Three-day forecast

MUSEUMS

‘Glow’: An exhibit that should prove illuminating

Whether you call them lightning bugs or fireflies, chances are they’re a lot brighter than you are. So, too, are flashlight fish and glowing plankton. An exhibit opening Saturday in San Diego, called “Glow: Living Lights,” explores bioluminescence -- how it works, what its function is. Living creatures, rare photos and film and hands-on activities are included, along with a scare or two. Visitors enter through a darkened gallery and encounter evil-looking viper fish and cookie-cutter sharks, named for their ability to slice a cookie-shaped chunk of flesh out of unsuspecting prey.

“Glow: Living Lights,” San Diego Natural History Museum, Balboa Park, San Diego. Daily, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; ends Sept. 7. $5. (619) 232-3821.

DANCE

Not your average ‘Swan’ and ‘Giselle’

Founded in 1929, the Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet made its Southland debut a year ago at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and now returns for five performances of Vladimir Bourmeister’s celebrated 1953 version of “Swan Lake” (Friday-Wednesday) and three of Tatiana Legat’s 1991 staging of “Giselle” (May 30 and 31). As you might expect from artists associated with the dramatic reforms of Stanislavsky, the company’s dancing does not merely take refuge behind the conventions of classical style but brings dramatic insight and credibility to the most familiar of 19th century warhorses.

Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet, Kodak Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. “Swan Lake”: Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 p.m. “Giselle”: May 30, 8 p.m.; May 31, 2 and 8 p.m. $25 to $82. (213) 365-3500.

JAZZ

Vital has the essentials

In addition to their busy performance schedules with other acts, drummer Steve Smith, keyboardist Tom Coster and guitarist Frank Gambale have been making music together as Vital Information since 1983. The jazz fusion band’s 2001 CD, “Show ‘Em Where You Live,” which featured the debut of new bassist Baron Browne, was the group’s 10th album. This week, saxophonist Bill Evans will be sitting in with Vital Information at Catalina.

Vital Information, Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Thursday-Saturday, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. $16 to $22. (323) 466-2210.

FESTIVAL

Art beneath your toes

This weekend the Santa Barbara Mission will be transformed into an Italian piazza. Observing a tradition dating back to the 16th century, artists will use chalk to create images on 200 pavement squares in the mission plaza at the I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival. Attendees will also be treated to live music, food, an Italian-themed marketplace and other attractions.

I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival, Santa Barbara Mission, 2201 Laguna St., Santa Barbara. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. (805) 569-3873.

MOVIES

Iraq film tender

and timely

Bahman Ghobadi, whose acclaimed 2000 drama “A Time for Drunken Horses” earned him a share of the Camera d’Or at Cannes, returns with an intimate, timely portrayal of the Kurdish people, “Marooned in Iraq.” The film is set in the wake of the devastating, decade-long Iran-Iraq war and tracks an Iranian-Kurdish musician who undertakes, with his two grown sons, an adventure to rescue his ex-wife from somewhere deep in Iraq.

“Marooned in Iraq,” unrated, opens Friday in selected theaters.

MUSIC

At the Pavilion, a fond ‘Farewell’

The final performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion are upon us at last. The program includes -- what could be more fitting? -- Haydn’s “Farewell” Symphony, in which the musicians leave the stage one by one during the final movement, until only two violinists remain. Originally, they blew out candles lighting their music stands, but it’s not likely they’ll do that here. Pierre Boulez will lead the Philharmonic in Haydn’s symphony on a program that also includes Bartok’s Four Orchestra Pieces, Messiaen’s “Oiseaux Exotiques” (Exotic Birds) and Strauss’ youthful “Burleske” in D minor, with Mitsuko Uchida as the piano soloist.

Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Today and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 p.m. $14 to $82. (323) 850-2000.

THEATER

‘Trestle’: The work of a genius?

“The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek,” opening Saturday in Hollywood, revolves around young love, a murder charge and a workers’ rebellion in a small, bleak town in 1936. This drama is by MacArthur genius grant recipient Naomi Wallace (“One Flea Spare”).

“The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek,” Stella Adler Theatre, second floor, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Opens Saturday. Runs Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.; ends June 29. $15; opening gala, $20. (323) 254-9328.

ART

R.B. Kitaj comes home

Although R.B. Kitaj has lived in Los Angeles for the last six years, you’re not likely to find his art here. Kitaj’s work, with its references to the classics, is like a textbook in art history, albeit one assembled with a sly grin. His paintings hang in museums and galleries in London, Paris, Madrid and Jerusalem. Today, his first exhibit at a Los Angeles gallery opens with works painted over the last two years. “R.B. Kitaj: Los Angeles Pictures” explores Cezanne and the Old Masters, Kitaj’s Jewish heritage and his erotic relationship with his late wife, Sandra Fisher.

“R.B. Kitaj: Los Angeles Pictures,” L.A. Louver Gallery, 45 N. Venice Blvd., Los Angeles. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; ends July 5. Free. (310) 822-4955.

POP MUSIC

Dashboard does the small scene

You can put Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba in a tiny cell or a vast hangar and he’ll still do his inspirational stuff with full effect. At least that’s been the Floridian’s pattern in the Southland, where he and his band have played everywhere from the nightclubs to the Hollywood Palladium. This week it’s back to the small rooms before the group returns in June, sharing a bill at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater with Beck.

Dashboard Confessional, the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, Thursday, 8 p.m. Sold out. (310) 278-9457. Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Sold out. (310) 276-6168 Glass House, 200 W. 2nd St., Pomona. Sunday, 7 p.m. Sold out. (909) 629-0377.