WEEKEND FORECAST

TODAY

JAZZ

Has an aura of mystery

The Dave Douglas Quintet’s new album, “Meaning and Mystery,” was recorded in February and is now available exclusively online at www.greenleafmusic.com. The CD features Grammy-nominated composer-trumpeter Douglas, Uri Caine on Fender Rhodes electric piano, James Genus on bass, Clarence Penn on drums and newcomer Donny McCaslin on tenor sax. The same band performs this weekend at the Jazz Bakery.

Dave Douglas Quintet, Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. 8 and 9:30 tonight. $30. (310) 271-9039.

* Also 8 and 9:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

THEATER

He’ll be the judge of that

Based on her own experiences, Joanna McClelland Glass’ play “Trying” centers on the friendship that develops between a cantankerous judge and his newest secretary, a plain-spoken girl fresh from the Canadian prairie. Richard Seer directs.

“Trying,” Old Globe Theatre, Cassius Carter Centre Stage, Balboa Park, San Diego. Opens 8 tonight. $19 to $56. (619) 234-5623. www.theoldglobe.org

* Runs 7 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Ends May 21.

FRIDAY

MUSIC

All four one, one for all

Founded in 1995 at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Avalon String Quartet went on to win first prize at the 1999 Concert Artist Guild Competition, among other awards. The young ensemble -- violinists Blaise Magniere and Marie Wang, violist Anthony

Devroye and cellist Sumire Kudo -- will play lyric quartets, including Schubert’s “Rosamunde” Quartet, Schumann’s Quartet in A and Wolf’s “Italian Serenade.”

Avalon String Quartet, Doheny Mansion, 8 Chester Place, L.A., 8 p.m. Friday. $60 and $85.

(213) 477-2929. www.DaCamera.org

DANCE

Ripping right along

Hysteria can cause people to go to pieces -- and that’s what’s happening to Hysterica Dance Company, normally celebrated for its fierce, feverish full-evening dance dramas. Not this time. Instead, Kitty McNamee’s locally based ensemble is performing a program of short works, using every kind of accompaniment, from Mahler to Dolly Parton. First comes McNamee’s one-act, multi-part “rapture.” After intermission expect five- to 10-minute choreographies by company members Ryan Heffington, Mecca Andrews and Nina McNeely. Ripped psyches, ripped physiques, ripped streetwear: This company specializes in every kind of exposure.

Hysterica Dance Company in “rapture.” Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Friday. $17 (students) and $20. (323) 882-6912 or www.openfist.org

* Also 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and April 28-30.

FAMILY

‘Pinocchio’ comes to life

Philadelphia’s Enchantment Theatre Company, known for its unusual use of magic, actors, masks, shadow play and puppetry, is making a national tour stop with its original adaptation of the Carlo Collodi classic, “Pinocchio.”

“Pinocchio,” Norris Theatre, 27570 Crossfield Drive, Rolling Hills Estates. 7 p.m. Friday. Adults, $24; children, $12. (310) 544-0403. www.norristheatre.org

POP MUSIC

Indeed, he’s a soulful guy

North Carolina-born Anthony Hamilton has hit his stride on his fourth album, “Ain’t Nobody Worryin’,” a showcase for his sophisticated, passionate recasting of classic soul fundamentals. Hamilton shares the Gibson Amphitheatre bill with two performers who recently released follow-ups to their acclaimed debuts: Heather Headley and Van Hunt.

Anthony Hamilton, Heather Headley, Van Hunt, Gibson Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. 8:15 p.m. Friday. $45 to $65. (818) 622-4440.

MOVIES

Life does a somersault

After a failed pass at her mother’s boyfriend, 16-year-old Australian Heidi (Abbie Cornish) runs away to a small ski village in writer-director Cate Shortland’s award-winning feature debut, “Somersault.” Heidi lands a job at a gas station, finds a place to live and carves out a life for herself, but a romance with Joe (Sam Worthington), the son of a wealthy farmer, triggers the return of her self-destructive behavior.

“Somersault,” unrated, opens Friday at Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. (323) 848-3500.

SATURDAY

ART

Looks good; useful too

Sleek and utilitarian object design is quintessentially Dutch. Think: Mark Stam’s 1926 cantilever armchair, which can still be found in offices throughout the world. The tradition continues with Droog Design, an Amsterdam-based collective that, for the last decade, has been innovating and defining modern design with its conceptual approach and sense of humor. The group exhibition “NLA: Netherlands to Los Angeles” showcases the latest works by the collective, along with the works of other leading Dutch designers.

“NLA: Netherlands to Los Angeles,” ACME, 6150 Wilshire Blvd., Spaces 1 & 2, L.A. Opens Saturday. (323) 857-5942.

* Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Ends May 27.

EVENTS

Colors in full bloom

Spring is here, and so is art walk season. First, on Saturday, LACMA presents its 12th annual ArtWalk through downtown’s Gallery Row from noon to 6 p.m. followed by a reception at St. Vibiana’s Cathedral. The artists, painters, sculptors and designers of the Brewery Arts Colony open their studios to the public all day Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, after all that walking, the Brentwood Spring Art Show will feature the work of more than 150 artists and craftspeople.

* LACMA ArtWalk, Gallery Row, Main and Spring streets between 2nd and 9th streets, L.A. Noon to 9 p.m. Saturday. $30 in advance, $35 at the door, includes reception. (323) 857-6000. www.lacma.org

* Brewery ArtWalk, the Brewery Arts Colony, 600 Moulton Ave., L.A. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free. (323) 342-0717. www.breweryartwalk.com

* Brentwood Spring Art Show, San Vicente Boulevard between Saltair and Darlington avenues, Brentwood. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Free. (626) 797-6803. www.brentwoodartshow.com

FAMILY

Get ready to wiggle

Aussie superstar quartet Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt, Anthony Field and Greg Page, a.k.a. the Wiggles, return in their latest high-energy, singalong touring show, “The Wiggles: Sailing Around the World,” with Captain Feathersword and other sidekicks.

The Wiggles, Gibson Amphi-

theatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, 1:30 and 5 p.m. Saturday. $22.50 to $37.50. (213) 480-3232, (714) 740-2000; www.ticketmaster.com

* Also 1:30 and 5 p.m. Sunday at the Gibson, as well as 3 and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Long Beach Arena, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.

SUNDAY

BOOKS

When it all collapsed

Author Jonathan Safran Foer closed his second novel, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” with a flip book of a body rising into the collapsing World Trade Center.

Beneath the typographical gimmickry and high-wire subject matter was a tender, occasionally frustrating but deeply affecting portrait of grief and a child’s lost innocence. He’ll read from the novel at the Santa Monica College Pavilion.

Jonathan Safran Foer, Santa Monica College Pavilion, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. 3 p.m. Sunday. Free. (310) 434-4303.

WEDNESDAY

THEATER

A fable set to music

“The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets” is a fable from avant-garde director Robert Wilson, singer-songwriter-composer Tom Waits and the late Beat writer William S. Burroughs about a clerk who must learn to hunt in order to marry a woodsman’s daughter. He tries to ensure success by striking a deal with the devil.

“The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets,” Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. Opens 8 p.m. Wednesday. $45 to $95. (213) 628-2772. www.CenterTheatreGroup.org

* Runs 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Sundays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Exceptions: 2 and 8 p.m. May 25, June 1, June 8; 2 p.m. only on May 28, June 4, June 11; ends June 11.