THREE-DAY FORECAST

THEATER

Bozos by the busload

John Goodman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chloe Webb and Tim Meadows are among the all-star cast in Hal Willner’s spectacle “Let’s Eat: Feasting on the Firesign Theatre,” featuring sequences from the legendary comedy group’s recordings. The musical guests for the UCLA Live event include Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang, Todd Rundgren, David Thomas of Pere Ubu and others.

Royce Hall, UCLA, 10745 Dickson Plaza, Westwood. Today only, 8 p.m. $40. (310) 825-2101.

ART

The culture of Cuba

Cabildo Is Coming: A Celebration of Cuban Art and Culture -- an exhibition set to coincide with the first anniversary of the crackdown on dissidents in Cuba -- opens tonight with a reception. Artists such as Viredo Espinoza, Haydee, Sahara Eduardo Estrada and others are represented in the show presented by Amnesty International and the city of West Hollywood.

Cabildo Is Coming: A Celebration of Cuban Art and Culture, A+D Architecture and Design Museum, 8650 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. Reception tonight, 7 p.m. Also, Friday and Monday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. (310) 825-0450.

MUSIC

Celebrated strings

Winner of the 2003 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition, the Biava String Quartet was formed in 1998 by recent graduates of the Cleveland Institute of Music. The quartet -- violinists Austin Hartman and Hyunsu Ko, violist Mary Persin and cellist Jacob Braun -- will perform works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and William Bolcom to open the Music Guild’s fifth season of “Coffee, Cakes and Chamber Music” at the University Synagogue.

University Synagogue, 11960 Sunset Blvd., West L.A. Sunday, 3 p.m. $9-$28. (323) 954-0404.

WORDS

Signature works

Susan Sontag, the intellectual and cultural critic whose many works include the National Book award-winning novel “In America” and current nonfiction best-seller “Regarding the Pain of Others” in addition to her well-known essay collections, will read from and sign her books at the Central Library. The New York-based writer also will receive the Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award at the library’s awards gala and dinner.

Susan Sontag, Richard J. Riordan Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., L.A. Wednesday, noon. Free. Reservations, (213) 228-7025. Gala and dinner: Library atrium, 7 p.m. $750. Reservations: (213) 228-7500.

THEATER

Not the Barrymores

In “The Royal Family,” the 1927 George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber comic sendup of the legendary Barrymores, the fictional Cavendishes are the celebrated “first family” of the theater whose fiery flair for the dramatic carries over into their personal lives.

Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. Opens Wednesday. Runs Tuesdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m.; also, April 11, 18, 25, 7:30 p.m., and April 29, May 5, 13, 2 p.m.; ends May 16. $20-$60. (213) 628-2772.

EVENT

And dirt is included

The eighth annual Southern California Bicycle Expo will showcase the latest in bicycles and accessories, cycling fashions and bike-related travel. Added bonuses: a BMX stunt show, an indoor track with more than 400 tons of imported dirt for attendees to test the latest technology, and classes, rides and drawings.

Southern California Bicycle Expo, Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., L.A. Friday, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $4-$9; 5 and younger, free. (818) 377-2006.

MOVIES

Life stages of a monk

The life of a Buddhist monk is viewed in five stages by Korean director Kim Ki-duk in his drama “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring.” The young monk is first seen as a boy living with an older monk on a monastery afloat on a beautiful lake. Later, he ventures into the outside world, only to return to the lake years later. Kim plays the monk in middle age; co-stars include Oh Young-soo, Kim Young-min, Seo Jae-kyung, Ha Yeo-jin and Kim Jong-ho.

“Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring,” rated R for some strong sexuality, opens Friday in selected theaters.

JAZZ

Pioneer of ‘60s ska

Jamaican pianist Monty Alexander brings two other acclaimed artists to work with him at the Catalina Bar & Grill this weekend: trumpeter Wallace Roney and guitarist Russell Malone. Alexander’s latest Telarc CD, “Rocksteady,” is a tribute to Jamaica’s ska heyday of the 1960s, when, while still in his teens, Alexander cut his musical teeth working as a session player.

Monty Alexander Quartet, Catalina Bar & Grill. 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. Thursday to Saturday, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 and 9 p.m. $18-$30. (323) 466-2210.

ART

Miraculous mile of diversions

The Miracle Mile Block Party: Craft and Folk Art Museum, Doublevision Gallery and Tarfest Benefit is shaping up to be an easy, enjoyable evening of art, music and community spirit. The art is by Steven Janssen, Ardeshir Tabrizi and Audrey Yevdoshchenko, while Constant Flux with visual artist Yo Suzuki, as well as DJ Marc Antonio and Beat Symposium, will provide the music. The reception begins at 5 p.m.; the music starts at 8 p.m., with proceeds benefiting the Miracle Mile Players.

The Miracle Mile Block Party, Miracle Mile Art Salon, 5828 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; The Craft and Folk Art Museum, 5824 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Doublevision Gallery, 5820 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Saturday reception, 5-8 p.m.; all venues free. Benefit, 8 p.m.-midnight, $5. (323) 899-1363 or www.tarfest.com.

POP MUSIC

It’s only rock ‘n’ roll

Will the Strokes strike while the iron is a little cooler? The New York band might have gone too far too fast when its debut album, “Is This It?,” made the group a standard-bearer in rock’s recent embrace of the raw and the retro. The follow-up album, “Room on Fire,” hasn’t sold as well, but that sophomore slip is balanced by a core audience substantial enough to fill the amphitheaters they’re playing. And now that they’re not bearing the burden of being a Big Deal, maybe everybody can just enjoy the band’s notable knack for hooks.

The Strokes, with the Sounds, Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. Saturday, 8:15 p.m. Sold out. (818) 622-4440.

DANCE

Return of the Dutch

A special eloquence in both choreography and interpretation makes any performance by

Nederlands Dans Theater a memorable event.

Spotlighting recent work by master contemporary dance-maker Jiri Kylian, the company’s current Costa Mesa engagement represents its first visit to Southern California in three years. The weekend programs feature Kylian’s “Click-Pause-Silence,” along with his classic 1978 “Symphony of Psalms” and Johann Inger’s “Walking Mad.” Free preview lectures will be offered one hour before each performance. See review of Program 1, Page 4.

Nederlands Dans Theater, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. $20-$75. (714) 740-7878.