7 Days In Arts

Saturday

First the House Un-American Activities Committee and then the fall of the U.S.S.R. Apparently, it's not easy being red. "Fellow Traveler" is playwright John Herman Shaner's take on this struggle. His main character is Arnold Priest, a communist TV writer played by Harold Gould, who is forced to reconsider his life's convictions after the fall of the Soviet Union (see story, p. 36).

Runs through Oct. 20. 8 p.m. (Fridays and Saturdays), 5 p.m. (Sundays). $20. Malibu Stage Company, 29243 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. For reservations, call (310) 589-1998.

Sunday

So, you're knee-high in gefilte fish, preparing for the meal to end all meals for the next 24 hours and the kids are driving you crazy. What to do? Sit 'em down with a good book. New out this month is "A Picture of Grandmother," a children's book by Esther Hautzig, with illustrations by Beth Peck. It tells the story of Sara, who goes on a search to find an old photo of her grandmother, and uncovers a family secret along the way.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $15. Available at bookstores and on Amazon.

Monday

We realize you're probably busy carb-loading after that Yom Kippur workout. But if you're one of the weak who abandoned the cause early, head downtown for Southern California Institute of Architecture's new lecture series, "Make it New." Tonight, the panel discussion on "Make it New Downtown," includes Tom Gilmore, Con Howe, Eric Owen Moss, Jan Perry and Dan Rosenfeld.

7:30 p.m. Free. Freight Depot, 960 E. Third St., Los Angeles. For more information, call (213) 613-2200.

Tuesday

Adam Duritz, the dreadlocked one, and the rest of the Counting Crows take the stage at the Greek Theatre tonight as the special guests of The Who. With the recent passing of John Entwistle, that famous "My Generation" line, "hope I die before I get old" is sure to have an unsettling ring. But maybe the Crows'll help smash a bass in honor of old "Ox."

7:30 p.m. $49-$259. 2700 North Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. For tickets, call (323) 665-1927.

Wednesday

Naked People! OK, now that we have your attention ... galerie yoramgil's latest exhibition, "It Still Figures," actually does feature naked people. Well, artistic renditions of them, anyway. Admittedly, some of the depictions are less than flattering. But remember, it's about the art, people. And besides, some of us must take our cheap thrills where we can get them.

Runs through Oct. 6. 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Tuesdays and Wednesdays), 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. (Thursday-Saturday), 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (Sundays), closed Mondays. 319 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 275-8130.

Thursday

You probably never consider all the thought and preparation that goes into an exhibit like the Autry Museum of Western Heritage's "Jewish Life in the American West: Generation to Generation." But today, you have the opportunity to attend a panel on that very thing. USC's Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life and the Autry present "Exhibiting Jews: History, Controversy and Concepts," with panelists from the Skirball Center, the Autry and the Jewish Museum of San Francisco.

8 p.m. Free. Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles. For reservations, call (213) 740-3405.

Friday

Tonight, the Actor's Workout Studio raises the roof for the notorious G-O-D with "Acts of God." The play's three acts, written and directed by Peter Fox, move the story in different directions. Act One tells the story of a writer who enlists the aid of a priest in convincing his Jewish girlfriend to keep her baby. Act Two has a Hollywood producer courting the writer about turning the story of Act One into a television series. Act Three takes place on the set of the series, "God's In Tha House." Each act deals with issues of morality, integrity and God's role in our lives, with the man upstairs showing up in various manifestations along the way.

Runs through Oct. 27. 8 p.m. (Fridays and Saturdays), 7 p.m. (Sundays). $15 (general), $12 (students and seniors). 1735 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. For reservations, call (818) 506-3903.