8:30pmDanceIf music be the food of love--not...

8:30pm

Dance

If music be the food of love--not to mention poetry and classical dance--head for the Cahuenga Pass. Titled “Much Ado About Something,” Shakespeare night at the Hollywood Bowl celebrates the Bard of Avon three ways. First, conductor John Mauceri leads the Bowl Orchestra in music by Felix Mendelssohn, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Nino Rota and Miklos Rozsa inspired by or related to Shakespeare’s time and plays. Next, actor Michael York reads selected passages by Shakespeare before, after and sometimes over the music. Finally, Pacific Northwest Ballet comes all the way from Seattle to dance about an hour’s worth of the much-loved 1962 “Midsummer Night’s Dream” ballet choreographed by the late George Balanchine. All that’s missing is Gwyneth Paltrow in a farthingale.

“Much Ado About Something,” Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, John Mauceri, conductor, with Michael York and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, 8:30 p.m. Also Saturday, 8:30 p.m. $3 to $90. (323) 850-2000.

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7pm

Leisure

Aug. 16 marked the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. To honor the King, the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center will present an Elvis Tribute Concert and Classic Car Show on Friday starring Elvis impersonator Mark W. Curran. The concert will feature a retrospective of Elvis’ career from his early days in Memphis through the 1970s. An Everly Brothers tribute act will open the show.

Elvis Tribute Concert and Classic Car Show, Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3050 E. Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley, 7 p.m. $12 to $18. Sold out. (805) 581-9940. (A second show is planned for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26.)

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8pm

Theater

“Truth & Beauty” finds little of either in the imperatives of consumerist culture and the corporations that drive it. Main writer Ping Chong, who won a 2000 Obie Award for sustained achievement, and his collaborators, Michael Rohd and Jeffrey Rose, use some of the chief conduits of that culture--taped and real-time video--to help deliver their broadside. The Rude Guerrilla Theater Company is giving the two-character play its West Coast premiere.

“Truth & Beauty,” Empire Theater, 200 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Fridays to Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Also Sept. 26, 8 p.m. Ends Sept. 29. $12 to $15. (714) 547-4688.

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noon

Jazz

“Never look at the trombones. You’ll only encourage them,” or so said classical composer Richard Strauss. Trombones are bold and muscular--you either like them or you hate them. If you like them “ ‘bones,” catch Phil Ranelin, a jazz trombonist with a round singing sound, and his ensemble Tribe Renaissance in a free concert at California Plaza.

Phil Ranelin & Tribe Renaissance, California Plaza, 350 S. Grand Ave., L.A., noon. Free. (213) 687-2159.

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all day

Movies

If it’s been 15 years since you’ve seen a new Jean-Luc Godard film in a theater (“King Lear,” anyone?), it might be time to give the old New Wave master another whirl. Checking in for a one-week run at the Nuart is Godard’s “In Praise of Love” (Eloge de l’Amour), a mind-bending--but conventional by JLG standards; there’s a narrative of sorts--meditation on love, culture, history and time. Shot in beautiful 35-millimeter black-and-white, as well as color-saturated digital video, the movie created a stir at Cannes in 2001 for its provocative stabs at Steven Spielberg and U.S. cultural imperialism.

“In Praise of Love,” unrated, exclusively at Landmark’s Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A., (310) 478-6379.

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8pm

Theater

In “Amy’s View,” David Hare’s provocative, witty tribute to theater artists, a leading West End actress’ complex relationship with her daughter becomes more complicated when she meets the daughter’s fiance--a theater-bashing reporter. Hare’s play, directed by Jessica Kubzansky and starring Carol Lawrence and Susan Egan as mother and daughter, takes place over a period of 16 years, as Mom struggles to realize that there are limits to her ability to control her daughter’s life, and her daughter battles to gain both approval and independence.

“Amy’s View,” Center Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, 8 p.m. Regular schedule: Thursdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Sept. 29. $27 to $35; opening night, $50 to $60. (562) 436-4610.