Best Bets / JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 6, 1999

Dance

National Ballet of Cuba, right, performs Alicia Alonso’s acclaimed staging of the full-length classic “Giselle” on Saturday night and next Sunday afternoon in the Wiltern Theatre. Lorna Feijoo dances the title role at the evening performance, Alihaydee Carren~o at the matinee.

Movies

Mel Gibson stars in the thriller “Payback” as a tough antihero who gets double-crossed, left for dead--and now wants revenge. Based on a novel by veteran mystery novelist Donald Westlake, writing as Richard Stark, it opens Friday in general release.

*

Ken Loach, one of Britain’s most esteemed filmmakers, returns with “My Name Is Joe,” an unlikely romance between a recovering alcoholic (Paul Mullan) and a highly independent and private woman (Louise Goodall). It opens at selected theaters Friday.

Theater

John Fleck explores greed for scandal, and just what is obscene, in his comic show “Dirt.” Not coincidentally, Fleck was one of the NEA Four artists whose work was deemed obscene by the National Endowment for the Arts. The show opens Sunday at LunaPark.

Art

“Larry Rivers: History of Matzah, the Story of the Jews” an epic series of paintings depicting the 4,000-year history of the Jewish people, opens Tuesday at the Skirball Cultural Center. Above: a detail from Part III, “Sweatshop,” 1984.

Music

Royce Hall reopened last spring with one missing element: the 69-year-old Skinner organ, damaged during the Northridge quake. After meticulous restoration, and augmented with 24 new ranks of pipes (in addition to the original 80), the organ is once again ready for action. UCLA’s Thomas Harmon inaugurates it in a recital Tuesday.

Pop Music

The annual Sno-Core tour, which combines music with youth lifestyle elements, comes to the Hollywood Palladium on Saturday, marking another step in the rock/hip-hop mix: Headliners Everclear and Soul Coughing share the stage with rapper Redman and DJ Spooky.

Jazz

Mose Allison--a masterful and ironic lyricist, an expressive singer influenced by country blues and an eccentric pianist--has been a legend for over 35 years. He’ll be at the Jazz Bakery for four nights (with bassist Dave Carpenter) starting Thursday.

Video

Hair gel took on a whole new meaning thanks to “There’s Something About Mary,” the raunchy yet hysterically funny romantic comedy. Cameron Diaz (above, with Ben Stiller) stars as the object of affection for both Stiller and Matt Dillon. The blockbuster hits video stores on Tuesday.