8:30 pm: Theater

Before Paul Zaloom was the wacky host of the kids’ TV science show “Beakman’s World,” he was an off-the-wall, Obie Award-winning puppeteer and performance artist specializing in political satire for adult audiences. Zaloom is reprising one of those adult shows, his three-part “Sick but True” (“My Civilization: The Prequel,” “Phood” and “Yikes!”). Suffice it to say that an overhead projector, weird puppets and animated objets de trash feature prominently.

* “Sick but True,” Highways, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica. Thursdays-Sundays, 8:30 p.m. Ends April 12. $15-$20. (213) 660-8587.

8 pm: Theater

Brenda Vaccaro headlines as Diana Vreeland in “Full Gallop,” the off-Broadway hit by Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson, directed by Nicholas Martin, that begins when the spirited doyenne of fashion was fired from Vogue magazine in 1971.

* “Full Gallop,” Coronet Theatre, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends May 24. $38-$42.50. (310) 657-7377, (213) 365-3500.

6 pm: Pop Music

The core lineup of the 38-city Ska Against Racism tour, which plays today at the Ventura Theatre, includes Less Than Jake, Kemuri (from Japan), the Toasters, the Blue Meanies, MU330, Five Iron Frenzy and tour founder Mike “Bruce Lee” Park. These “third-wave” ska bands will be joined Sunday by 27 Southern California ska-leagues at a daylong version of the event at Oak Canyon Ranch.

* Ska Against Racism , Ventura Theatre, 26 S. Chestnut St., Ventura. $15. (805) 639-3965. Also Sunday at Oak Canyon Ranch, Irvine, 9 a.m. $15.50. (909) 715-2252.