THREE-DAY FORECAST

MUSEUM

Looking forward and back

The California African-American Museum in Exposition Park reopens to the public Saturday following a $3-million makeover that kept the facility closed for more than a year. The museum starts up again with four exhibitions devoted to African American history and culture: “Grafton Tyler Brown: Visualizing California and the Pacific Northwest,” featuring 51 paintings and lithographs by the San Francisco cartographer, lithographer and painter; “A Tribute to John T. Riddle, Jr.,” featuring metal sculptures, paintings, assemblages and serigraphs chronicling the economic and cultural disparities of African Americans; “Urban Aesthetics,” a multimedia installation of site-specific works showcasing six contemporary and emerging artists from Southern California; and “The African American Journey West,” featuring art and artifacts from the museum’s permanent collection.

“Grafton Tyler Brown: Visualizing California and the Pacific Northwest,” through June 8; “A Tribute to John T. Riddle, Jr.,” through Nov. 15; “Urban Aesthetics,” ends Dec. 14. “The African American Journey West,” indefinitely. California African-American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, L.A. Wednesdays to Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Parking, $6. (213) 744-7432.

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THEATER

When the laughter started

Alan Ayckbourn wasn’t aiming for the stars when he wrote “Relatively Speaking” in 1965: He says he tailored it for a producer friend who wanted “a play [that] would make people laugh when their seaside summer holidays were spoiled by rain and they came into the theater to get dry.” But the farce about two couples whose suspicions about infidelity become intertwined was the prolific Englishman’s first hit when it opened in 1967 in London’s West End. South Coast Repertory hasn’t been reluctant to mine Ayckbourn’s trove of more than 60 plays: With “Relatively Speaking,” SCR now has staged seven of them.

“Relatively Speaking,” South Coast Repertory’s Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tuesdays to Fridays, 7:45 p.m.; Saturdays to Sundays, 2 and 7:45 p.m. Ends April 6. $19 to $54. (714) 708-5555.

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MUSIC

In the key of tragedy

A woman feels trapped and suffocated in a marriage to a man who is dominated by his mother. She finds solace in the arms of a painter friend of her husband’s, and the two plot a murder that leads to tragic, guilt-ridden consequences. That’s the plot of Emile Zola’s scandalous 19th century novel “Therese Raquin,” turned into an opera by Tobias Picker and presented in its West Coast premiere by San Diego Opera. Picker’s work was created for Dallas Opera in 2001 by Francesca Zambello. It will be conducted here by Karen Keltner.

“Therese Raquin,” Civic Theatre, 202 C St., San Diego. Saturday and Tuesday, 7 p.m.; March 28, 8 p.m.; March 30, 2 p.m. $20 to $140. (619) 570-1100.

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DANCE

A last spin for the Stuttgart

Tonight is your last chance to catch the Stuttgart Ballet in its three-part contemporary mixed bill at the Orange County Performing Arts Center (Review, page E10). After that, the company devotes the rest of its engagement in Costa Mesa to one of its longtime specialties: John Cranko’s much-loved version of “Romeo and Juliet,” to music by Prokofiev. Originally choreographed in 1958, it is considered more youthful in spirit and lyrical in style than most other choreographic treatments. Three sets of dancers alternate in the lead roles, with the Pacific Symphony enlisted for accompaniment.

Stuttgart Ballet, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tonight, 8 p.m.: mixed bill. Then “Romeo and Juliet” Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, 2 p.m. $20 to $75. (714) 556-ARTS.

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MOVIES

Macho horror

In “Dreamcatcher,” the reunion of four friends for their annual hunting trip in the Maine woods takes a horrific turn following the arrival of a stranger, a vicious blizzard and an unearthly force. Yet another Stephen King page-turner reaches the big screen. Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore and Donnie Wahlberg star. Directed by Lawrence Kasdan, from a script by Kasdan and William Goldman.

“Dreamcatcher,” rated R for violence, gore and language, opens Friday in general release.

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THEATER

Women, women everywhere

The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, a rotating multicultural bill of film, music, dance, storytelling, performance art, poetry and theater events by and with women, kicks off with a champagne gala hosted by Hattie Winston, featuring performances by Karen Malina White, Marla Gibbs, Virginia Capers, a salute to Rachel Rosenthal and more. At the opening gala, performance artist Rosenthal, whose multidisciplinary works in recent years have often focused on environmental issues and animal rights, will be receiving the Maverick Award for her “high standard of individuality and self-styled creativity.”

Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., L.A. Kickoff gala, today, 7 p.m. Performances continue Monday and March 31, 7 p.m.; next Thursday and March 28, 8 p.m.; March 29, 2 and 8 p.m.; March 30, 2 and 7 p.m.; ends March 30. Kickoff gala, $40-$50; festival, $20; six-show pass, $100; full festival pass, $180. (818) 760-0408, (213) 473-0640. For program information, call or go to www.lawtf.8m.com.

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JAZZ

Band with no bounds

The Turtle Island String Quartet has a history of infusing American pop music into the parameters of its chamber music performances. Genres? Who needs them? Boundaries? Where?

The result has been an eclectic repertoire that moves easily from Robert Johnson to Jimi Hendrix to Frank Zappa to Tower of Power to Thelonious Monk to Dizzy Gillespie, with other interesting stops in between. Continuing on that theme, the classical quartet now presents “Blue in Green,” its take on jazz trumpeter Miles Davis’ legendary recording “Kind of Blue.”

Turtle Island String Quartet, Schoenberg Hall, UCLA. Saturday, 8 p.m. $15 to $40. (310) 825-2101.

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KIDS

Adventures in pop culture

In “The Legend of Alex,” a 12-year-old boy meets his rock ‘n’ roll idol, and together they embark on a fateful odyssey of self-discovery through the streets of L.A., meeting bus passengers, homeless people, runaways and street peddlers. The comic musical fable, by Doug Cooney and composer David O and presented by the Mark Taper Forum’s P.L.A.Y. company, explores young people’s identification with celebrities, rock ‘n’ roll and pop culture.

“The Legend of Alex,” Saturday, 11 a.m., Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City, (213) 972-3186; March 29, 11 a.m., 24th Street Theatre, 1117 W. 24th St., L.A., (213) 745-6516; April 5, Pasadena venue to be announced; April 12, 11 a.m., Performing Arts Center, Cal State Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., (818) 677-3943; April 19, noon, Leo S. Bing Theatre, L.A. County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., (323) 857-6010; April 26, 1 p.m., Ivar Theatre, 1605 N. Ivar, Hollywood, (213) 972-7587. Free, but reservations advised for smaller venues.