all day / Movies

It’ll be a tough weekend at the box office for young adult moviegoers. Tough in a good way, that is. “Go,” director Doug Liman’s hotly anticipated follow-up to his 1996 sleeper hit “Swingers,” opens Friday, as does the Drew Barrymore romantic comedy “Never Been Kissed.” Barrymore plays a novice reporter who goes undercover at a Chicago high school to report on the teen scene. “Go” is an edgier look at a disparate group of Los Angeles twentysomethings.

* “Go,” rated R, and “Never Been Kissed,” rated PG-13, both open Friday in general release.

7pm: Dolls

Sponsored by Theriault’s, an East Coast auction house specializing in dolls, the three-day “Doll Cirque” will be a combination museum-style exhibit, auction and marketplace where visitors can purchase dolls, get free doll appraisals or merely admire the handiwork evidenced in the visages of dolls ranging in price from $100 to more than $10,000. Expect to see a 1912 Chinese baby doll from Germany, rare teddy bears and Barbies from the collections of the world’s top antique and collectible doll dealers.

* “Doll Cirque,” Universal City Hilton, 555 Universal Terrace Parkway, Universal City. Friday, 7 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon and 5 to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. $5. (800) 638-0422.

8pm: Theater

Davis Gaines, one of musical theater’s most popular tragic villains--he played the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera” a record-breaking 2,000 times--will perform an intimate evening of pop standards and Broadway show tunes with a three-piece ensemble led by music director David Lai.

* “Davis Gaines in Concert,” Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Cal State Long Beach, 6200 Atherton St., 8 p.m. $21 to $27. (562) 985-7000.

8pm: Theater

“Heartbreak House,” George Bernard Shaw’s prescient apocalyptic comedy, explores the role of courage in the face of uncertainty as several eccentrics, looking for elusive answers, are brought together at a seaside estate.

* “Heartbreak House,” A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m. Also April 18, 2 and 7 p.m.; April 24, 8 p.m.; April 25, 2 p.m.; April 29 and 30, 8 p.m.; May 1, 2 and 8 p.m.; May 9, 2 and 7 p.m.; May 12, 8 p.m.; May 13, 8 p.m.; May 14, 8 p.m.; May 16, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends May 16. $24 to $28; opening, $38. (818) 546-1924.

8pm: Dance

In the realm of high-profile, high-art collaborations, the teaming of Yo-Yo Ma and Mark Morris goes beyond merely newsy to something like inspired. Here is the most restlessly exploratory star cellist of our time playing music by Bach, Schumann and Lou Harrison, while the most dedicated music visualization specialist alive finds a movement for every note. Besides “Rhymes With Silver” and “The Argument,” they work together in “Falling Down Stairs,” based on a segment of Ma’s widely seen PBS series “Inspired by Bach.” No wonder the two full-evening programs at the Irvine Barclay Theatre are listed as sold out, while the one-hour, one-work family matinee is going fast.

* Mark Morris Dance Group and Yo-Yo Ma, cello, Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. 8 p.m. Also Saturday, 8 p.m.; one-hour program at 3 p.m. Sunday (“Falling Down Stairs” only, discussion following). $35 to $40. (949) 854-4646.

8pm: Theater

“House Arrest: An Introgression,” Anna Deavere Smith’s much-anticipated work-in-progress about the American presidency, begins with a 90-minute version of the play that serves as a springboard for a conversation with the artists, audience, civic leaders, activists and academics about issues such as power, gender, race, the press and public versus private morality.

* “House Arrest: An Introgression,” Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles. Friday, 8 p.m. Regular schedule: Tuesdays through Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m., except on April 18, 2 p.m. only. Ends April 18. $15 to $25. (213) 628-2772.

Freebies

Saxophonist Dave Ellis’ quartet plays jazz at LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., 5:30 p.m. (323) 857-6000.

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Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History features a discussion on the threat, real and imagined, of objects striking Earth from outer space, Farrand Hall, 2559 Puesta Del Sol Road, Santa Barbara, 7:30 p.m. (805) 682-4711.