WEEKEND FORECAST

FRIDAY

MOVIES

Fast track to togetherness

Justin Kirk and Julianne Nicholson play Stuart and Nicole, opposites -- he’s a fast-talking Broadway press agent; she’s new to New York from Montana -- who attract, in the romantic drama “Flannel Pajamas.” The film follows the couple’s relationship from falling in love on the first date through a quick marriage into the complexities and negotiations of everyday life. Written and directed by veteran indie distributor Jeff Lipsky, who helped shepherd films by John Cassavetes, Jean-Luc Godard and Jim Jarmusch, among others, into theaters.

“Flannel Pajamas,” unrated, opens Friday exclusively at Landmark’s NuArt, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. (310) 281-8223; Regal/Edwards University Town Center 6, 4245 Campus Drive, Irvine, (949) 854-8818.

MUSIC

A concerto goes deep

A concerto for double bass is still a novelty, despite the agility and expressiveness of the instrument. John Harbison, who has been a Los Angeles Philharmonic composer in residence, has added to the slender repertory for this deep, dark instrument with his Concerto for Bass Viol. Dennis Trembly, the Philharmonic’s principal bassist, will play the West Coast premiere of the work, with the orchestra led by Carlos Kalmar, music director of the Oregon Symphony. Kalmar, who is making his Philharmonic debut, will also conduct the Suite from Janacek’s “The Cunning Little Vixen” and Dvorak’s Seventh Symphony.

Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Friday. $15 to $135. (323) 850-2000; www.laphil.com.

* Also 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday.

FAMILY

The show’s a living Dahl

Golden tickets and goodies, Oompa Loompas, Veruca Salt, Augustus Gloop: The Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration on Tour’s latest is “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka,” adapted from Dahl’s book and the original “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” film by Tony and Grammy Award-winning composer Leslie Bricusse and playwright Tim McDonald. Features live actors, puppets and music by Bricusse and the late Anthony Newley.

“Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka,” Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. 8 p.m. Friday. $32 and $43. (562) 467-8818. www.cerritoscenter.com.

* Also 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday.

THEATER

Pageantry is reborn

One of the world’s largest living nativities, the annual spectacular “The Glory of Christmas” celebrates the biblical story of Christ through pageantry, more than 100 singers and dancers, live animals and flying angels.

“The Glory of Christmas,” Crystal Cathedral, 12141 Lewis St., Garden Grove. Opens 7:30 p.m. Friday. $30 to $40. (714) 544-5679; www.crystalcathedral.org.

* Runs Tuesdays through Sundays plus Dec. 18; dark Dec. 24-25. See website for times. Ends Dec. 30.

POP MUSIC

A tour of renewal

Lionel hasn’t been the most famous Richie in his family for a few years now, but the veteran singer and songwriter seems to have a comeback in him every decade or so. With daughter Nicole appearing in the video for “I Call It Love,” the single has been a success at a range of radio formats, and the former Commodores leader and ‘80s megastar brings his “Coming Home” theater tour to a close with some Southland dates.

Lionel Richie, Kodak Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Friday. $40.50 to $70.50. (323) 308-6300.

* Also 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Anaheim Arena at Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim. $50 to $85. (714) 765-8888.

SATURDAY

JAZZ

Chaos, the good kind

Al Di Meola returns to the solid-body electric guitar on a tour supporting his new album, “Consequence of Chaos.” Although Chick Corea and Barry Miles, present on the CD, won’t be around for the traveling version, the upbeat, often fiery tunes will be front and center. And, despite the implications of the title, the music is as focused as it is intense -- a stunning overview of the phases in Di Meola’s ever-engaging, ever-eclectic career.

Al Di Meola, the House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 9 p.m. Saturday. $20 to $30. (323) 848-5100.

OPERA

Good at being bad

“The Coronation of Poppea,” Monteverdi’s last opera, composed in 1643 when he was 75, is an astonishing celebration of illicit love triumphing over morality. Each character is a vivid, recognizable portrait of greed, lust, pomposity, weakness, self-righteousness and almost every other vice and virtue imaginable. In this Los Angeles Opera presentation, Susan Graham sings the role of the scheming Poppea. Other principals include Kurt Streit as the lust-besotted Nero; Frederica von Stade as his outraged wife, Ottavia; David Daniels as Poppea’s cast-off lover, Ottone, and Reinhard Hagen as the upright, vain, doomed philosopher Seneca. Harry Bickett conducts. The production is from the Netherlands Opera.

“The Coronation of Poppea,” Los Angeles Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A., 7 p.m. Saturday. $30 to $220. (213) 972-8001; www.laopera.com.

* Also 7 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, 13 and 16; 2 p.m. Dec. 3 and 10.

TUESDAY

JAZZ

Editing the songbook

One of the reasons pianist Bill Cantos is such a superb singer’s accompanist is because he’s spent so much time accompanying his own engaging vocals. His synergistic combination of voice and piano stands out on “Love Wins: New Standards for the New Millennium,” a collection of original tunes in which Cantos takes a surprisingly successful crack at bringing the classic styles of the Great American Songbook into the 21st century. He performs with the sterling backup trio of Luis Conte, percussion; John Ferraro, drums; and Rene Camacho, bass.

Bill Cantos, the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. 8 and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. $20. (310) 271-9039.

FOOD

Dishing on experiences

Always-hungry America is crazy about cuisine, whether reading about it, watching it or eating it. But what happens before the bone-white china plate is placed in front of you, artfully arranged with steaming, perfect food? How many recipes altered or plumb thrown out? Barbara Fairchild, editor in chief of Bon Appetit, hosts “How I Learned to Cook,” a panel discussion with chefs Susan Feniger, Suzanne Goin, Mary Sue Milliken and Nancy Silverton, who will share their triumphs, passions and disasters in the kitchen.

Aloud L.A. presents “How I Learned to Cook,” Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., L.A. 7 p.m. Tuesday. Free, but reservations full; standby room only. (213) 228-7025.

WEDNESDAY

THEATER

It’s Ibsen reinvented

Mabou Mines presents the West Coast premiere of “DollHouse,” director Lee Breuer’s reinvention of the Ibsen classic “A Doll’s House” as a visual commentary on sexual politics: In a playhouse-sized world, male actors are less than 4 1/2 feet tall and females stand nearly 6 feet. Eve Beglarian scores, with a collage of Edvard Grieg’s piano pieces.

“DollHouse,” Freud Playhouse, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. Opens 8 p.m. Wednesday. $42 and $60. (310) 825-2101; www.uclalive.org.

* Runs 8 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Ends Dec. 10.