Best Bets: Thurs 10/29

All day: Photography

“A Practical Dreamer: Photographs of Man Ray,” a survey of works by the American expatriate that opened this week at the J. Paul Getty Museum, focuses on the artist’s long career, from his beginnings in New York to his final years in Paris. The exhibition is unique in its significant display of photographs from the artist’s Los Angeles period. Man Ray is best known as a Dadaist and Surrealist and as a member of the Lost Generation in Paris. His private journal, “The Hollywood Album,” will be on display as will images of the California coastline, architectural studies and intimate portraits from the period.

* “A Practical Dreamer: Photographs of Man Ray.” J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood. Ends Jan. 17. Museum hours: Tuesday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission free; parking, $5, reservations required. (310) 440-7300.

All day: Museums

The powerful impact of music is addressed in the traveling Smithsonian exhibition “Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions” opening today at the California African-American Museum. Created to increase public understanding and appreciation of the genre, the survey will explore the worldwide cultural impact of African American spirituals and hymns, illustrated by vintage photographs, early record albums, maps and sheet music.

* “Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions.” California African-American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park. Ends Dec. 27. Museum hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission free. (213) 744-7432.

7:30 pm: Theater

The West Coast premiere of Martin McDonagh’s acclaimed drama “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” directed by Joe Dowling, opens at the Geffen Playhouse. The comic tale, set in 1934 on an island off Ireland’s coast, is about the effect upon the islanders of the filming of a docudrama about noble fishermen. Ends Nov. 22.

* “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 and 8:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Also 2 p.m. on Nov. 11; matinee only, Nov. 15. Ends Nov. 22. $30-$40; Nov. 11, $25-$40. (310) 208-5454.