ENTERTAINMENT NEWS : ‘Adieu’ to a Songwriter : * Veteran actor-singer Noel Harrison will pay a musical tribute to Jacques Brel, one of France’s best-known entertainers, at a new theater in Studio City.

Actor and singer Noel Harrison was scheduled to unveil his award-winning show, “Adieu, Jacques . . . ,” a musical tribute to the late French singer and songwriter Jacques Brel, to San Fernando Valley audiences Thursday night at the new Ventura Court Theatre in Studio City.

Harrison, the son of late actor and theater legend Sir Rex Harrison, is probably best remembered for starring with Stephanie Powers in “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” television series in the mid-1960s and for his several Top 40 recordings, including the Academy Award-winning “Windmills of Your Mind” (1968).

More recently, he has performed roles in regional productions of various stage musicals, including Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady,” a role his father originated on Broadway.

Harrison has performed “Adieu, Jacques . . .” off and on since 1989. Last year, he won a Drama-Logue Award for his performance. In the show, Harrison, accompanying himself on the guitar, sings 15 of Brel’s compositions in French and provides an English translation.

Harrison has admired Brel’s work for more than 30 years.

“I saw him perform live in 1960,” Harrison said. “As a kid, I was attracted to French music, and I was very moved.”

Brel was born in the Flemish section of Belgium in 1929. His musical career began in the early 1950s, and he became one of France’s most successful entertainers. At the height of his popularity in 1967, he quit his music career to pursue other interests. He didn’t make another record until 1977, just months before he died of lung cancer.

Harrison is not the only one showcasing Brel’s songs in Los Angeles.

Another show featuring Brel’s music, “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well . . . and Living in Paris,” starring Teri Ralston, Jeff McCarthy, Jeffrey Rockwell and Sue Hull, is at the Hollywood Roosevelt Cinegrill in Hollywood.

This 1968 show, which has been produced many times and was also made into a feature film, is primarily responsible for introducing Brel to American audiences. An ensemble cast of four singers usually performs translations of 23 Brel compositions.

“Mine is a totally different show,” Harrison said. “People with an interest in Brel would enjoy both productions.”

Harrison’s show is the first mounted at the new Ventura Court Theatre. The theater management boasts of its new, state-of-the-art equipment, including computerized lighting and sound systems.

“Adieu, Jacques . . .” will run 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through May 28 at the theater, 12417 Ventura Ct., Studio City. Tickets are $15. Call (818) 763-3856.

THERE GOES THE BRIDE: The Cal State Northridge production of Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Blood Wedding” ( “Bodas de Sangre” ) continues tonight in the Little Theatre. The play, which will be presented in Spanish and English, is a co-production of the CSUN theater and foreign language departments.

The English version of the play will feature student actors from the theater arts department, and the Spanish version will be performed by foreign language students.

The two departments have been collaborating on annual productions since 1990, said Dorette Egilsson, a foreign language professor and professional actress who is the production’s director.

“I love Lorca,” Egilsson said. “It’s a real challenge for the actors.”

Lorca (1895-1936), one of Spain’s best-known modern poets and playwrights, was killed by Falangist soldiers in the opening days of the Spanish Civil War.

He wrote “Blood Wedding,” his most famous work, in 1933. The story is about a bride in an arranged marriage who runs away with her lover. The lover is subsequently murdered by the husband.

“ ‘Blood Wedding’ was picked because of its tremendous passion,” Egilsson said. “It awakens the tragic emotions of pity and terror, with the ultimate anguish of the mother and the bride.”

The English version will be presented at 8 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday. The Spanish version plays Thursday and May 13 to 15. There also are matinees. Tickets are $8, $6 senior citizens and $4 CSUN students. For a complete performance schedule, call (818) 885-3093.

AT THE MOVIES: Close to four months after the Northridge temblor, three movie theaters in the greater San Fernando Valley area remain closed due to earthquake damage: the General Cinema Center in Northridge, the United Artists Valley Plaza theater in North Hollywood and the Mann Sycamore theater in Simi Valley.

Of the three, the Mann theater seems closest to a reopening date. A Mann representative said that although a definite date has not been set, the theater is expected to reopen before summer.

United Artists officials in Colorado have scheduled July 1 as the reopening date of the Valley Plaza Theater.

“We had an extensive amount of seismic-upgrade work,” project manager Tim Ward said. “And we did some remodeling as well.”

Meanwhile, a General Cinema representative said no decision has been reached on whether the Northridge theater will reopen.

Because of the severe damage to Northridge Fashion Center, where the theater is located, company personnel have not been able to inspect the premises, so no decision has been made on its future.