Saturday, January 28

Melodrama rules in today’s screenings from UCLA Film and Television Archive’s series, “Columbia Restorations: Rediscoveries.” Featuring restored films from the reign of tough Columbia mogul Harry Cohn, the program offers an eclectic assortment of uniquely American films, directed by Frank Capra, William Castle, Irving Lerner and others. Tonight’s double-feature presents “Strangers When We Meet,” about marital infidelity, and “City of Fear,” about an apocalyptic-scale nuclear threat to Los Angeles.

7:30 p.m. Series runs through Feb. 4. $5-$8. James Bridges Theater, UCLA Melnitz Hall, Westwood. www.cinema.ucla.edu.

Sunday, January 29

From “Mission: Impossible” to “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island” to plays by Ionesco and Beckett — and now Alfred Uhry, actress Barbara Bain keeps herself busy. Today, she reads “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” with actor Alan Oppenheimer in a Celebrity Staged Play Reading at the Milken JCC.

3 p.m. $10-$15. 22622 Vanowen St., West Hills. (818) 464-3300.

Monday, January 30

Enter the private world of Chasidic Los Angeles through the Workmen’s Circle’s new exhibit, “La Brea on Robertson: Paintings and Photographs of Maya Dreilinger.” Granted special access by the head rabbi that, despite her sex, included entrée into men-only realms, Dreilinger documented the rituals and daily workings of this closed community. Her painted-on black-and-whites are on view through March 5.

Free. 1525 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 552-2007.

Tuesday, January 31

Sign up quick for Sherman Oaks Public Library’s new reading series, “Jewish Literature: Stories of Estrangement and Homecoming.” Today’s discussion: author Eva Hoffman’s memoir, “Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language,” about her struggle to assimilate — from Polish to Canadian culture at age 13, and from Canadian immigrant to American intellectual later in life.

Free. 6 p.m. 14245 Moorpark St., Sherman Oaks. R.S.V.P., (818) 205-9716.

Wednesday, February 1

Written in the wake of Matthew Shephard’s murder, playwright Del Shores’ “Southern Baptist Sissies” takes a look at the lives of four not-so-macho boys growing up in the Texas Baptist church’s constricting embrace. The award-winning show plays at the Zephyr Theatre through March 5, with a special benefit this evening for Jews for Marriage Equality.

$25-$45. 7456 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. (800) 595-4849.

Thursday, February 2

Plays acting as fundraisers abound this week. Tonight it’s an opening-night gala for the Neil Simon comedy, “The Sunshine Boys,” with proceeds benefiting City of Hope. Drive out to Port Hueneme’s Oceanview Pavilion for this bargain of a benefit, where for a minimum donation of $25 per person, the evening includes buffet dinner, champagne and dessert, followed by the performance.

6:30 p.m. Oceanview Pavilion, Dorill B. Wright Cultural Center, Port Hueneme. (805) 987-0917.

Friday, February 3

Impressive and ambitious photography representing the structures, people, communities, lifestyle and culture of our diverse city comprises Metro Gallery’s latest exhibition, understatedly titled “Everyday L.A.” The show features more than 100 photographs by 20 photographers from the Los Angeles League of Photographers.

Runs through Feb. 18. 1835 Hyperion Ave., Silverlake. (323) 663-2787. www.metrogallery.org.