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Movies

Reese Witherspoon, above with Patrick Dempsey, plays a New York fashion designer who confronts her Southern roots in the romantic comedy “Sweet Home Alabama.” Josh Lucas and Candice Bergen co-star. On the soundtrack, pop star Jewel covers the Lynyrd Skynyrd title song, a staple of classic rock radio. Opens Friday.

Also: Clothes definitely make the man in the latest Jackie Chan comic adventure, “The Tuxedo.” The clown prince of Hong Kong action plays a chauffeur who picks up the slack for his playboy millionaire/secret agent boss (Jason Isaacs) by donning the super-empowered duds of the title. Jennifer Love Hewitt also stars. Opens Friday.

Music

A five-day workshop for composers and conductors sponsored by the American Symphony Orchestra League, American Music Center and the USC Thornton School and presented by the L.A. Philharmonic and USC, comes to a conclusion Thursday night. At that time, an orchestra made up of members of the Philharmonic and the USC Thornton Symphony plays music by Mason Bates, Steven Burke, Carlos Carrillo-Cotto and Naomi Sekiya in USC’s Bing Theatre. Conductors are James Gaffigan of Houston, Sarah Ioannides of New York City, Scott O’Neill of Salt Lake City and Alastair Willis of Seattle.

Theater

Jose Rivera’s new drama, “Adoration of the Old Woman,” about the matriarch of a Puerto Rican family, the ghost that haunts her, her rebellious great-granddaughter and two young men fighting over the future of her homeland, has its world premiere today at La Jolla Playhouse. Below: Ivonne Coll, left, and Marisol Padilla Sanchez.

Also: “Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century,” presented by UCLA Live’s International Theatre Festival, is a binge through parallel movements of cultural rebellion, from the Sex Pistols to medieval heretics. It’s adapted by Foundry Theatre from rock journalist and cultural critic Greil Marcus’ 1989 cult classic book. Opens Wednesday at UCLA’s MacGowan Hall.

Art

It’s a wrap. Or a celebration of wrap, really, as the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, salutes the fabric-and fiber-draped temporary monuments of conceptual artist Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, in “Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the Vogel Collection From the National Gallery of Art” opening today. The first such survey in the U.S. will feature 61 objects including several early wrapped packages, models for large-scale public works, drawings and collages for projects in urban and rural sites, and photographs of completed projects.

Pop Music

Two singer-songwriters who first earned attention with acclaimed but commercially underachieving rock bands do their solo thing this week. Representing the older generation, former Plimsouls leader Peter Case marks the recent release of his new album on Monday at the Knitting Factory Hollywood. Rhett Miller, whose Old 97’s are on hiatus, celebrates his solo debut album on Tuesday at the Troubadour in West Hollywood.

Video

India’s great director Mira Nair is in top form with her joyous romantic comedy “Monsoon Wedding.” A wonderful cast, including Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey and Roshan Seth, star in this story revolving around an arranged marriage in upper-class Delhi. Arrives Tuesday on VHS and DVD.