7:30pm / Theater

Frank Langella headlines as the obsessed patriarch in “The Father,” August Strindberg’s ferocious drama about a brilliant and erratic cavalry captain and his wife in conflict, which opened Wednesday at the Geffen Playhouse.

* “The Father,” Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood, Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 and 8:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends May 3. $23-$37.50. (310) 208-5454; (800) 678-5440.

8pm Dance

“Sole/Soul,” the Fountain Theatre’s five-week festival of percussive dance, continues with “Flamenco Talavera,” a program directed by and featuring the veteran, locally based Spanish dance specialist Juan Talavera. Other artists include dancers Gabriella Garza, Sylvia Morales, Alonzo Serrano, Veronica Gonzales and Carmela Arce. Guitarists Guillermo Rios and Jose Tanaka are also participating, along with singer Charo Monge, percussionist Makoto Saito and special guest Pepa Sevilla (“the flamenco fireball”). Besides his frequent performances on Southland stages, Talavera can be seen in the recent films “Death in Madrid” and “Ringer.”

* “Flamenco Talavera,” Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Hollywood. Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m. $30. (213) 663-1525.

8:15pm Pop Music

Erykah Badu made an emphatic arrival last year, but Mary J. Blige, the decade’s reigning R&B; hip-hop diva, withstood the challenge, matching Badu’s 2 million-plus album sales with her third record, “Share My World.” Blige is joined on her current tour by teen heartthrob Usher.

* Mary J. Blige and Usher, Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. Also Friday. $43-$53. (818) 622-4440.