7pmTheaterEdgefest 2002: Breaking New Ground, the fourth...

7pm

Theater

Edgefest 2002: Breaking New Ground, the fourth annual Edge of the World Festival, presents more than 60 shows (including more than 40 premieres), plus special events from round table discussions about intellectual property law to an exploration of Hollywood theatrical history, at venues throughout the L.A. area. Tonight’s bill of 16 shows includes About Productions’ world-premiere exploration of the nature of prayer, “On Earth as It Is in Heaven,” at 24th Street Theatre in L.A.; Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” at Theatre of Note in Hollywood; the ghostly drama “The Woman in Black,” at Lankershim Arts Center in North Hollywood; and Shumka Theatre Company’s world premiere of Richard Foreman’s dark and comic, avant-garde off-key “musical,” “Supreme Being,” at Stages Theatre Center in Hollywood.

Edgefest 2002: Breaking New Ground, Los Angeles-area venues. Call for schedule. Ends Oct. 20. $5 each show with $15 festival passport; special events are free. (310) 281-7920, www.edgeoftheworld.org.

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8:15pm

Pop Music

“Revolucion de Amor” represents Mana from heaven for fans of the Mexican rock en espanol outfit who have waited six years for a new studio album. Now that the album’s out, with spirited songs addressing racism, pollution and violence, and with help from high-powered friends including Carlos Santana and Ruben Blades, the band opens a highly anticipated four-night stint at Universal Amphitheatre starting tonight.

Mana, Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza. 8:15 p.m. Also Friday-Sunday. $44.50 to $76. (818) 777-3931.

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8pm

Music

& Theater

Performed by three women who “act, sing, dance and play in a ravishing visual setting” (the Guardian), “Hashirigaki” is a theater piece by Heiner Goebbels haunted by the music of Brian Wilson and including diverse elements such as Japanese folk music and text from Gertrude Stein’s novel “The Making of Americans.” It will be performed in the Freud Playhouse four times over the weekend.

“Hashirigaki,” Freud Playhouse, UCLA, 8 p.m. Also, Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. $40. (310) 825-2101.

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8pm

Jazz

First there was “Calle 54”--Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba’s acclaimed 2000 film tribute to Latin jazz--followed shortly thereafter by “Calle 54: The CD” and “Calle 54: The Home Video.” Tonight, Royce Hall will be host to “Calle 54: The Concert,” featuring on stage some of the musicians from the loving film documentary: Eliane Elias, Chano Dominguez, Jerry Gonzalez and Giovanni Hidalgo. Trueba has described his film as a “musical banquet,” so bon appetit!

“Calle 54: The Concert,” Royce Hall, UCLA, Westwood. 8 p.m. $15 to $50. (310) 825-2101.

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7pm

Pop Music

Colombian rocker Juanes recently collected his fourth Latin Grammy, for his peace anthem “A Dios Le Pido,” another sign of his rising place in the pop world. The first leg of a two-pronged U.S. tour brings him to the House of Blues in Anaheim on Friday and to the Mayan Theatre in L.A. on Wednesday.

Juanes, House of Blues, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim. 7 p.m. $25. (714) 778-2583. Also Wednesday 10/16 at the Mayan Theatre, 1038 S. Hill St., Los Angeles. 8:30 p.m. $26.50. (213) 239-0799.

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all day

Movies

Paul Thomas Anderson (“Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia”) scales down--smaller cast, shorter running time--for his latest film, the unusual romantic comedy “Punch-Drunk Love.” The inventive director does return to his native San Fernando Valley for this tale starring Adam Sandler as a small-business owner with big-time anger issues derived from growing up with seven abusive sisters. Emily Watson plays the sweet woman who inexplicably falls for him.

“Punch-Drunk Love,” rated R for strong language, including a scene of sexual dialogue, opens Friday at Pacific’s the Grove, 189 the Grove Drive, L.A., (323) 692-0829; and Mann’s Criterion 6, 1313 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica, (310) 248-MANN, No. 091.

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8pm

Performing Arts

International and multi-genre performance has been the hallmark of the annual Eclectic Orange Festival. This year’s festival, the fourth, extends the focus to inter-species interaction, thanks to its cornerstone event, Theatre Zingaro. The French equestrian troupe unites the talents of horses, riders and dancers; its 20 performances of a 90-minute piece called “Triptyk,” set to music from Igor Stravinsky and Pierre Boulez, will take place in a specially built village, with a 1,500-seat tent, set up near the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. The festival’s 35 other performances between now and Nov. 9 include the West Coast premiere of Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s “La Pasion Segun San Marcos,” part of the festival’s “Latinworks” subset; world music from Iran, India and Tuva; jazz from the Wayne Shorter Quartet and Opera Pacific’s production of “La Boheme.” Friday’s festival launch features chamber chorus Cappella Romana performing Ivan Moody’s “Passion and Resurrection” at St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine and Ireland’s Sean Curran Dance Company at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. Zingaro opens Saturday.

Electric Orange Festival. Performances at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa; Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine; Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach; St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church, 4949 Alton Parkway, Irvine; and Neighborhood Congregational Church, 340 St. Ann’s Drive, Laguna Beach. Ends Nov. 9. $15 to $125. (949)553-2422. www.EclecticOrange.org.

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7:30pm

Pop Music

The wave continues to crest for Hawaiian surfer-turned- singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. Having moved off the beach and into concert clubs and festivals since his album “Brushfire Fairytales” became a left-field hit earlier this year, Johnson moves up to headliner status at the Greek Theatre with his appearance on Friday.

Jack Johnson, Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Canyon Road, Los Angeles. 7:30 p.m. $26 to $30. (323) 665-1927.

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8pm

Dance

Sweeping through three Southland venues in one weekend, Le Ballet National du Senegal displays its mastery of West African traditions and traditional instruments in “Kuuyamba,” a depiction of initiation rites in a sacred forest. Through these rites, the initiates progress from adolescence to adulthood. Sacred songs and dancing invoke the spirits in the opening “Sama” sequence. But the performance also includes plenty of secular diversions: “Amiran Miran,” a tribute to African women, for example, and displays by the Peulh Acrobats. The company was founded in 1960 and has visited North America 22 times (most recently in 1998)

Le Ballet National du Senegal, Campbell Hall, UC Santa Barbara. 8 p.m. $16 (students) to $30. (805) 893-3535. Also Saturday at Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. 8 p.m. $35. (310) 506-4522. Also Sunday at Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance. 7 p.m. $16.50 (students) to $26. (800) 832-2787.

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all day

Movies

From Edmund Kean we learned that “dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” That sentiment is echoed in the new documentary “Comedian,” which follows Jerry Seinfeld as he puts together a new act. On stage, Jerry tries out new material from his post-TV series career; while backstage, he bonds with fellow comics Colin Quinn, Chris Rock, Garry Shandling and Jay Leno.

“Comedian,” rated R for language, opens Friday in selected theaters.