Best Bets

October 28-November 3, 2001

Movies

The biggest recent native blockbuster for the French, “Amelie,” arrives here with Audrey Tatou, above, in the title role of a young woman who schemes to improve the lives of her father, neighbors and co-workers. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Opens Friday at the Royal Theatre in West L.A.

Art

When the Lega people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo carve objects of ivory and wood, they create elegant artworks based on wisdom-invoking proverbs. The obvious aesthetic delights and the hidden significance of these pieces will be revealed in “Art of the Lega: Meaning and Metaphor in Central Africa,” which opens today at the UCLA Fowler Museum in Westwood. The exhibition is largely drawn from the holding of physicist Jay T. Last, who has promised to donate his extensive Lega collection to the museum. Included is an ivory bust with multiple heads, right.

Theater

La Jolla Playhouse presents the world premiere of “Dracula, The Musical,” by Don Black, Christopher Hampton and Frank Wildhorn, based on Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel. It stars Tom Hewitt, who recently played a rather different vampirish icon: He was nominated for a 2001 Tony Award for his role as Dr. Frank N. Furter in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.”

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Also: Tim Robbins, co-founder of Hollywood’s Actors’ Gang theater company, has returned to oversee the group as its artistic director. He will direct “Mephisto,” Klaus Mann’s drama adapted by Arianne Mnouchkine, about actors caught up in the turmoil of 1920s Germany. The play runs in repertory with Chekhov’s “The Seagull.” Opens Saturday.

Music

A new season of Chamber Music in Historic Sites concerts begins today with a return by the Amati String Quartet, playing at Silvertop in Silver Lake under the auspices of the Da Camera Society. The second event in the series is an appearance by violinist Andrew Manze and harpsichordist Richard Egarr at the Southwestern University School of Law (formerly Bullocks Wilshire), Thursday night.

Video

Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and John Lithgow supply the voices for “Shrek,” DreamWorks’ acclaimed computer-animated comedy send-up of fairy tales. The title character (Myers) is an ogre who, accompanied by a wisecracking donkey named Donkey (Murphy), must rescue a princess (Diaz) from a dragon-guarded castle so she can marry the tiny, pompous ruler (Lithgow) of the perfectly sanitized kingdom of Dulac. The fractured fairy tale arrives Friday on VHS and DVD.

Pop Music

Hip-hop and dance music are two of pop’s most gender-unbalanced genres, with the men calling most of the shots. Monday’s concert at L.A.’s El Rey represents a counterattack in both styles: The acclaimed Philadelphia rapper Bahamadia, above, is the headliner, and the Angel, one of L.A.’s top DJs and electronica record producers, performs in the supporting spot.

Jazz

Pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette perform tonight at Royce Hall in Westwood. The concert is part of a six-city tour that coincides with the release of the trio’s new CD, “Inside Out,” a recording of the group’s performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall in July 2000.