7:30 pm: Movies

With Robert Blake suddenly in the news, the New Beverly Cinema has a timely screening of two of his pre-”Baretta” feature films. “In Cold Blood,” the 1967 film based on Truman Capote’s book, stars Blake and Scott Wilson as the ruthless killers of a Kansas family. Richard Brooks, who adapted the script and directed, captures the relentless pursuit of the fugitives, their capture and execution. Shot in coldly evocative monochrome by Conrad Hall, it’s a film that manages to be bleak, violent and sentimental all at once. Blake also stars as an Arizona motorcycle cop who dreams of rising to detective rank in the rarely screened 1973 film “Electra Glide in Blue.” It is the story of a man’s discovery of himself mixed with a murder mystery, as well as a tragic comment on then-contemporary America. Directed by James William Guerico, it’s an all-stops-out, razzle-dazzle kind of film that constantly overreaches yet commands attention and even involvement--at least part of the way.

* Robert Blake double feature, New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., L.A. “In Cold Blood,” 7:30 p.m.; “Electra Glide in Blue,” 10 p.m. $3 to $6. (323) 938-4038.

8 pm: Theater

Shel Silverstein may be best known for his offbeat, comic poetry for children, but he created many eclectic works for adults, including “The Devil and Billy Markham,” a dark and gritty narrative in verse about a Nashville songwriter who gambles with the Devil. Performed by Thom Cagle.

* “The Devil and Billy Markham,” Theatre of NOTE, 1517 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Regular schedule: Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends July 28. $10. (323) 856-8611.

8:15 pm: Theater

Shakespeare Festival/LA returns with its annual, outdoor, environmental summer offering. This year, it’s “The Comedy of Errors,” the farce about two sets of twins and multiple mistaken identities, set in a city with an uncanny resemblance to L.A. on Dia de los Muertos.

* “The Comedy of Errors,” Pershing Square, 532 S. Olive St., downtown L.A. 8 p.m. Regular schedule: Wednesdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends July 22. Free with canned food donation. Also at South Coast Botanic Gardens, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes Peninsula. July 26-29 and Aug. 1-5, 8:15 p.m. $15 to $18. (213) 481-2273. Sign language performances: TTY (213) 485-1592.

all day: Art

A collection of 40 color photographs taken by Carol Petersen captures the home of sculptor Mario Sebastian Avila Vargas in the exhibition “The House of Gospel,” which opened earlier this week at the UCLA/Fowler Museum of Cultural History. The pictures document a home as an artwork in progress as Vargas has carved a living artwork out of his home in Tepoztlan, Morelos, Mexico, where the walls and columns are dotted with biblical figures formed with clay.

* “The House of Gospel,” UCLA/Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 405 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. Wednesdays-Sundays, noon-5 p.m.; Thursdays, noon-8 p.m. Ends Sept. 23. Adults, $5; seniors and students, $3; UCLA students, $1; visitors 17 and younger, free. (310) 825-4361.

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Freebie

* Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” presented by Shakespeare by the Sea, plays at Point Fermin Park, 807 Paseo del Mar, San Pedro. 8 p.m. Also plays Friday and July 13-14, 19, 21, 27 and Aug. 2, 4, 8 p.m. Bring low-profile lawn chairs and blankets for seating. (310) 217-7596.