8 pm Jazz

8pm Jazz

Jazz singer Rene Marie says she enjoys turning a song inside out, taking it to the edge and then back again. Her new CD, “Vertigo,” is only her second release, but already critics are saying hers is a name to remember. Marie continues her weeklong stand at the Jazz Bakery.

Rene Marie with John Beasley, Bob Hurst and Harvey Mason, the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City, 8 and 9:30 nightly through Sunday. $20. (310) 271-9039.

8pm Theater

Drinks, high jinks and personal complications snowball in the irreverent yuletide comedy “Bob’s Holiday Office Party,” by Rob Elk and Joe Keyes. A wily insurance agent for high-risk drivers plays host to his clients--including the mayor, the sheriff and the town floozy--in the seasonal hit, which returns for its sixth year of Christmas cheer.

“Bob’s Holiday Office Party,” Hudson Avenue Theatre, 6537 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, Wednesday to Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 7 p.m. $15. (323) 663-0389.

7:30pm Movies

The retrospective “The Storyteller: A Tribute to Lasse Hallstrom” offers a smorgasbord of the director’s Swedish and American fare. Hallstrom surfaced on the cinema scene with the bittersweet “My Life as a Dog” (1985), the story of a mischievous 12-year-old boy sent to live with relatives in a rural village. His Hollywood career culminated in best picture Oscar nominations for “The Cider House Rules” and “Chocolat,” which screen as a double feature on Saturday. “Mamma Mia!” fans will also want to check out the filmmaker’s “ABBA: The Movie,” a loosely fictionalized version of the Swedish supergroup’s 1977 Australian tour. Hallstrom directed most of the group’s videos during their heyday.

“The Storyteller: A Tribute to Lasse Hallstrom,” American Cinematheque, Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. “A Guy and a Gal” (En Kille Och en Tjej) and “Father to Be” (Jag Ar Med Barn), tonight, 7:30. “My Life as a Dog” (Mitt Liv Som Huld) and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” Friday, 7:30 p.m. “ABBA: The Movie,” Saturday, 5 p.m. “The Cider House Rules” and “Chocolat,” Saturday, 7:15 p.m. $6 to $8. (323) 466-3456.

7:30pm Pop Music

Two of rock’s formidable female forces--Alanis Morissette and Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson--are tough competition, but newcomer Nelly Furtado will give it her best shot at the Star 98.7 Not So Silent Night concert.

Not So Silent Night, with Alanis Morissette, Garbage, Nelly Furtado, Better Than Ezra; Shrine Auditorium, 665 W. Jefferson Blvd., L.A., 7:30 p.m. $35 to $65. (213) 749-5123.

all day Art

Gifts add up, especially when you solicit special ones and take care of them over a period of eight decades. That’s part of the message in “The Kindness of Friends: A Selection of Drawings and Prints, 1919-2001,” which opens today at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The 160-piece exhibition includes etchings, lithographs, pastels and pen-and-ink drawings by Durer, Rembrandt, Degas, Matisse and Picasso.

“The Kindness of Friends: A Selection of Drawings and Prints, 1919-2001,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Ends April 7. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, noon to 8 p.m.; Fridays, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Adults, $7; seniors and students, $5; children older than 5, $1. (323) 857-6000.