 8
p.m.; Sat., Oct. 22, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 23, 2 p.m.; preceded by performance
discussions; $38 & $55. (310) 825-2101, (213) 365-3500, www.UCLALive.org.


SATURDAY, October 22
Marnie Weber’s “new, modern, surreal opera,” The Spirit Girls, Songs That
Never Die, tells the story of five adolescent-girl ghosts who put on a
rock musical. But even though they plaster the town with posters, nobody comes
— “because they’re dead and nobody can see the posters, or them.” O-Kay. Cal
State L.A., Luckman Intimate Theater, 5151 State University Dr.; Sat., Oct. 22,
8 p.m.; $10. (323) 343-6600, www.luckmanarts.org.

To hell with Halloween’s fake spooks. Go for the real thing at the Art Deco Society’s
21st Annual Hollywood Forever Cemetery Tour. You just might meet the cemetery’s
most kinetic resident, Rudolph Valentino, who’s said to do a lot of wandering
around. 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Sat., Oct. 22, tours depart every
15 minutes from 10 a.m. to noon; $13. (310) 659-3326, www.adsla.org.

SUNDAY, October 23
When the TV Land Awards gave Charles Lane — the ancient character actor whose
career has spanned everything from Gold Diggers of 1933 and Mr. Deeds
Goes to Town to Bewitched and The Andy Griffith Show — a 100th-birthday
tribute this past spring, he responded from his wheelchair with just six words:
“If anyone’s interested, I’m still available!” It looks like he wasn’t kidding.
Lane appears in person at another 100th-birthday tribute: the American Cinematheque’s
screening of 1962’s The Music Man, in which he played Constable
Locke. Aero Theater, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Sun., Oct. 23, 4 p.m.;
$9, $7 students & seniors. (323) 466-FILM, www.aerotheatre.com.


MONDAY, October 24
Tonight, the Jack H. Skirball screening series presents an L.A. premiere revival
of a new print of Marguerite Duras’ 1975 masterpiece, India Song,
an experimental tour de force about a vice consul driven mad by love that pushes
the relationship of sound and image to its outer limits. The separately recorded
soundtrack interweaves ambient sound, music and Duras’ prose, and intentionally
confuses the viewer as to whose voice belongs to which character, and when actual
events are occurring. But in the case of Duras, confusion rarely equals boredom.
REDCAT, Walt Disney Concert Hall Complex, W. Second & Hope sts., downtown;
Mon., Oct. 24, 8 p.m.; $8, $6 students. (213) 237-2800, www.redcat.org.


TUESDAY, October 25
If you’ve never been to the incredible Brand Library and Art Galleries, here’s a good excuse: the current exhibit of art to wear and fiber arts titled “Opulent Splendor: A Celebration of Ornamentation, Pattern and Fantasy Through Painting, Fiber Art, Costume and Fashion.” Highlights include a display of art to wear from the Fairfield and Bernina Fashion Shows, and “Feat of Clay,” a collection of polymer clay “shoes.” But the 1904 Moorish Revival surroundings are just as interesting as the exhibit itself. 1601 W. Mountain Ave., Glendale; Tues. & Thurs., 1-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 1-5 p.m.; Wed., 1-6 p.m.; thru Nov. 23; free. (818) 548-2051.


WEDNESDAY, October 26
He won the 2004 Munich International Music Competition, and if there were a World’s
Cutest Violist Competition, he’d probably win that too. Twenty-something French
viola superstar Antoine Tamestit (check out those dimples!) has already
captivated audiences around the world with his virtuosity, passion and exuberance,
all of which will be on display tonight when he performs works by Schubert, Rachmaninoff,
Shostakovich, Enescu and Joseph Achron, accompanied by nothing-to-sneeze-at-either
pianist Markus Hadulla. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center
Court Dr.; Wed., Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m.; $20, $10 students, seniors & teachers. (800)
300-4345, www.cerritoscenter.com.

THURSDAY, October 27
The Discount Cruise to Hell, an evening of “life-ending entertainment and
acid-flashback Broadway nightmare come true,” is sort of like Rocky Horror
meets The Poseidon Adventure: The audience has died and is going to Hell
on a cruise ship, where they get to watch a horror show/choir lounge act that
presumably beats all hell. Performers include Eric Alton Clay (The Drew Carey
Show, Providence), Jeff Gonzalez from Days of Our Lives, Shakespeare
festival veteran Danny Hill, Reno 911’s Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Japanese
standup sensation Junko. The musical satire tells the story of the evil Devil
Baby and is “full frontal.” Bring those superpowered binoculars! Highways,
1651 18th St., Santa Monica; Thurs. & Fri., Oct. 27 & 28, 8:30 p.m.; $15. (310)
315-1459, www.highwaysperformance.org.

Libby Molyneaux is on vacation, having a Hoopla of a time.

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