TODAYMUSICCalArts plans a wild weekendCalArts’ annual multimedia...

TODAY

MUSIC

CalArts plans a wild weekend

CalArts’ annual multimedia experimental festival CEAIT (Center for Experiments in Art, Information and Technology) offers three days of mind-bending programs. Today, seminal electronic music icon Morton Subotnick offers the world premiere of his “Until Spring Revisited,” a reinvention of his 1975 soundscape “Until Spring.” Friday’s concert focuses on new works by Eliane Radigue, Maja Ratkje and Jon Rose. The closing Saturday concert presents premieres by Kadet Kuhne, David Dunn and James Crutchfield.

CEAIT Festival, REDCAT, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 2nd and Hope streets. 8:30 p.m. today. $14 to $18. (213) 237-2800. www.redcat.org.

* Also 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

THEATER

Nostalgic for ’86 hits?

With re-creations of hits by Journey, Pat Benatar, REO Speedwagon, Night Ranger, Poison, Twisted Sister and others, Chris D’Arienzo’s new rock musical “Rock of Ages” is set in Hollywood 1986, a time when hair bands and their music dominated the Sunset Strip. Presented by Prospect Pictures; directed by Kristin Hanggi.

“Rock of Ages,” Vanguard, 6021 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Opens 8 p.m. today. $34.50 to $45. (800) 595-

4849. www.rockofagesmusical.com

* Runs 8 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Fridays. Ends Feb. 18.

ART

Celebs who got the shaft

The list of celebrities and personalities photographed by Mark Seliger reads like a who’s who in pop culture. As a photographer for Conde Nast Publications, Rolling Stone and Us magazine, Seliger has taken hundreds of portraits of iconic figures as well as the next big things. His latest book “In My Stairwell” (Rizzoli) features celebrity images taken in a sky-lighted elevator shaft discovered in his New York loft, a place he calls “one of the most honest places in which I had ever photographed.” A selection of platinum photographs from his publication will be on display, including images of Mikhail Baryshnikov, David Bowie, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears and Bruce Springsteen.

Mark Seliger: “In My Stairwell,” Fahey/Klein Gallery, 148 N. La Brea Ave., L.A. (323) 934-2250. Opens today.

* Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Ends March 4.

FRIDAY

BOOKS

Say ‘ah’ and then say ‘oy’

James McManus, New York Times writer and author of the acclaimed gambling memoir “Positively Fifth Street,” is a man devoted to sentient days, poker-playing nights, hard liquor, fatty foods and the occasional cigarette-digestif. So what happens when he gets probed inside-and-out in an “executive physical” by the Mayo Clinic for $8,000? It’s no surprise to hear he should lay off the smoke, eat better and get more exercise and shut-eye, but McManus’ examination in “Physical” of his doctors and the renowned facility turns up fresh and powerful critiques on our thoughts on mortality, the state of health care in the U.S. and McManus’ daughter’s struggle with juvenile diabetes.

James McManus, Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena. 7 p.m. Friday. (626) 449-5320.

MOVIES

Eggleston at large

Michael Almereyda has made movies on subjects as diverse as vampires, a modern-day Hamlet and the production of a Sam Shepard play. In his latest documentary, “William Eggleston in the Real World,” he turns his camera on the enigmatic artist whose exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1976 was the institution’s first one-man show of color photography. The intimate character sketch follows Eggleston through his home base of Memphis, as well as Kentucky, Los Angeles and New York, as he plies his craft.

“William Eggleston in the Real World,” unrated, opens Friday at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 466-FILM.

SATURDAY

DANCE

Celebrating the Joffrey

Seems like old times: the Joffrey Ballet dancing on Grand Avenue, downtown. But for this weekend’s special Friends of the Joffrey gala, the company is appearing not at the Music Center but at the Colburn School down the street. With company co-founder and artistic director Gerald Arpino expected to attend, “Joffrey Live at Zipper Hall” will include performances of Arpino’s “Ruth, Ricordi per Due” (music by Albinoni) and “Light Rain” (music by Douglas Adams and Russ Gauthier), along with Jiri Kylian’s “Return to the Strange Land” (music by Janacek). A question-and-answer session is also planned. Friends of the Joffrey members are promised a champagne reception.

“Joffrey Live at Zipper Hall,” Colburn School of Performing Arts, 200 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Saturday $60, open seating. (323) 664-3857.

POP MUSIC

Is ‘Metal Mia’ next?

Sweden, the land of ABBA and the Hives, is also the home of a thriving metal scene, and the current hot export is In Flames. The band, which appeared on the Ozzfest tour last year, is widely credited with expanding the horizons of death metal with a more melodic sensibility setting the stage for such new forces as Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage. In Flames’ current tour is timed to the February release of its album “Come Clarity.”

In Flames, Avalon, 1735 N. Vine St., Hollywood. 6:30 p.m. Saturday. $19.50. (323) 467-4571.

MUSIC

A touch of Versailles

The Philharmonia Baroque Chamber Players, an offshoot of San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, named 2004 Ensemble of the Year by Musical America, makes its Southern California debut with works by Vivaldi, Handel, Purcell and others. Mezzo-soprano Judith Malafronte will be the soloist. The concert will take place in the Versailles-inspired Louis XVI room in the former Bullocks Wilshire as part of the Chamber Music in Historic Sites series sponsored by the Da Camera Society of Mount St. Mary’s College.

Philharmonia Baroque Chamber Players, Southwestern Law School, 3050 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. Saturday. $37 to $44. (213) 477-2929. www.dacamera.org.

EVENTS

A boatload of boats

Pirates of California, and legitimate sailing enthusiasts too, will cut a path to the 2006 L.A. Boat Show this weekend, or be wiped out in the riptide of models past. Last year saw boating sales up by 20%, which Yamaha will be taking advantage of by hauling out the new 21-foot, four-stroke 210 Series. These 220-horsepower runabouts offer seating for nine bikinied and/or ascot-wearing mates, plus cushioned forward-facing seats in the bow. Also on display: WaveRunners and other water-sport vehicles.

2006 L.A. Boat Show, Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., L.A. Opens Saturday. $10. (888) BOAT-INFO.

* Hours: 1 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 5. Ends Feb. 5.

SUNDAY

MUSEUMS

‘Tongues’ ties artists together

It might be difficult to make connections between the geometric abstractions of artist Mark Grotjahn and the traditional landscapes and portraits of Gillian Carnegie in “Painting in Tongues,” and perhaps the only commonality is that both artists use paint as their medium. Indeed, the group exhibition aims to showcase about 80 works by seven emerging artists with vastly different approaches who share the invested interest in the present and future of painting. Featured in the exhibition along with Grotjahn and Carnegie are Kai Althoff, Lucy McKenzie, Rodney McMillian, Ivan Morley and Anselm Reyle.

“Painting in Tongues,” Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., L.A. (213) 626-6222. $5 to $8; 11 and younger, free. Opens Sunday.

* Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Fridays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Ends March 12.

WEDNESDAY

THEATER

Ode to the female form

In Eve Ensler’s latest theatrical odyssey through feminine culture, “The Good Body,” the creator of “The Vagina Monologues” explores beauty, food and desire through the eyes of women around the world. Presented by Richmark Entertainment and Jonathan Reinis Productions.

“The Good Body,” Wadsworth Theatre, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., West L.A. Opens 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $30 to $69. (213) 365-3500. www.WadsworthTheatre.com* Runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 3 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends Feb. 12.