WEEKEND FORECAST

TODAY

WORLD MUSIC

Her own global mix

Imagine the soaring melodies of Joni Mitchell and the darkly lyrical twists and turns of Paul Simon, sung over a steaming caldron of African rhythms. But, as intriguing as that may sound, it still doesn’t quite do justice to the music of Ashley Maher, who manages to use those fertile sources as the stimulation for songs and performances that are uniquely her own. The music will be especially enhanced for this performance by the presence of Venezuelan jazz pianist Otmaro Ruiz, Peruvian guitarist Ramon Stagnaro, Puerto Rican drummer Walter Rodriguez and Cameroonian bassist Andre Manga.

Ashley Maher, the Vic at the Victorian Collection, 2640 Main St., Santa Monica, 8 and 10 tonight. $20 plus two-item minimum. Reservations required.

(888) 367-5299.

FRIDAY

THEATER

What’s the bottom line?

Richard Gilliland and “The Simpson’s” Yeardley Smith head the cast in “Balancing Act,” Frank Salisbury’s suspense-comedy about an embezzling executive (Gilliland) whose plans to flee the country are hampered when the company’s accountant (Smith) arrives unexpectedly at his home to share her concerns that someone is cooking the books.

“Balancing Act,” Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. $25 to $37.50. (818) 955-8101. www.falcontheatre.com* Runs 8 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays. Ends May 6.

POP MUSIC

You’ll laugh, you’ll sigh

Comedy and come-ons are the stuff of Jamie Foxx’s live concert, in which the actor and singer returns to his original calling of stand-up comic, and then delivers a set of the bedroom-eyes R&B; from his hit album “Unpredictable.” One thing that’s definitely not unpredictable is the musical salute to Ray Charles, the subject of Foxx’s Oscar-winning portrayal in “Ray.”

Jamie Foxx, Gibson Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. 8:15 p.m. Friday. $49.75 to $100. (818) 777-3931.

* Also 8:15 p.m. Saturday.

MUSIC

Victory after chaos

Danish composer Carl Nielsen wrote his Fourth Symphony after a career and personal crisis. He titled the work “The Inextinguishable” to reflect its final feeling of triumph after a period of chaos. Paavo Jarvi will conduct the Cincinnati Symphony in Nielsen’s symphony on a program that also includes Erkki-Sven Tuur’s “Zeitraum” and Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Leonidas Kavakos will be the violin soloist.

Cincinnati Symphony, Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. Friday. $25 to $200. (949) 553-2422; www.philharmonicsociety.org

JAZZ

A leader and his band

Guitarist John Abercrombie’s recording career as a sideman dates to the 1960s and includes work with such artists as Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Bobby Hutcherson, Charles Mingus and McCoy Tyner. Abercrombie has just

released his 27th album

as a leader, “The Third Quartet,” which evokes

a moody elegance articulated most prominently

by acoustic guitar and

violin. At the Jazz Bakery this weekend, Abercrombie works with the same band that performs on

the CD: drummer Joey Baron, bassist Marc Johnson and violinist Mark Feldman.

John Abercrombie’s All-Star Quartet, Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. 8 and 9:30 p.m. Friday. $35. (310) 271-9039.

* Also 8 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

SATURDAY

EVENTS

It’s time to see poppies

The Antelope Valley’s 16th annual California Poppy Festival happens this weekend in Lancaster. The festival was created in 1992 to be a celebration of both Earth Day and the valley’s annual abundant crop of poppies. The family fair will feature exotic animals, arts, crafts, comedy, theater and other attractions. Food will include ethnic delicacies and such traditional favorites as funnel cake and cotton candy. Saturday’s musical lineup will have a rock edge with the band Nine Days and the 1970s act Rare Earth. Smooth jazz saxophonist Marion Meadows and Jay Leno’s musical sidekick Kevin Eubanks will perform Sunday.

California Poppy Festival, Lancaster City Park, 43011 N. 10th St. W., Lancaster. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. $4 to $7; 5 and younger, free. (661) 723-6075; www.poppyfestival.com.

* Also 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

ART

Ed Moses’ dual feature

In concurrent exhibitions presented in two Bergamot Station galleries, Ed Moses’ “Paintings” captures a representative slice of the Los Angeles-based artist’s prodigious output of large-scale abstract expressionist works. Even at the age of 81, Moses’ hyper-productivity is matched by an equally exuberant, lyrical painting style.

Ed Moses, “Paintings,” Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., B6, Santa Monica. Opens Saturday. Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. (310) 264-0640. Ends June 2.

Runs concurrently at Frank Lloyd Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., B5B, Santa Monica. Same hours. Ends June 2. (310) 264-3866.

EVENTS

Words from the Bard

“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players

Shakespeare Festival, Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. $6 to $15; 4 and younger, free. (626) 405-2100.

BOOKS

Their read on L.A. noir

While Akashic Books may have launched its Noir Series of anthologies in 2004 with “Brooklyn Noir,” everyone knows Los Angeles long has been the vanguard of noir glamour gloom. It’s also fitting that “Los Angeles Noir,” edited by Denise Hamilton, would bring the form into the 21st century with a distinctly L.A. multicultural bent. A group reading at Skylight Books will feature contributors Hamilton, Janet Fitch, Patt Morrison, Jim Pascoe, Neal Pollack, Christopher Rice, Susan Straight and Diana Wagman.

Los Angeles Noir, Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Ave. 5 p.m. Saturday. (323) 660-1175.

SUNDAY

EVENTS

An acting tradition

Playwright David Mamet, food critic Jonathan Gold, film critic Kenneth Turan and authors Bruce Jay Friedman and Bruce Wagner will be among the featured speakers at Acting Jewish: Film, TV, Comedy & Music, at UCLA Sunday. This one-day festival will examine Jewish characters, stories, mannerisms and culture as they are represented in popular media.

Acting Jewish: Film, TV, Comedy & Music, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. $15 to $25; box lunches are available at $10 to $15. (323) 692-8151; www.nextbook.org

WEDNESDAY

THEATER

Modern ‘La Boheme’

The nationally touring “Rent,” the late Jonathan Larson’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, is a modern-day “La Boheme,” set in New York’s East Village, where a bohemian community of aspiring musicians, filmmakers and performers in their late teens and 20s wrestle with love and survival.

“Rent,” Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $22 to $55. (714) 556-2787, www.ocpac.org.

* Runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. Ends April 29.

* Also May 2-4 at the California Theatre, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. $50 to $65. (800) 988-4253; and May 5-6 at the Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. $36 to $49. (805) 449-2787.