Weekend Forecast

FRIDAY

Intimacy intertwined in ‘Closer’

Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owens and Natalie Portman swap sardonic comments and jibes in the sexual roundelay “Closer,” adapted from Patrick Marber’s stage drama. The actors play, respectively, a photographer, a writer, a doctor and a stripper, who become intimately involved. Mike Nichols, who recovered from the 2000 Garry Shandling bomb “What Planet Are You From?” by wading into the healing waters of HBO via the acclaimed adaptations of “Wit” and “Angels in America,” directs.

“Closer,” rated R for graphic sexual dialogue, nudity/sexuality and language, opens Friday in general release.

A ‘Carol’ to count on

In an era of rapid change, South Coast Repertory’s lavish annual mounting of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” seems more and more a testament to the company’s commitment to a core of constancy. Hal Landon Jr. has played the Scrooge part since the inaugural run 25 years ago; John David Keller has directed every year, and Jerry Patch, who adapted the story for the stage, remains in his longtime post as SCR’s dramaturge.

“A Christmas Carol,” South Coast Repertory’s Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens Friday. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, except noon and 4 p.m. Dec. 24; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; noon and 4 p.m. Sundays. Also 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20. $30-$46. (714) 708-5555. www.scr.org

* Ends Dec. 26

Motown for the holidays

In a comic twist on a holiday classic, Troubadour Theater Company’s latest circus-style musical wackiness, directed by Matt Walker, is “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Motown,” a St. Nicholas adventure for all ages set in a land of “Smokey Miracles and Supreme Temptations.”

“Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Motown,” Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank. Opens Friday. 8 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 4 and 7 p.m. Sundays (no 7 p.m. show this Sunday). $30-$37.50 (12 and younger, $20). (818) 955-8101.

* Ends Dec. 23.

Monheit at Royce Hall

Singer Jane Monheit’s fifth album, “Taking a Chance on Love,” which was released in September, is her first on a major label -- Sony Classical. The 27-year-old New York native, who cites Ella Fitzgerald as one of her primary influences, first gained national attention when she was named first runner-up at the 1998 Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition.

Jane Monheit, Royce Hall, UCLA, Westwood. 8 p.m. Friday. $45-$60. (310) 825-2101.

Wagner with video

In what’s sure to be remembered as a triumph or a fiasco, Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, director Peter Sellars and video artist Bill Viola team up for the three-concert “Tristan” Project, in co-production with the Paris Opera. At each concert, a semi-staged version of one act of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” will be performed. The rest of each concert will consist of a work influenced by the opera. Act 1 takes place Friday; Act 2, Saturday; Act 3, Sunday. (The cycle will be repeated next weekend.) The musical complements are, respectively, Berg’s Lyric Suite, the Suite from Debussy’s “Pelleas et Melisande” and Kaija Saariaho’s “Cinq reflets.”

“Tristan” Project, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Dec. 10 and 11, 2 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 12. $15-$125. (323) 850-2000.

SATURDAY

The quirks of the new

Create:Fixate, an arts organization dedicated to showcasing emerging and midcareer artists, celebrates its three-year anniversary with “The Optical Lounge and Audio Lab.” Paintings, photographs and multimedia installations by local and international artists are on display in five rooms dedicated to the visual arts, and local DJs Santo, John Tejada, Lillyanne and others complement the show with their audio talents.

“The Optical Lounge and Audio Lab,” Spring Arts Tower, 453 S. Spring St., L.A. 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday. $10. (323) 466-5141.

SUNDAY

Both sides of botanicas

In conjunction with “Botanica Los Angeles: Latino Popular Religious Art in the City of Angels” at the UCLA Fowler Museum, “Inside Botanicas” is an artists’ roundtable discussion that offers an insider’s view of local and cultural folk art. The talk is followed by a guided tour with artist commentary on individual works. The “Botanica” exhibition, on display until Feb. 27, explores how the altars associated with folk Catholicism and other Latin American religious traditions, dedicated to a host of saints and deities, function as part spiritual shrine and part community center.

“Inside Botanicas,” UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Sunset and Westwood boulevards, Westwood. 2 p.m. Sunday. Free. (310) 825-4361.