Rotten, at heart

Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century ingeniously captures the splintered insights and cut-and-paste aesthetic of Greil Marcus’ cult-classic book about the rise of Britain’s ur-punk-rock outfit the Sex Pistols, with nods to the Dadaists, a 16th century priest and the French student radicals of 1968. Adapted by the Rude Mechanicals of Austin, Texas, it is suitably self-subverting, staying aloft through its unnerving energy and brutally wistful poetry.

Macgowan Hall, UCLA, Parking Lot 3, L.A. Today, 7 p.m.; Tuesday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; next Sunday, 7 p.m. $35. (818) 825-2101.