CALENDAR’S SUMMER SPLASH II : Take an artful plunge to escape the grit and the grunge.

Check the pages that follow for some monster acts,

Which include, at the keyboard, Emanuel Ax.

The man from Margaritaville returns to L.A.,

Plus Oingo Boingo and Mel Torme.

There’ll be “The War Against Women” and Simon Rattle,

“Speed-the-Plow,” “Rumors,” and Kathleen Battle.

The “Man of La Mancha” with Marilyn McCoo,

And at Garden Grove Shakespeare, that play, “Much Ado.”

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes are back on the scene,

Who’s this Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens?

Dame Cathy Rigby will be Peter Pan,

And at County Museum, Renoir and Cezanne.

There’ll be “Cobb” as in Ty, the Mums and Erasure;

“Bus Stop” in Pasadena, Brian Friel at the Taper;

Don Henley, Dave Byrne and Shirley MacLaine;

Kotaro Nakamura and Cleo Laine.

Michael Feinstein on tour with his Gershwin recital;

“Viva Detroit”--there’s a ‘90s title.

In Solvang, Oscar Wilde will have something to say;

Jean Stapleton headlines “Oklahoma!,” OK!

At the Getty, the Dutch (Rembrandt and Van Dyck);

San Diego salutes Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright;

Viveca Vazquez is coming to LACE;

Janet Jackson will take up a week’s worth of space.

At Cal State, the dancers Craig, Love and Strickler;

Sinead O’Connor and the great Misha Dichter.

“Heartbeats,” “Hamlet,” and “The American Popess”;

Grand Kabuki, Lynn Harrell and that Mussorgsky opus.

Milli Vanilli, the Bolshoi Ballet,

The L.A. Phil, fireworks and Cab Calloway.

At MOCA, the Bronx artist Timothy Rollins;

At the Forum five nights, who else but Phil Collins?

That Baker girl aches at the Greek with desire;

Tony Bennett gets down with the O.C. Choir;

“Singin’ in the Rain,” conducted by Doc,

And in San Bernardino, Labor Day rock.

“Le Sacre du Printemps,” the one by Stravinsky,

And Renaissance drawings from Raphael and Da Vinci.

Dance from Down Under and “Miss Evers’ Boys”;

From Zeppelin, Bob Plant, who majored in noise;

The Mozart Camerata, and Alicia de L,

Mandy Patinkin and Barbara Mandrell;

Danny Glover on stage at L.A.T.C.;

Andre Watts at the Bowl with Skrowaczewski

Out of the past comes the comic Red Skelton;

Out of Nashville, the Judds and Ricky Van Shelton.

New Music in Ojai, as always this year;

From Motown, old Smokey with the tracks of his tears.

There’s a Ray Bradbury story that someone has scored;

It will be hard this summer to claim that you’re bored.

And don’t forget: “A Chorus Line’s” back,

Ditto “Our Town,” John Williams and Fleetwood Mac!