WEEKEND FORECAST

FRIDAY

A voice with a hint of a classic

Singer-guitarist Madeleine Peyroux, whose voice is strongly evocative of the great Billie Holiday, comes to town for a one-night stand at the El Rey Theatre. Peyroux took an eight-year recording hiatus after the 1996 release of her first album, the critically acclaimed “Dreamland.” Peyroux’s second CD, “Careless Love,” was released last year and has also earned praise. The collection features an eclectic selection of songs by such masters as Bob Dylan, W.C. Handy, Hank Williams and Leonard Cohen, as well as tunes penned by Peyroux herself.

Madeleine Peyroux, El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 7:45 p.m. Friday. $25. (323) 936-6400.

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Doing it the Sinatra way

Ring-a-ding-ding. It’s not just the music, it’s the mystique. A cast of stage veterans pays tribute to Frank Sinatra’s songs and the Sinatra legend in “My Way,” a musical revue directed by Nick DeGruccio for McCoy Rigby Entertainment. Cast includes Damon Kirsche, Nikki Crawford, Kevin Earley and Tami Tappan Damiano.

“My Way,” La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. $32 and $40. (562) 944-9801, (714) 994-6310. www.lamiradatheatre.com

* Runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday, except 8 p.m. only this Saturday and 2:30 p.m. only this Sunday. Ends Feb. 27.

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When mom takes off

Inspired by a real-life event, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Nobody Knows” spins a tale of four Japanese children, ages 4 to 12, who live on their own in a cramped apartment after their mother leaves them. Television personality You portrays the mother, a woman prone to falling in love -- the children each have different fathers. Yagira Yura plays 12-year-old Akira, who organizes his siblings and stretches the meager funds his mom occasionally sends.

“Nobody Knows,” PG-13 for mature thematic elements and some sexual references, opens Friday at Laemmle’s Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., (310) 477-5581; Laemmle’s Playhouse 7, Pasadena, (626) 844-6500; and Edwards South Coast Village 3, 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana, (714) 540-1970.

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SATURDAY

Artist gets personal

Artist and curator Xiaoze Xie gives a gallery talk and tour of the exhibition “Regeneration: Contemporary Chinese Art From China and the U.S.” The show is a survey of works made by Chinese artists since the late 1980s and includes paintings by Xie, along with installation, photography, prints, sculptures and mixed media by 26 emerging and internationally known artists residing in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and the U.S.

“Gallery Talk and Tour: Xiaoze Xie,” Ben Maltz Gallery, Galef Center for Fine Arts, Otis College of Art and Design, 9045 Lincoln Blvd., L.A. 4-7 p.m. Saturday. (310) 665-6905.

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Traveling the globe

Southern California composers Jennifer Logan and Patricio da Silva on Saturday are launching a promising new electronic and computer music concert series, Los Angeles Sonic Odyssey. The opening program -- the first of four (the others are March 12, April 9 and May 5) -- will include a wide selection of music by 10 composers from Austria, Brazil, France, Portugal, Turkey and the United States. Logan and Da Silva promise a diverse experience in the styles and ideas current around the world, and there’s no reason to doubt the assertion. Sit back and let the music from eight loudspeakers surrounding you take you to a new world.

Los Angeles Sonic Odyssey, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 3646 Coldwater Canyon Ave., Studio City. 8 p.m. Saturday. $20. (877) 358-5813 or www.spectrumpress.com.

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SUNDAY

Adventure into the Abstract

In 1943, artists Adolph Gottlieb, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman declared in a letter published in the New York Times, “To us art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take risks.” Influenced by Cubism and Surrealism, the artists and their peers boldly found new ways to express themselves and an artistic movement was born. Culled from MOCA’s permanent collection, “Into the Unknown: Abstraction From the Collection 1940-1960” explores the paintings, sculptures, photographs and works on paper by some of the most influential Abstract Expressionists.

“Into the Unknown: Abstraction From the Collection 1940-1960,” Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 Grand Ave., L.A. Opens Sunday. $5-$8; 11 and younger, free.

* Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday and Friday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday. Ends June 13.

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Compare, contrast

Bold modern dance accompanied by the choreographers’ favorite pop artists: That’s what the increasingly daring Hubbard Street Dance Chicago offers in its

program in Glendale on Sunday. Now in his fifth season as company artistic director, Jim Vincent has given his 21 dancers four contrasting contemporary challenges: Brian Enos’ “Diphthong” (music by Zap Mama), Lucas Crandall’s “Gimme” (music by Branimira), Christopher Bruce’s “Rooster” (music by the Rolling Stones) and what’s billed as a preview of Lar Lubovitch’s “Love Stories” (music by Kurt Elling). (For those who might be unacquainted with dance-scene jargon, “preview” means that the work is finished but its official premiere has been promised to some other theater.)

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. 7 p.m. Sunday. $25 to $45. (818) 243-2539.