Best Bets / AUG. 8-14, 1999

Pop Music

The summer concert season reaches critical mass over the next week, from R.E.M. (Monday and Tuesday at the Greek, Wednesday at Irvine Meadows) to Santana and Mana (Wednesday through Saturday at the Pond) to Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Friday and Saturday at Irvine). Did we mention Lyle Lovett? Brian Setzer? Barry White?

Movies

In “Bowfinger” Steve Martin has the title role as a nearly bankrupt dreamer who rounds up a group of misfits, including a nerdy Eddie Murphy (who also plays a big movie star), to help him take one last shot at success in this comedy, written by Martin and directed by “In and Out” and “The Nutty Professor’s” Frank Oz. It opens Friday in general release.

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In “Brokedown Palace,” Claire Danes stars as a chance-taking teen who takes off with her best friend (Kate Bekinsale) for a trip to Bangkok only to get into far more adventure than she bargained for. With Lou Diamond Phillips, Jacqueline Kim and Bill Pullman, the Jonathan Kaplan-directed work opens Friday.

Theater

Comedienne/soprano B.J. Ward brings her four-octave range and her critically-acclaimed, nationally touring one woman musical, “Stand-Up Opera,” to the Tiffany Theatre, beginning Friday. Directed by Gordon Hunt, Ward satirizes the world of opera and pays tribute to it, too.

Music

The Russian National Orchestra, led by Mikhail Pletnev, gives four performances with three different piano soloists at Hollywood Bowl this week. Tuesday, Jura Margulis plays Liszt’s Hungarian Fantasy; on Thursday, Jura’s father, Vitaly Margulis, is featured in Beethoven’s C-minor Concerto. And two weekend programs offer Nicolai Lugansky in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

Jazz

This week’s Wednesday night jazz concert at the Hollywood Bowl has a New Orleans flavor. The uncategorizable Dr. John performs his magical music, trumpeter Byron Stripling plays some hot choruses a la Louis Armstrong and master drummers Billy Higgins and Louie Bellson join the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.

Video

Audiences, critics and the Oscars enamored with the romantic comedy “Shakespeare in Love.” The delightful farce even ended up beating “Saving Private Ryan” as the best film of 1998. Gwyneth Paltrow won best actress as Shakespeare’s (Joseph Fiennes) beautiful, independent muse, and Dame Judi Dench picked up supporting actress as Queen Elizabeth. The John Madden-directed bauble arrives Tuesday in video stores.