WEEKEND FORECAST

FRIDAY

MOVIES

What it takes to get the part

Seven years ago, when casting a feature film, director Barry J. Hershey saw 350 actresses in five cities trying to find his three leads. It occurred to him that the process itself would make a fascinating documentary, and the result is “Casting About,” an intimate look inside the filmmaker-performer dynamic.

“Casting About,” unrated, opens Friday at Laemmle’s Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 274-6869.

SATURDAY

POP MUSIC

Keith Urban has lived it

Keith Urban certainly didn’t mean “Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing” to be such a prescient title when he released his album last November, but with a trip to the Betty Ford Center derailing his tour, the country star from Australia hit a career pothole while attending to more crucial issues. Now Urban is ready to roll in the U.S. after a European tour, aiming to regain some momentum and remind the folks that his album was one of the better mainstream country releases in recent years.

Keith Urban, with the Wreckers, Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., L.A.. 8 p.m. Saturday. $47.50 to $79.50. (213) 742-7340.

THEATER

Annoyed by siblings

A little girl -- who lives in a house with 31 doors, 86 windows, 99 crannies and 168 nooks -- schemes to get her annoying siblings out of the way in “The Only Child,” South Coast Repertory’s first commissioned play for its Theatre for Young Audiences series, by playwright Quincy Long and composer Dennis McCarthy.

“The Only Child,” South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens 11 a.m. Saturday; also 2 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday. $14 to $26. (714) 708-5555; www.scr.org.

* Also 2 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. June 22; 2, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. June 23; 2 and 4:30 p.m. June 24. Ends June 24.

ART

The spirit of a warrior

The paintings featured in Larissa Bates’ solo exhibition “My Little War Mongers” dramatize themes of the psychology of violence and the timelessness of war and aggression. Drawing from a cast of characters that include Little Napoleons, Harpies and Crybabies, Bates’ bustling panels crawl with warriors of every sort -- each with equally baroque, over-the-top titles such as “Reminiscing Over the Heroic Glory Battle Assault in Winterthur’s Port Royal Parlor.”

“Larissa Bates: My Little War Mongers,” Richard Heller Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., B-5A, Santa Monica. Opens Saturday. (310) 453-9191.

* Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Ends July 14.

DANCE

Legends from Mexico

A native of Morelos, Mexico, Jose Vences formed the Los Angeles-based Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet in 2003 to

celebrate his native

country’s diverse folk culture through dance. A Times dance critic described part of the company’s performance last year as “a spectacular series of intricate, high-speed passages that ended in picture-perfect group body sculpture.” At the Luckman this weekend, the troupe will present interpretations of Mexican legends and fables, as well as a dance peopled with characters from the Mexican game Loteria.

Grandeza Mexicana, Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex, Cal State Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, L.A. 8 p.m. Saturday. $25 to $35. (323) 343-6600; www.luckmanarts.org.

* Also 3 p.m. Sunday.

SUNDAY

EVENTS

Kick the pricey tires

Still wondering what to do for dad this Father’s Day? Why not take the big galoot to Beverly Hills for the annual Concours D’Elegance on Rodeo Drive. This year’s event has a “Cars of California” theme that celebrates the Golden State’s car culture. From convertibles to woodies and everything in between, more than 100 privately owned cars will be on display. Also, the inaugural Rodeo Drive Award for Automotive Excellence will be presented to Fisker Coachbuild, a company that creates one-of-a-kind, limited-edition cars, some of which will also be on display.

Concours D’Elegance, 200-400 blocks of Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Free. (310) 858-6100.

MUSIC

Hearing Bach’s grief

Stunned by the death of his first wife, Maria Barbara, Johann Sebastian Bach poured his heart into an astonishing, nearly 15-minute-long Chaconne that closes his Second Violin Partita. A model on many levels, the work was most famously and most sensitively transcribed for piano by Ferruccio Busoni. Helene Grimaud, who had to cancel her Jan. 10 Walt Disney Concert Hall recital because of back problems, takes up the challenge of Busoni’s towering transcription on a program that also includes works by Chopin, Brahms and Rachmaninoff. Tickets for Grimaud’s Jan. 10 recital will be honored Sunday.

Helene Grimaud, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Sunday. $33 to $86. (323) 850-2000;www.laphil.com.

THEATER

He fell hard for Carmen

Franco Dragone, the Cirque du Soleil visionary, directs the world premiere musical “Carmen,” based on Prosper Merimee’s 1845 novella. The flamenco-flavored story of love, obsession and betrayal is told from the perspective of the soldier who falls under seductive Carmen’s spell. Book and choreography are by Sarah Miles, the music is by John Ewbank and Annmarie Milazzo wrote the lyrics.

“Carmen,” La Jolla Playhouse, Mandell Weiss Theatre, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. Opens 7 p.m. Sunday. $40 to $100. (858) 550-1010; www.lajollaplayhouse.org* Runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 22.

WEDNESDAY

WORDS

The tales he tells

“Michael Tolliver Lives,” the latest from

Armistead Maupin,

creator of the beloved “Tales of the City” series, revisits one of Tales’ core characters, Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, now in his mid-50s. No longer beholden to the imminent peril of being HIV-positive -- thanks to pharmaceutical advancements of the last decade or so -- Michael occupies his time tending to his garden and his young love, Ben, “an entire adult” number of years his junior. The ALOUD at Central Library program will feature Maupin in conversation with novelist Noel Alumit.

Armistead Maupin, Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., L.A. 7 p.m. Wednesday. (213) 228-7025.

MUSIC

A man’s voice

At a time when the jazz vocal world seems to be dominated by legions of attention-grabbing young female singers, it’s nice

to know that Mark

Murphy is still alive and well, still offering his own impressive definition of the improvisational vocal art. Praised by the likes

of Ella Fitzgerald and Shirley Horn, the six-time Grammy nominee has sung everything from

Jack Kerouac and Ivan Lins to the Great American Songbook. And he does so with a confident mastery of the tricky

combination of convincing storytelling, captivating sound and irresistible swing.

Mark Murphy, the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. 8 and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. $30 and $35. (310) 271-9039.

* Also 8 and 9:30 p.m. next Thursday through June 24.