7:30pm / Theater

Annette Bening takes on the title role in Ibsen’s classic domestic tragedy, “Hedda Gabler,” in her much-anticipated return to the stage, playing a woman who pays a high price when she attempts to alleviate the boredom of her “safe” marriage. Newly adapted by Jon Robin Baitz, the production is directed by Daniel Sullivan.

* “Hedda Gabler,” Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 and 8:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Also April 7, 2 p.m. Ends April 18. $30 to $40. April 7 matinee only, mezzanine seating, $25. (310) 208-5454; (213) 365-3500.

noon / Art

Works on paper from the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which are rarely displayed due to their fragile nature, will go on display today in “Old Master Prints From the Museum’s Collection: Fifteenth-Seventeenth Centuries.” The collection will include woodcut prints by Albrecht Durer, Italian Mannerist prints by Andrea Andreani and Ugo da Carpi, etchings by Claude Mellan, Robert Nanteuil and Anthony van Dyck and various works by the Dutch Master Rembrandt van Rijn, otherwise known as Rembrandt.

* “Old Master Prints From the Museum’s Collection: Fifteenth-Seventeenth Centuries.” Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Ends May 31. Museum hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.; Friday, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m to 8 p.m. Closed Wednesdays. Admission: adults, $7; students and seniors, $5; children/younger students, $1; children 5 and under, free. (323) 857-6000.

8pm / Festival

Saddle up, cowpokes. It’s time for Santa Clarita’s annual Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, a perfectly Southern California blend of real-life and Hollywood Western culture. Held each year at the still-in-use Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio--where Gary Cooper faced his enemy in “High Noon”--the festival draws top music and poetry talent, including Don Edwards, Sons of the San Joaquin, Waddie Mitchell and Baxter Black. The festival starts tonight with a concert by Buffalo Bill’s Cowboy Band at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. Most of the concerts sell out months in advance, but free shows, trail rides, crafts and barbecues round out the weekend.

* Santa Clarita Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, at the Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio. Shuttles leave from 13th and Arch streets in Santa Clarita. Saturday 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; Sunday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Buffalo Bill’s Cowboy Band plays at 8 tonight at the Autry Museum, 4700 Western Heritage Way, adjacent to L.A. Zoo, at 8 p.m., $20. Festival: $7 admission. (800) 305-0755.

Freebie: Photographer Jeff Dunas will discuss his exhibit “State of the Blues: The Living Legacy of the Delta,” with guest vocalist Barbara Morrison, California African-American Museum, 600 State Drive, 6 to 8 p.m. (213) 744-7432.