TODAYEVENTSLong Beach goes vroomFast cars, music and...

TODAY

EVENTS

Long Beach goes vroom

Fast cars, music and celebrities take over the streets this weekend at the 33rd annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The grand prix will feature six racing events, including

the second round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series.

Festivities start this afternoon with a car show followed by a concert. Friday features practice and qualifying races plus live music. Hugh Hefner will serve as grand marshal for Saturday’s pro/celebrity race, which will include Kathryn Morris of television’s “Cold Case,” Howard Stern sidekick Robin Quivers, Emily Procter of

“CSI: Miami,” tennis legend Martina Navratilova and former Laker John Salley.

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas will be grand marshal for Sunday’s main event. And the Miss Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Pageant, a Saturday concert by the rock band Taking Back Sunday and other activities are scheduled throughout the weekend.

33rd Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Shoreline Drive and other streets, downtown Long Beach. 4:30 to 7 p.m. today. Car show: free. (888) 82-SPEED.

* Also 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. $25 to $490.

MUSIC

Tristan sets sail again

Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic bring back their “Tristan Project,” a collaboration with video artist Bill Viola and director Peter Sellars that premiered in semi-staged concert form here in 2004 and went on to be fully staged at the Opera Bastille in Paris in 2005.

Wagner’s opera will be presented one act at a time over three days, and each act will be paired with a work by Debussy -- “Printemps,” “Nocturnes” and “La Damoiselle elue,” respectively. The entire opera will be given alone on two additional evenings. Christine Brewer and Alan Woodrow sing the title roles. Viola’s video images will be projected on screens during the performances.

“Tristan Project,” Los Angeles Philharmonic, 8 tonight (Act I). $15 to $135. (323) 850-2000, www.laphil.com

* Also 8 p.m. Friday (Act II) and Saturday (Act III).

* Also 6 p.m. Wednesday and April 24 (complete opera). $45 to $150.

JAZZ

Versatility is his forte

Havana-born pianist-composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba won a Latin Grammy last year for his album “Solo,” which featured, as the name implies, only his unadorned piano performance.

The last time he performed at Catalina’s, it was as part of a high-powered trio with legendary bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Harvey Mason.

This time around, the versatile Rubalcaba brings his quintet -- with Matt Brewer on bass, Marcus Gilmore on drums, Mike Rodriguez on trumpet and Yosvany Terry on sax -- to the jazz club in Hollywood.

Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quintet, Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. 8:30 and 10:30 tonight. $18 to $30. (323) 466-2210.

* Also 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Friday to Saturday; 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

FRIDAY

MOVIES

A road reopens

British director Andrea Arnold, who won an Oscar for the short film “Wasp,” makes her feature debut with the Glasgow-set drama “Red Road.” Kate Dickie stars as a surveillance operator who spots a man from her past on her monitor, someone she hoped never to see again. Tony Curran, Martin Compton and Natalie Press costar.

“Red Road,” unrated, opens Friday exclusively at the Landmark Nuart, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles. (310) 281-8223.

THEATER

That tiny Texas town

Jaston Williams and Joe Sears reprise “Greater Tuna,” their loopy piece of Americana that became a hit in the 1980s. In this two-man, quick-change dark comedy, written with Ed Howard, the pair play nearly two dozen wacko residents of tiny Tuna, Texas -- home to Smut Snatchers, Didi’s Used Weapons Emporium and UFOs.

“Greater Tuna,” La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. $37.50 and $45. (562) 944-9801, www.lamiradatheatre.com

* Runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Exceptions: this weekend runs

8 p.m. only on Saturday and 2 p.m. only on Sunday; ends April 29.

EVENTS

Tails set wagging

Pets provide companionship and affection to people the world over. This weekend, people get a chance to give a little love back. America’s Family Pet Expo will offer advice from animal experts, special pricing on pet products, hands-on interactions with many kinds of critters and the chance to adopt one and take it home.

The expo will showcase almost 100 breeds of dogs and hundreds of other animals, including cats, birds, fish, llamas, reptiles and pigs. Additionally, more than 1,000 animals will perform in stage shows, competitions and demonstrations.

America’s Family Pet Expo, Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. $4 to $10; 5 and younger, free. (800) 999-7295.

* Also 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

SATURDAY

EVENTS

Fire up the barbecue

Barbecue teams from across the United States will compete at the Autry BBQ Championship and Festival in Griffith Park. Cooking demonstrations by culinary experts such as Lenny Bent from the “Cookin’ With Lenny” television show, cowboy cook Tom Perini and Los Angeles Times food writer Charles Perry also will be featured.

Christina Ortega, James Intveld and Sage Guyton and the Lucky Stars will head the music lineup, and crafts for the younger griller-wannabes will be offered.

And that’s not to mention the western-themed museum itself.

Autry BBQ Championship and Festival, Autry National Center, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park, L.A. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. $3 to $9; members and 2 and younger, free.

(323) 667-2000, Ext. 353, autrynationalcenter.org/bbq.php

THEATER

Coaches

are at bat

Richard Dresser’s two-man comedy “Rounding Third” finds a misfit pair of co-coaches battling it out through one Little League season.

Kevin Symons and Jerry Kernion play the coaches in the L.A. premiere, directed by Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Andrew Barnicle.

“Rounding Third,” Colony Theatre Company, 555 N. 3rd St., Burbank. Opens 8 p.m. Saturday. $37 to $42. (818) 558-7000, Ext. 15, www.colonytheatre.org

* Runs 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Exceptions: 3 and 8 p.m. April 21 and April 28, also 8 p.m. May 3 and May 10; ends May 13.

MUSIC

A soldier’s sad songs

German composer Alban Berg was working on his first opera, “Wozzeck,” when he was called to serve in World War I, so he was able to bring more than the usual personal reactions to this story of a hapless soldier driven to murder.

San Diego Opera presents this riveting work in English, with German bass Franz Hawlata making his company debut in the title role. Nina Warren sings Marie, the young mother of Wozzeck’s son.

La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director and Tony Award winner Des McAnuff will direct; Karen Keltner will conduct.

“Wozzeck,” San Diego Opera, Civic Theatre, 1100 3rd Ave., San Diego. 7 p.m. Saturday. $27 to $182. (619) 533-7000, www.sdopera.com* Also 7 p.m. Tuesday, 8 p.m. April 20 and 2 p.m. April 22.

ART

Alone, he’s a group

“Don Suggs: One Man Group Show,” so named because of his wildly varied oeuvre, presents a survey of 35 years of the Los Angeles-based artist’s work, including drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures from his major projects: “Passions,” “Autochthonous Views,” “Proprietary Views,” “Portraits,” “Old Genres,” “Heuristic Paintings,” “Tondototems,” “Paint Ons” and “Feastpoles.”

“Don Suggs: One Man Group Show,” Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis College of Art and Design, 9045 Lincoln Blvd., L.A. Opens 5 p.m. Saturday. (310) 665-6905.

* Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays.

WORLD MUSIC

Great joy in these voices

South Africa’s 26-member, Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir has accomplished the task of transforming traditional gospel music into a globally successful musical phenomenon.

Singing in six of South Africa’s 11 official languages, the choir offers an intensity that transcends language and cultural differences. When it sings “Oh, Happy Day,” the boundaries disappear completely.

Soweto Gospel Choir, Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. 8 p.m. Saturday. Sold out. Call box office for last-minute availability.

(949) 854-4646.