all day: Animation

The two-day Japanese Animation Festival begins with the world premiere of Peter Chung’s sword-and-sorcerer fantasy “Alexander the Great.” The classic animated horror film “Wicked City” and the satirical “Roujin Z” will be screened, as will some kid-friendly fare--”Astro Boy,” “Gigantor,” and “Kimba the White Lion.” The festival concludes with animated favorites “The Castle of Cagliostro” and “Grave of the Fireflies.”

* Japanese Animation Festival at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Cal State Long Beach campus, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach. “Roujin Z,” 7 p.m.; “Alexander the Great,” 9 p.m.; “Wicked City,” 11 p.m. See Special Screenings list for other programs. $5 to $7. Festival passes, $10 to $30. (562) 985-7000.

8 pm: Dance

The AIDS crisis launched a type of AIDS culture in many cities: a hotline for news about HIV status, a conduit to the latest drug therapies, a support network for those who can’t afford the luxury of dying in peace. Joe Goode’s “Deeply There (stories of a neighborhood)” uses contemporary dance-theater to tell a story of death and spiritual survival in San Francisco’s Castro district. Developed with Seattle composer and lyricist Robin Holcomb, this full-evening work combines text, music and dance in a manner that the New York Times called “fresh, touching and wickedly funny.”

* Joe Goode Performance Group in “Deeply There,” Freud Playhouse, UCLA campus, Westwood, 8 p.m. Also Saturday, 8 p.m. $9 (students) to $25. (310) 825-2101.

11 am: Art

The rich cross-fertilization of art materials, processes and concepts used by crafts artists is the heart of “Re-generations” at the Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum. The crafts by 17 artists working with clay, fiber, wood and other materials expose overlapping generational concerns for personal and cultural issues.

* “Re-generations,” Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum, 5814 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Wednesdays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Ends June 2. $3.50; seniors and students, $2.50; age 12 and younger, free. (323) 937-4230.

8 pm: Theater

Clinton Leupp returns in his critically acclaimed cabaret show, “Miss Coco Peru’s Universe,” a 1999 GLAAD Media Award nominee. Directed by Jim Fall, with musical director John Boswell at the piano, Leupp’s red-headed alter-ego, Miss Coco, recounts her bumpy road toward love and self-discovery.

* “Miss Coco Peru’s Universe,” Beverly Hills Playhouse, 254 S. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends May 27. $20. (818) 501-2694.

all day: Movies

Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, makes her feature film writing and directing debut with “The Virgin Suicides,” a film about the enduring legacy of five beautiful but tragic sisters. The film is based on Jeffrey Eugenides’ 1993 novel of the same name and stars Kirsten Dunst, Hanna Hall, Chelsea Swain, A.J. Cook and Leslie Hayman as the sisters, James Woods and Kathleen Turner as the girls’ parents, and Josh Hartnett as one of the neighborhood boys who is entranced with the sisters.

* “The Virgin Suicides,” rated R for strong thematic elements involving teens, opens Friday at selected theaters.

8 pm: Theater

“A Bright Room Called Day”--by “Angels in America” playwright Tony Kushner--receives its professional Los Angeles premiere. The drama concerns a group of artists and political activists in 1930s Berlin just as the Weimar Republic surrenders to the seduction of Hitler’s fascism. Meanwhile, a contemporary Angeleno Jewish woman’s fury at current politics points up similarities between now and then.

* “A Bright Room Called Day,” Theatre of NOTE, 1517 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; April 30, May 14, 21, 28, 4 p.m. Post-show discussions on Sundays. $12 to $15. (323) 856-8611.

8 pm: Theater/Family

Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” comes to life in UC Irvine’s multimedia production for older children and adults, featuring live performers in an animated Wonderland, created by director-choreographer Annie Loui and animator John Chi, with an original score by Ben Israel.

* “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. Friday, Saturday and April 27-29, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 p.m. Ends April 29. $6 to $15. (949) 854-4646 or (714) 740-2000.

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Freebies: A new multimedia work by contemporary choreographer Hae Kyung Lee kicks off the spring dance series in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium of the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A., 7:30 p.m. Reservations required. (310) 440-7300.

The Los Angeles Jazz Quartet with saxophonist Chuck Manning and guitarist Larry Koonse reflects its namesake city’s cool at LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. (323) 857-6000.