Best Bets

November 28-December 4, 1999

Movies

“The End of the Affair,” directed by Neil Jordan from the Graham Greene novel, stars Ralph Fiennes, right, as a man reflecting about his former mistress, Julianne Moore, whose husband is played by Stephen Rea. Opening Friday at selected theaters.

Jane Campion’s “Holy Smoke!” stars Kate Winslet as a young Australian who travels to India in search of the exotic and winds up under the influence of a cult from which Harvey Keitel attempts to deprogram her. Pam Grier is among the supporting players. Opening Friday exclusively at the Sunset 5 in West Hollywood.

Pop Music

A singer-songwriter summit takes place when Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, below, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Steve Earle and Terry Allen play Friday at Marsee Auditorium at El Camino College in Torrence, in a benefit for the Campaign for a Landmine Free World.

Gillain Welch, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson join up later at UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.

Theater

Lily Tomlin will re-create her 1986 Tony Award-winning tour-de-force solo show, “The Search for Signs of INtelligent Life in the Universe,” bringing to life playwright Jane Wagner’s hilarious and provocative eccentrics led by the mad and philosophic bag lady Trudy. Friday and Saturday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. A Neil Simon world premiere opens at the Mark Taper Forum on Thursday. Simon’s new comedy, “The Dinner Party,” is about an unusual gathering in the private dining room of a fashionable Paris restaurant. There, the six guests who arrive, strangers to one another, have no idea why they have been invited.

“Ally McBeal’s” Calista Flockhart, Paul Rudd and Ron Eldard will reprise their summer off-Broadway roles in “Bash, Latter Day Plays” three one-acts by Neil LaBute, opening today at the Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills. Flockhart plays a Mormon involved in a gay-bashing, and a woman remembering her affair with her junior high teacher. Joe Mantello directs.

Art

Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions continues its year-long Tri-Annuale series with an exhibition of paintings by Joni Mitchell opening at the Hollywood venue Wednesday.

“Tri-Annuale (Part 2): Amy Adler Curates Joni Mitchell” will feature 12 rarely seen paintings by the artists and musician, focusing on portraiture and landscapes.

Dance

Sigmund Freud’s theories about desire loom large in “Lovesickness,” a full-evening work by Lester Horton Dance Award-winning choreographer Rosanna Gamson premiering Thursday and running through next Sunday at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica. Another recent Horton awardee, Shane Cadman, composed the score.

Jazz

As part of its series of live piano duo recordings, the Jazz Bakery for three nights (starting Monday) features two brilliant sylists. Dick Hyman, who favors stride and swing, will be challenged by the witty and often-intense Roger Kellaway.