Itinerary: American History

Americans are probably more interested in their own country’s history than ever before. Such nonfiction books as Stephen Ambrose’s “Band of Brothers” are bestsellers and HBO miniseries. David McCullough’s biography of John Adams is still on the nonfiction bestseller list. The most popular show on PBS? That history lesson-cum-flea market called “The Antiques Roadshow.” With America at war and Veterans Day on Sunday, this weekend is a good time to look at American history, in scholarly and entertaining ways.

Today

Ten writers each reached into a hat and pulled out a constitutional amendment, and the result is the show “A Bill of Rights, an American Vaudeville 10 Amendments Long” at Masquer’s Theatre (8334 W. 3rd St., West Hollywood. $10, two-drink minimum. Ends Dec. 13. [323] 653-4848).

Performed by a cast of 12, the show includes sketches, monologues, songs and stories, each dealing with, or inspired by, one of the amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. Three are dramatic, but the rest find humor in the foundation of our democracy. For instance, the 3rd Amendment-”No soldiers shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law”-inspired a raucous sketch in which a woman’s date begins sizing up her house as a place to be put up. Doors open at 6:30 for dinner and drinks. The show’s over by 9 p.m.

Friday

Two art exhibitions exploring 19th century American history are at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens (1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Open Tuesday-Friday, noon-4:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. $10; $8.50 seniors; $7 students; 12 and younger, free. [626] 405-2100).

“Lure of the West: Treasures From the Smithsonian American Art Museum,” on view through Dec. 16 in the Boone Gallery, includes 64 paintings of the western landscape and American Indians by George Catlin, Thomas Moran, Frederic Remington and others. “Eye of the Storm: The Civil War Drawings of Robert Knox Sneden,” in the library’s West Hall through Jan. 27, includes nearly 100 watercolors, drawings and maps. Sneden was a private in the Union army during the Civil War, captured in 1863 and held, among other places, at the notorious prison in Andersonville, Ga. He hid his sketches in his shoes and the lining of his coat to sneak them out of the prison when he was released, then later converted them to finished watercolors.

Saturday

Follow the paper trail of the American Revolution at the Ronald Reagan Library (40 Presidential Drive, Simi Valley. Open daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $5; seniors, $3; under 15 free. [800] 410-8354). “Freedom’s Journey: The Declaration of Independence and Beyond,” on view through Jan. 20, contains items from political pamphlets to the original 1783 Peace of Paris Treaty, which ended the Revolutionary War. A rare printed version of the Declaration of Independence is also on view, as is Benjamin Franklin’s handwritten draft of the Articles of Confederation. Also on display: “Portraits of the Presidents,” on loan from the Smithsonian, through Jan. 21.

Sunday

At the Skirball Cultural Center (2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A. Open Tuesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $8; $6 students and seniors; 12 and younger, free. [310] 440-4500), much of the core exhibit relates to American immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Installations in the “Liberty and Immigration” gallery include cases dedicated to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln; the “Struggle and Opportunity” gallery includes many everyday objects meant to document ordinary American lives from the 1850s to the present.