BEST BETS: NOVEMBER 22-28, 1998

Movies

“Home Fries” stars Drew Barrymore in an offbeat romantic comedy about two brothers after the same woman, more or less. Barrymore plays a young woman in a small town who is pregnant by a married man--who winds up dead. The film, also starring Catherine O’Hara, opens Wednesday in general release.

Theater

Yes, it’s Dickens season again and two notable “Christmas Carols”--with notable Scrooges--are coming up. Orson Bean reprises his “bah, humbug” role for Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, opening Saturday; that same day, performances begin of South Coast Repertory’s 19th annual staging in Costa Mesa, starring Hal Landon Jr., above.

Music

The members of Sequentia, in celebration of the 900th birthday of 12th century abbess-composer-thinker Hildegard von Bingen, bring their staged version of her “Ordo Virtutum,” a drama of the soul’s search for meaning, to Mount St. Mary’s College for two performances, today and Monday, in the campus’ appropriately Gothic Mary chapel.

Pop Music

In hip-hop, it used to be either East Coast or West Coast, but these days such outposts as New Orleans, Memphis and Atlanta are making their share of noise too. The Atlanta-based duo OutKast, right, will display its sense of sonic and lyrical adventure on Wednesday night at the House of Blues.

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When he was a kid he wanted to be Alice Cooper, but instead he became Rob Zombie. The horror-rock singer’s longtime enterprise White Zombie has disbanded, and now he’s on his own with a solo album, “Hellbilly Deluxe,” and a tour that comes to the Orange Pavilion on Wednesday.

Architecture

Visitors to Pasadena’s historic Gamble House will receive an added bonus as the Craftsman mansion expands its hours for the winter holidays and offers rare self-guided tours. Visitors can view the Greene-and-Greene-designed landmark at their own pace on Friday and Saturday with additional self-guided tours scheduled for Christmas and New Year’s.

Video

Eddie Murphy’s version of “Doctor Dolittle” was a surprise summer hit. Very, very loosely based on the Hugh Lofting stories, the crass comedy may not be the right medicine for everyone. It finds Murphy, above, playing the doctor who can talk with the animals. The “Doctor” is in--video stores, that is--on Tuesday.

Jazz

Trumpeter Conte Candoli, a superior bop soloist since the mid-1940s, has long been taken for granted due to his reliability and consistency. However, longtime fans know how exciting a player he still is. Candoli heads a quartet in a pair of post-Thanksgiving performances at Club Brasserie this Friday and Saturday.

Pop Music: In hip-hop, it used to be either East Coast or West Coast, but these days such outposts as New Orleans, Memphis and Atlanta are making their share of noise too. The Atlanta-based duo OutKast, right, will display its sense of sonic and lyrical adventure on Wednesday night at the House of Blues.

Video: Eddie Murphy’s version of “Doctor Dolittle” was a surprise summer hit. Very, very loosely based on the Hugh Lofting stories, the crass comedy may not be the right medicine for everyone. It finds Murphy, above, playing the doctor who can talk with the animals. The “Doctor” is in--video stores, that is--on Tuesday.