La Jolla Light’s Best Bets for events: April 19

Listen and Learn

Astrophysicist Brian Keating will discuss “Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition and the Perils of Science’s Highest Honor,” 5:30 p.m. April 25 on the UCSD campus, Atkinson Hall Auditorium, 9500 Gilman Drive (Voight Drive at Equality Lane). Keating’s book tells the story of how the Nobel Prize, instead of advancing scientific progress may actually hamper it, encouraging speed and greed while punishing collaboration. Keating offers solutions for reforming the prize. Free. losing_the_nobel_prize.eventbrite.com

The Athenaeum’s Dialogues in Art & Architecture opens with “The Aesthetics of Resistance,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 25 at 1008 Wall St. Talks will cover the experimental edge of new art and architecture, addressing design, urban planning, public culture, changing ecology, and the artist’s perspective on these issues. Robert Pincus moderates, with USD professors Sally Yard (art history) and Can Bilsel (architecture). Free. (858) 454-5872. ljathenaeum.org

“California’s Gilded Age,” a wine-tasting and lecture series, looks at a time when the new wealth associated with the Transcontinental Railroad-era created epic hotels and marvelous restaurants, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 26 at La Jolla Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd. New world wines from Barbara Baxter, editor of Planet Wine. Tickets: $30-$35. RSVP: (858) 459-0831. ljcommunitycenter.org

Concerts To Catch

Enjoy an intimate concert featuring Franky Romeo’s smooth vocals, where he will also showcase his skills on the keys, 7 p.m. Friday, April 20 at La Jolla Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd. $20. Bites and beverages for sale. (858) 459-0831. ljcommunitycenter.org

The Jefferson Jay Band, Collin Ready and Rob Deez help conclude the 10th anniversary of the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library’s Acoustic Evening Series, 7:30 p.m. Friday April 20 at 1008 Wall St. Tickets: $12-$17. (858) 454-5872. ljathenaeum.org/acoustics

Happy Birthday, Billy!

To celebrate William Shakespeare’s birthday (sometime between April 23 and April 26, 1564), La Jolla Theatre Ensemble will perform two Shakespeare-inspired plays: “The Dark Lady of the Sonnets” and “Shakes v. Sav,” along with two pieces by Mark Twain, 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21 and 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 24 at La Jolla Library, 7555 Draper Ave. Free. (858) 552-1657. lajollalibrary.org

Playhouse Production

The world premiere Without Walls (WoW) production of “What Happens Next,” by Naomi Iizuka, takes the stage 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. weekends (two shows Saturday) April 19-29 at the Challenged Athletes Foundation, 9591 Waples St., San Diego. In “What Happens Next,” Bonnie, an idealistic but inexperienced acting teacher, finds herself paired with a group of veterans as part of a drama therapy program. Inspired by stories shared by the military community. $20 with discounts. (858) 550-1010. lajollaplayhouse.org

Art To Explore

“The Agency of Art,” an exhibit that highlights the role of UCSD Visual Arts alumni from the past two decades (as shapers of the way art engages with social practice) is on view through May 17 in the Mandeville Center, 9500 Gilman Drive (at Mandeville Lane). (858) 534-2230. visarts.ucsd.edu

The work of Yve Laris Cohen, in his first solo museum exhibit on the West Coast, takes as his starting point MCASD La Jolla’s current expansion; just as Sherwood Auditorium is transformed into a gallery, the artist transforms a gallery into Sherwood Auditorium. See it through Sept. 2 at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 1001 Kettner Blvd. gallery downtown. (858) 454-3541. mcasd.org

In “Dear 1968 …” artist Sadie Barnette mines personal and political histories using family photographs, recent drawings, and selections from the file that the FBI amassed after her father joined the Black Panther Party in 1968. The exhibition takes its title from Barnette’s large-scale drawing, which reads “Dear 1968,” “Love, 1984.” The exhibit opens April 19 and is on view through Sept. 2 at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 1001 Kettner Blvd., downtown San Diego. (858) 454-3541. mcasd.org

Gem Faire

Exhibitors from all over the world will be on site with jewelry, crystals, gemstones, beads, minerals, fossils and more at this year’s Gem Faire, noon to 6 p.m. Friday, April 20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 21 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday April 22, Scottish Rite Event Center, 1895 Camino del Rio South, Mission Valley. $7 weekend admission. (503) 252-8300. gemfaire.com