FRIDAY, July 14

Get ready to be saved — Tammy Faye Starlite is back to spread the word of her fave hunk on a cross with Tammy Faye Starlite’s Gospel Tour 2K6! And if that sounds blasphemous, you’d better stay far, far away and let the rest of us heathens sway to “God Has Lodged a Tenant in My Uterus.” Tammy Faye may be the really bad Dixie Chick, or a lost character from Nashville, and she always brings a crackerjack band for her rousing and spiritual love-ins that will leave you in need of a good gin-based baptizing. Cavern Club Theater, 1920 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake; Fri.-Sat., July 14-15, 9 p.m.; $15. (323) 969-2530 or www.cavernclubtheater.com.

SATURDAY, July 15

Here’s another musical/country-fried/comedy/cornpone, uh, thing. A reader from Brooklyn — yes, Hoopla is huge in the 718 — tips us off to Hail the Size, which he describes as “The Smothers Brothers meets Hee Haw . . . with lead singer Charles Ezell a cross between a young John Belushi and John Prine.” Musicians J’Anna Jacoby (fiddle player for Dixie Chicks), Kristian Hoffman and Maria McKee dig ’em too. Fake Gallery, 4319 Melrose Ave.; Sat., July 15, 9 p.m.; $5. (323) 661-0786.

ArtNight at 18th Street — the art event safe for people who think they don’t like art events — offers the chance to visit the studios of three international artists, Chou Meng-Yeh from Taiwan, Stephen Haley from Australia and Shawn Hall from New Orleans (well, she probably has a passport). Legendary lesbian folk singer Phranc will do the Phranc thing she’s been doing since John and Exene were newlyweds, and artist Jamie McMurry will perform some sorta site-specific art thing. 1639 18th St., Santa Monica; Sat., July 15, 5-8:30 p.m.; free. (310) 453-3711.

Once again, the Steve Allen Theater is the site for entertainment the whole family can be appalled/horrified/enlightened/tickled by. It’s a drive-in screening of the comedy/horror blaxploitation classic Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil’s Son-in-Law, starring the irrepressible Rudy Ray Moore as a young man at a turning point in his life. Martial arts are involved. And Satan. And we hear Mr. Moore will be appearing for a Q&A session after the film. Steve Allen Theater at the Center for Inquiry–West, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Sat., July 15, 8 p.m.; $10. (800) 595-4TIX.

SUNDAY, July 16

Forget your troubles, c’mon get chapati. Think those crazy, colorful dance sequences in Bollywood movies look like fun? Wait till you see the action live onstage in Bollywood Night: A.R. Rahman & Musafir. Rahman, known as India’s reigning movie composer, leads the work in one rousing sensory overload of music, dance and film clips, with performances by Sukhwinder Singh, Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam, Madhushree, Anisha Nagarajan, Global Rhythms, Raagapella, Musafir and more. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood; Sun., July 16, 7 p.m.; cheap bench seats still available. (323) 850-2000.

MONDAY, July 17

The good work at the Women’s Clinic & Family Counseling Center is in danger due to lack of funding. That’s nothing to laugh about, but thanks to the very funny and generous gals behind 4 Women for Women, we can get some chuckles and help those in need. Julia Sweeney hosts this evening of comedy and stories featuring Melanie Chartoff, Laraine Newman, Ann Randolph and Terrie Silverman, who all promise to make this a perfectly painless evening of things that are good and hilarious. The Hayworth Theater, 2511 Wilshire Blvd.; Mon., July 17, 8 p.m.; reception at 6:30 p.m.; $100. www.virtuous.com.

TUESDAY, July 18

Speaking of L.A. women, the Lab101 Gallery’s new exhibit, “L.A. Women,” features photographs by Esteven Oriol, Mr. Cartoon, Patrick Hoelck, Tony Ward and the Weekly’s Gregory Bojorquez. Weekly writer Ben Quiñones says, “His subjects were characters who attended hip-hop functions and rap gatherings,” to which we respond, “What’s the difference between a hip-hop function and a rap gathering?” The Lab101 Gallery, 8530-B Washington Blvd., Culver City; July 15-Aug. 15; reception Sat., July 15, 7-10 p.m.; free. (310) 558-0911.

WEDNESDAY, July 19

Open wide for Taking the Jesus Pill. How does one describe Charlie Terrell’s “Southern Gothic tale of sin and redemption about a snake-handling preacher, his alcoholic wife and wild-ass daughter”? Southern Culture on the Skids meets Jesus Christ Superstar? Sorta, but it’s wilder and nastier. Before the show, characters implore you to drink while sexy ladies bump and grind, and an air of Anne Rice–ian haunted-house foreboding takes over. The plot’s a little “Ribald and the Beautiful” and the whole thing’s a little too long, but overall the music and production make for one intense experience. The show’s produced by Polly Parsons (Gram’s kid), and there’s an eerie, tumbleweed aura about it that has much in common with her father’s songwriting.King King, 6555 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Wed., 9 p.m., thru Aug. 2; $25. (323) 960-9234 or www.takingthejesuspill.com.

THURSDAY, July 20

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is back in town — and you know what that means. Yep, next week we’ll be running angry letters from people opposed to Asian elephants dancing to hip-hop. This year, the 136th, we’re promised “the biggest changes in over 50 years,” including a circusy storyline, American Idol finalist Jennifer Fuentes, Broadway belter Chuck Wagner, plus all the dazzling three-ring action your stomach can stand. Staples Center, 11th & Figueroa sts., downtown, July 19-23; Arrowhead Pond, July 26-Aug. 6; $14-$37, $50 front row, $84 “circus celebrity.” See ticketmaster.com for thoroughly confusing show schedule.?

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