Three-day forecast

ART

An L.A. original

Long before there was a burgeoning art scene in Los Angeles, Frederick Hammersley was here. In 1959, he had his first show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Now, he’s considered an abstract classicist. You’ll recognize his clean lines and bold colors. His will be one of three shows opening this week at L.A. Louver gallery in Venice. “Frederick Hammersley: Organic Abstract Paintings” covers 45 years of his work. Also opening are “John McCracken: New Sculptures” and an exhibition of the work of Brazilian sculptor Edgard de Souza.

L.A. Louver, 45 N. Venice Blvd., Venice. Shows open Wednesday. Gallery hours: Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; ends Aug. 30. Free. (310) 822-4955.

THEATER

Globe hails ‘Caesar’

Tony Award-winner Daniel Sullivan (for “Proof”) returns to the Old Globe Theatre to direct Shakespeare’s tragedy “Julius Caesar” with a notable cast: Robert Foxworth, Kandis Chappell, Dakin Matthews and Jonathan McMurtry.

“Julius Caesar,” Old Globe Theatre, Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, Balboa Park, San Diego. Opens Saturday. Runs Tuesdays to Sundays, 8 p.m.; ends Aug. 10. $19 to $50. (619) 239-2255.

MUSIC

Orchestra really hops

For the third year, what is probably the world’s only hip-hop orchestra -- with its 60-plus players -- comes together to create an unparalleled outdoor musical experience. Composer, baritone sax player and band leader Geoff “GG” Gallegos brings his Dakah Orchestra, along with featured DJs on turntables, MCs, singers poets and other wordsmiths, to hip-hop the bridge from Mingus to Mack 10, from Monk to Mos Def and everywhere in between.

Dakah Orchestra, Grand Performances, California Plaza, 350 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Saturday, 8 p.m. Free. (213) 687-2159 or www.grandperformances.org.

JAZZ

Swinging under stars

Get ready for some R&B-flavored; smooth jazz when bassist-singer Wayman Tisdale, the former NBA power forward; saxophonist-singer Everette Harp, formerly of the Posse, the house band on the old Arsenio Hall Show; and keyboardist Alex Bugnon, a former sideman for Patti Austin, Freddie Jackson and James Ingram, bring their bands to perform outdoors in Newport Beach.

Wayman Tisdale, Everette Harp, Alex Bugnon, Hyatt Newporter Outdoor Ampitheater, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach. Friday, 7:30 p.m. $37.50. (949) 729-1234.

MOVIES

It’s time for a change

Mathilde Seigner is “The Girl From Paris,” a self-sufficient young woman who ditches her urban life, enrolls in agricultural college and buys an Alpine goat farm. Michel Serrault plays the curmudgeon who sells the farm on the condition he can remain for 18 months. Christian Carion’s humane French drama explores the interactions of two people, one who pursues change with a passion and the other who experiences it begrudgingly.

“The Girl From Paris,” unrated, opens Friday in selected theaters.

FESTIVAL

Bringing art to life

When the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts started in 1932, its hit attraction was the Living Pictures show. Created by artist and vaudevillian Lolita Perine, it featured local residents in costume, seated behind a makeshift frame. More than 70 years later, the Pageant of the Masters, as it has been called since 1936, is still the highlight of the annual event. But now, the re-creations of classical and contemporary works with real people posing to look like the originals come with a live original musical score, narration and professional sets.

Laguna Beach Festival of Arts/Pageant of the Masters, 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Opens Sunday. Festival, daily, 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Ends Aug. 29. $5; 11 and younger free. Pageant, daily, 8:30 p.m. $15 to $300. Pageant tickets include free festival admission all summer long. (800) 487-3378.

MOVIES

The genius of ‘Woman’

Jean-Luc Godard’s special genius has always been the ability to fuse reflection with romance, and pop forms with philosophy and politics. He gives classical rhythms and overview to supposedly disposable pop culture. “A Woman Is a Woman,” from his ‘60s heyday, stars Anna Karina as a stripper who wants to have a baby. Her boyfriend, Jean-Claude Brialy, isn’t

interested, so she pursues his pal, Jean-Paul Belmondo.

“A Woman Is a Woman,” unrated, opens Friday exclusively at the Landmark Nuart, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A., (310) 478-6379.

HOLIDAY

Lighting up the sky

Friday is Independence Day, and Southlanders with a hankerin’ for some “rockets’ red glare” have any number of options to choose from. Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Legoland, Knotts, the Hollywood Bowl and the Dodgers all have fireworks displays planned. Many local community centers and other venues are offering fireworks displays. Check our listings on Page 66. Also the Los Angeles County Fire Department has information on professional fireworks shows close to where you live.

Fireworks information, Los Angeles County Fire Department hot line (888) 654-FIRE or its Web site, www.safejuly4th.org/fw/fwshows.htm.

DANCE

Exploring heritage

Founded six years ago by Linda Yudin and Luiz Badaro, the locally based 16-member Viver Brasil Dance Company won a Lester Horton Dance Award in 2000 for its fusion of folkloric and contemporary Afro-Brazilian music and dance. Now in “Bahia: Land of Magic,” Badaro and guest choreographer Rosangela Silvestre survey the full range of their cultural heritage, from Candomble ritual to several distinctive martial arts forms and, of course, the irrepressible samba in different versions. Nature-worship underpins many of the movement idioms as well as the accompaniment: percussion intended to embody the rhythm of life.

Viver Brasil Dance Company in “Bahia: Land of Magic.” John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. Saturday, 8:30 p.m. $12 to $20. (323) 461-3673.

POP MUSIC

A rhythmic continuum

Don’t worry; they’re not turning the Hollywood Bowl into a refuge for ravers, despite the headlining presence of star DJ Paul Oakenfold. The Englishman is presiding over a concert called “World Beats,” designed to trace a rhythmic line from the Korean farmers’ band music of the UCLA Samulnori Drummers to the electro-Indian styling of Karsh Kale and Realize Live to the progressive house of DJ Hernan Cattaneo to Oakenfold’s hard-core house (abetted by vocals from Grant-Lee Phillips and others).

“World Beats,” Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., L.A., Sunday, 7 p.m. $1 to $73. (323) 850-2000.