WEEKEND FORECAST

Lifting

a patient’s spirits

Rosemary Harris, the Tony- and Emmy-winning stage actress and screen veteran whose recent credits include the “Spider-Man” movie franchise (as Aunt May), is a hospital volunteer in the American premiere of “Oscar and the Pink Lady,” Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s seriocomic one-woman play about a relationship that develops between a young patient and his kindly visiting “Pink Lady.”

TODAY

THEATER

“Oscar and the Pink Lady, “ Old Globe, Cassius Carter, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego. Opens 8 p.m. today. $39 to $58. (619) 23-GLOBE; www.theoldglobe.org.

Runs 7 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sundays; ends Nov. 4.

MUSIC

Look, no conductor

Hailing from Kalmar, Sweden, Camerata Nordica will make its Los Angeles debut tonight at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. The conductorless chamber orchestra, whose members stand while they perform, will play a transcription of Beethoven’s Opus 130 Quartet with its original Grosse Fuge ending, later detached and published separately as Opus 133. Works by Johan Helmich Roman, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Carl Nielsen and Astor Piazzolla will complete the program.

Camerata Nordica, John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. 8 tonight. $25. $12 for students and children. (323) 461-3673; www.fordtheatres.org.

FRIDAY

DANCE

Some fancy British steps

British contemporary dance is a rarity in her former colonies, but the Richard Alston Dance Company has been making enough waves that it’s been touring major North American venues to growing acclaim. At the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts it performs two Alston creations, “Gypsy Mixture” (to remixed Balkan music) and “Fingerprint” (to Bach), along with one by company dancer Martin Lawrence, “About-Face” (music by Marin Marais). “An exquisite balm for tired eyes and souls,” wrote the New York Times a year ago. The Seattle Times added, “The dancing here exuded an intoxicating spontaneity -- a feeling that seemed to shout, ‘Join us!’ ”

Richard Alston Dance Company, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. 8 p.m. Friday. $22.50 to $37. (562) 467-8818. www.cerritoscenter.com* Also Tuesday, 8 p.m., at Pepperdine University Smothers Theatre, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. $40. (213) 365-3500.

THEATER

High seas thrills

“Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, the Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself),” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies (“Dinner With Friends,” “Brooklyn Boy”), sets sail in its world premiere. Commissioned by South Coast Repertory, it was inspired by stories of the high seas told by a Victorian-era spellbinder. With actor Gregory Itzin; directed by Bart Delorenzo.

“Shipwrecked!”, South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens 7:45 p.m. Friday. $28 to $62. (714) 708-5555; www.scr.org

* Runs 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; ends Oct. 14.

POP MUSIC

Latin rock reunion

Never mind the Police, here are the Heroes. Like the British trio, Héroes del Silencio, one of Spain’s most popular and influential rock bands, has ended a long estrangement (10 years to be exact) and is back on the road to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its formation. With Enrique Bunbury, who became a star on his own, fronting the group, the tour is one of the year’s big events in Latin rock.

Héroes del Silencio, Home Depot Center, 18400 Avalon Blvd., Carson. 7 p.m. Friday. $35 to $65. (310) 630-2020.

MOVIES

Character comes first

The latest entry to reach theaters from the low-fi, DIY indie film movement mumblecore is Joe Swanberg’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs.” The film focuses on the romantic entanglements of a young woman (Greta Gerwig) but, typical of the subgenre, is less interested in plot than the subtle observations and experiences of its characters. The cast also includes fellow DIY filmmaker Andrew Bujalski (“Funny Ha Ha”).

“Hannah Takes the Stairs,” unrated, opens Friday at Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd. (323) 848-3500.

SATURDAY

POP MUSIC

Indie band joins with L.A. Phil

Bright Eyes’ Los Angeles concerts earlier this year both featured contributions from the Omaha indie-rock band’s touring string section, but in its third visit of 2007 the group hits the jackpot, enhancing its country-rock and arty folk with the sounds of the mighty Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Suzie Katayama and executing the arrangements of the group’s Nate Walcott.

Bright Eyes with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with Yo La Tengo and M. Ward, Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., L.A. 7 p.m. Saturday. $20 to $105. (323) 850-2000.

ART

A taboo subject

Mark Steven Greenfield’s exhibition of 14 new works, “Incognegro,” engages the perennially taboo iconography of America’s blackface and minstrel traditions. Engaging the paradox inherent in reproducing offensive and hurtful imagery in order to dismantle or critique it, Greenfield’s works -- multimedia photographs, paintings and sculptures -- reintroduce these images with a twist that subverts the original function, attempting to shed light and exorcise the demons lurking in the American psyche.

“Mark Steven Greenfield: Incognegro,” 18th Street Arts Center, 1639 18th St., Santa Monica. Opens Saturday. (310) 453-3711.

* Hours: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Ends Nov. 30.

SUNDAY

THEATER

Decision of a lifetime

“A Catered Affair,” a Broadway-bound world premiere musical by Harvey Fierstein (book) and John Bucchino (music and lyrics), opens the Old Globe’s 2007-08 season. It is set in 1953 in the Bronx, where a couple must decide whether to spend their life savings on a family business or to mark their only daughter’s marriage with a lavish catered event. Based on the film written by Gore Vidal, and the original teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky, it is directed by John Doyle and features Tom Wopat, Faith Prince and Fierstein, winner of four Tony Awards -- the most recent for his turn as Edna Turnblad in “Hairspray.”

“A Catered Affair,” The Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego. $52 to $79. (619) 234-5623; www.theoldglobe.org

* Runs 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends Oct. 28.

EVENTS

Grand event

Downtown Los Angeles is getting gussied up this Sunday for the Grand Avenue Festival. Thirteen of L.A.’s most prestigious cultural organizations will be participating. The L.A. Philharmonic will perform a free concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Discount tickets to the musical “Avenue Q” at the Ahmanson will be available for $20. The Museum of Contemporary Art, the REDCAT, the Wells Fargo Museum, the Colburn School and other venues will offer free admission. Activities are planned at the Central Library and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels as well. A family festival, interactive arts workshops, food from area restaurants and an array of live music and entertainment will also be featured.

Grand Avenue Festival, Grand Avenue between Temple and 5th streets, L.A. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Free. Tickets to the L.A. Philharmonic concert are free, but limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. (213) 972-7611; www.grandavenuefestival.org.

WORDS

Showing an iron touch

The restaurateur best known for his tenure on the relentless Japanese cooking show “Iron Chef,” Masaharu Morimoto, will make an appearance at the Skirball to demonstrate his distinctive technique of traditional Japanese cuisine melded with other influences from around the world -- Chinese spices, Italian simplicity -- presented with a keen French elegance. Morimoto will demonstrate recipes from his new book, “Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking,” and discuss his own particular culinary worldview with the host of KCRW’s “Good Food,” Evan Kleiman.

Masaharu Morimoto, Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. L.A. 4 p.m. Sunday. $25 to $35. (310) 440-4500.