8 & 9:30 pm: Jazz

Is Charles Mingus Amungus? His spirit certainly is in this Bay Area-based ensemble whose work is inspired by the late, brilliant, idiosyncratic bassist-composer.

* Mingus Amungus, Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. 8 and 9:30 p.m. Through Sunday. $22. (310) 271-9039.

7:30 pm: Movies

The Visual Communications Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival celebrates its 16th year with the opening-night premiere of “Green Dragon” by Timothy Linh Bui (co-producer and co-screenwriter of the award-winning “Three Seasons”). The festival aims to show films that reflect the changing face of Asian Americans. Highlights of the weeklong event include screenings of John Korty’s 1976 telefilm “Farewell to Manzanar,” Anurag Mehta’s “American Chai,” Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s “Wrestlers (Uttara),” Yongyooth Thongkonthun’s “The Iron Ladies (Satree-Lex)” and Abraham Lim’s “Roads and Bridges.”

* The Visual Communications Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival, Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. Opening gala, “Green Dragon,” 7:30 p.m. Festival continues through May 24 at the DGA and other venues. Opening night and gala, $20 to $30; with VIP reception, $75 to $100; screenings, $6.50 to $20; passes $25 to $50. (213) 680-3700 or https://www.vconline.org.

8 pm: Theater

Lane Nishikawa directs the Los Angeles premiere of his drama, “Gila River,” about a Japanese American family forcibly removed from their home and imprisoned at the Gila River “relocation center” in Arizona during World War II. The drama was drawn from real-life stories and interviews.

* “Gila River,” Japan America Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St., Little Tokyo, downtown L.A. 8 p.m. Also Friday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. $20 and $25. (213) 680-3700.

8 pm: Theater/Comedy

Dame Edna--housewife, mega-star, talk show host and the alter ego of Australian comedian Barry Humphries--is in town to dispense her unique, audience-interactive wit, wisdom and beauty tips in the Tony Award-winning solo show, “Dame Edna: The Royal Tour.”

* “Dame Edna: The Royal Tour,” Shubert Theatre, 2020 Ave. of the Stars, Century City. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Thursdays, Saturdays, 2 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends May 27. $30 to $60. (800) 447-7400.

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FREEBIE

“Rainforest IV,” a sound-sculpture environment conceived by experimental composer David Tudor, has been installed at CalArts, 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, to open the symposium, “The Art of David Tudor: Inderterminancy and Performance in Postwar Culture.” Opens at 7 p.m. with panel discussion at 8 p.m. (661) 253-7800. Other free Tudor concerts Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. Reservations required. (310) 440-7300.