THE BEST OF THE WEEKEND.STAGE THE TWAIN SHALL GREET: Sail on down the Mississippi with Huck huck n. Huckaback. Noun 1. huck - toweling consisting of coarse absorbent cotton or linen fabric huckaback toweling, towelling - any of various fabrics (linen or cotton) used to make towels , Jim and a rogues' gallery of colorful folks in the energetic and highly imaginative staging of ``Big River'' at Deaf West Theatre Founded in 1991, Deaf West Theatre Company has become a cultural institution serving as a model for deaf theatre worldwide. It is noted for being the first professional resident Sign Language Theatre in the western half of the United States. . Director Jeff Calhoun, whose earlier working of ``Oliver'' constituted the company's first voyage into musicals, has seriously enlivened an already pretty lively tale. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer (played by Tyrone Giordano and Michael Davis) are both deaf. Jim (James Black) is hearing. Bill O'Brien, the Twain-ish narrator NARRATOR. A pleader who draws narrs serviens narrator, a sergeant at law. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 37. Obsolete. , supplies Huck's speaking voice. The ensemble, led by the very comic Lyle Kanouse, is seamless. Ray Klaussen's story book-decorated set gives every impression that an audience is in for a comfortable yarn. And, by gum, that's just what we get. ``Big River'' plays 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 16 at 5112 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. - Evan Henerson MUSIC STEREO-PHONIC: British art-rock ensemble Stereolab hangs out at an easy-listening lounge on the farthest edge of pop. The quartet - appearing Saturday and Sunday at the Palace - manages to move forward, backward and sideways on the new ``Sound-Dust'' disc. The Palace is at 1735 N. Vine St., Hollywood. Tickets are $20 with show times at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Information: (213) 480-3232 or www.ticketmaster.com. - F. S. KNITTING AND ROCKING: Blue-eyed rock 'n' soul diva Nikka Costa backs up the buzz. Performing Saturday at the Knitting Factory Hollywood with label-mate Miranda Lee Richards Miranda Lee Richards is an American singer-songwriter. Her 2001 release The Herethereafter included original compositions such as "The Beginner" as well as a cover of The Rolling Stones 1967 single "Dandelion". , Costa belts out a convincing mix of rock, funk and psychedelia psy·che·de·li·a n. The subculture associated with psychedelic drugs. Noun 1. psychedelia - the subculture of users of psychedelic drugs . She thankfully keeps the Alanis-style yelping yelp v. yelped, yelp·ing, yelps v.intr. To utter a short, sharp bark or cry: excited dogs yelping; yelped in pain when the bee stung. v.tr. to a minimum. The Knitting Factory is at 7021 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Show time is 8 p.m. and tickets are $10. Information: (323) 463-0204 or visit www.knittingfactory.com/kfla - F.S. FEEL-GOOD HIT: Here's one to lift your spirits. We think. The synopsis: ``When hopelessness and despair, brought on by world terror, disease, poverty, homelessness and moral breakdown ravage a young black AIDS orphan ...'' Are we having fun yet? ``... he feels abandoned by God ...'' Peppier still. ``... but a wise old bag lady, reminding him that the greatest man to ever walk the face of the earth was born homeless, tells him a story that will change his life forever.'' We sure hope so. Otherwise this figures to be one bleak Thanksgiving weekend. The musical is ``Looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. God,'' which begins a seven-performance engagement at Stage 52 Theatre in Los Angeles Saturday night. The work is written, composed, produced and directed by Stanley Bennett Clay, a four-time Dramalogue Award winner. Gospel music producer Earl Wooten has arranged and supervised the score. Tickets are $50 for opening night and $25 to $30 for all other performances. ``Looking for God'' runs at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, through Dec. 2. Call (213) 381-2000. -E. H. FILM PROS OF KON: Of all the Japanese master filmmakers who emerged in the middle of the last century, Kon Ichikawa was probably the quirkiest. He is also, at 86, the last one still working today. Consequently, the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX Film Archive's current tribute to the director is loaded with riches. What may be Ichikawa's two best-known works, ``Harp of Burma'' (1956) and ``Fires on the Plain'' (1959), screen Saturday night at the Westwood campus' James Bridges Theater. Without a doubt, they stand among the finest war films ever made. ``Burma,'' one of cinema's most profound humanistic statements, follows the travels of a traumatized prisoner-of-war turned Buddhist monk around the postwar British colony as he takes it upon himself to bury the corpses of hundreds of countrymen, many of whom took their own lives. On the far opposite end of the spiritual scale, ``Fires'' traces the desperate Japanese retreat through the Philippines. Soldiers resort to cannibalism cannibalism (kăn`ĭbəlĭzəm) [Span. caníbal, referring to the Carib], eating of human flesh by other humans. to survive as one recruit, stricken with tuberculosis, struggles to preserve any last vestiges of human decency. Over his long career, Ichikawa has also tackled family drama, sex farce, samurai satire and searing sear 1 v. seared, sear·ing, sears v.tr. 1. To char, scorch, or burn the surface of with or as if with a hot instrument. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. social commentary, all of which and more can be seen as the UCLA series continues through Dec. 9. For more information, call (310) 206-3456. - Bob Strauss TELEVISION THE SHOW GOES ON: For sweeps stunts, the broadcast networks have been pretending to be, um, cable outlets MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. and VH-1. NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. aired a Jennifer Lopez special, CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. has recruited Michael Jackson, 'N Sync and Garth Brooks (thrice thrice adv. 1. Three times. 2. In a threefold quantity or degree. 3. Archaic Extremely; greatly. ), ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. hooked up with Mick Jagger, and PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, homed in on Quincy Jones. Now, A&E mimics the networks mimicking cable, throwing down with Sting, with the three-hour special/advertisement for the singer/songwriter's new live album, ``Sting in Tuscany ... All This Time.'' Unless you're an absolute Sting obsessive, the first hour is nearly unwatchable, as he assembles his band at his beautiful Italian villa and waxes gaseous about the challenges of recording a live album and other sundry uncompelling issues. He was planning the performance on his grounds on Sept. 11, which, of course, was the day of the terrorist attacks on New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Washington. We see Sting and his musicians debate whether they should perform, how they should perform and the reasons for performing - as interesting as it is, you're forgiven for thinking Sting's exploiting the tragedy for his own cheap drama. Finally, he and the band turn in an evocative, muted performance of the tasteful, melancholy yuppie muzak Sting has come to truck in for the past decade or so; his politically correct politically correct Politically sensitive adjective Referring to language reflecting awareness and sensitivity to another person's physical, mental, cultural, or other disadvantages or deviations from a norm; a person is not mentally retarded, but tunes serve as a sort of musical comfort food. As the evening wears on, things get more rowdy - by Sting standards, that is; he declares, ``Everyone on this earth deserves to be happy, and they can't kill our joy.'' ``Sting in Tuscany ... All This Time'' premieres 8 p.m. Saturday on A&E, but you're probably better off joining it in progress around 9 p.m. - David Kronke ART PHOTO MASTER: Considered one of photography's modern masters, Manuel Alvarez Bravo has made insightful and socially relevant pictures of Mexican culture for eight decades. Although he never called himself a surrealist, some of the most stirring works in the Getty Museum's new exhibit, ``Manuel Alvarez Bravo: Optical Parables'' - on view through Feb. 17 - deal with themes of sleep, dreams, death and the sensual. Among the photos is ``Los Agachados'' (``The Crouched Ones''), a 1934 view of a working-class eatery in Mexico City with an ominous but inviting feel. The Getty is at 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood. The museum opens at 10 a.m. each day; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is free but parking is $5 per car. No reservations needed on weekends or after 4 p.m. weekdays. Information: (310) 440-7300 or www.getty.edu/museum. - F.S. CAPTION(S): 7 photos Photo: (1) no caption (``The Crouched One,'' photo by Manuel Alvarez Bravo) (2) no caption (Stereolab) (3) no caption (STING) (4) COSTA (5) CLAY (6) ``Harp of Burhma'' will be shown Saturday at UCLA's James Bridges Theatre. (7) no caption (Luther Vandross) |
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