All day: Art

Barbara Gilbert, fine-arts curator at the Skirball, looked at the portraits of Jews painted from the 17th to the 20th century and was left with a few questions. What motivated these people to have portraits painted? And why did so few give any indication that the subject was Jewish? Those two questions and five of the historic paintings led to the exhibition “Revealing & Concealing: Portraits & Identity,” which includes the work of 20 artists, including Andy Warhol, Salomon Huerta, Eleanor Antin, Hung Liu and Albert Winn.

* “Revealing & Concealing: Portraits and Identity” at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. Tuesday-Saturday, 12-5 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Ends Dec. 31. $8; $6, seniors and students; under 12, free. (310) 440-4500.

All day: Fair

The new millennium finds the 78-year-old Los Angeles County Fair bending the traditional with the new. Fine arts and floral displays, carnival rides, livestock competitions, a variety of demonstrations and plenty of food vendors will be among the familiar attractions at the fair, which opens today and runs through Oct. 1. New additions include Thunder Alley, featuring exhibits of virtually every type of racing car, and Extreme Adventures, which combines the thrill of bungee jumping with a 50-foot drop from a six-story tower. By far the largest attraction this year is Expedition Earth, which transports visitors into six realistic habitats and environments of the world. Live music will again be one of the fair’s principal allures. Cheap Trick rocks the house tonight, and the rest of the weekend has War (Friday); Paul Rodgers and Eddie Money (Saturday) and Jethro Tull (Sunday). More on Expedition Earth, Page 58.

* L.A. County Fair, Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. Today-Oct. 1. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fridays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Opening day: $2. Regular admission: $10; $5 after 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; seniors $7, $3.50 on Tuesdays; ages 6 to 12 free on weekdays, $5 on weekends. (909) 623-3111.

8 pm: Theater

Reprise! Broadway’s Best in Concert presents its fourth season of semi-staged Broadway musicals with “Call Me Madam,” the Irving Berlin-Howard Lindsay-Russel Crouse political satire, starring Karen Morrow and directed by John Bowab, about a Washington hostess who’s made ambassador of mythical Lichtenburg.

* “Call Me Madam,” UCLA, Freud Playhouse, Macgowan Hall (Parking Lot 3 at Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue), Westwood. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; this Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m.; Sept. 24, 2 p.m. End Sept. 24. $50. (310) 825-2101.

7:30 pm: Theater

August Wilson’s drama “King Hedley II,” set in the backyards of two tenement buildings, is about the triumphs and trials of members of a 1985 Pittsburgh community, including an ex-convict, his second wife and her ex-lover, his mother, friends and neighbors.

* “King Hedley II,” Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, Tuesdays-Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m. Also Oct. 18 at 2 p.m.; no 7:30 p.m. performance on Oct. 22. Ends Oct. 22. $30 to $44. (213) 628-2772.

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FREEBIE: New abstract paintings of and about oil and water by veteran Los Angeles painter Joe Goode opens tonight at L.A. Louver Gallery, 45 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Regular gallery hours: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Ends Oct. 14. (310) 822-4955.