WEEKEND FORECAST

TODAY

MUSEUMS

Black imagery

“The Box,” a metaphor for structures that contain and constrain, here could be taken to mean “camera” as well. “Blacks In and Out of the Box,” an exhibition focusing on African American photographic history with an emphasis on black Californians as both subjects and image makers, is composed of 20 works from CAAM’s permanent collection in addition to historic and contemporary images from the Steve Turner Collection.

“Blacks In and Out of the Box,” California African American Museum in Exposition Park, 600 State Drive, L.A. Opens today. Free. (213) 744-7432.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Ends Dec. 30.

FRIDAY

MOVIES

Cronenberg on crime

Viggo Mortensen and director David Cronenberg follow up “A History of Violence” with the thriller “Eastern Promises,” in which the actor plays Nikolai, a driver for a Russian organized crime family based in London. Nikolai’s assiduously modulated reality is disturbed by a hospital midwife (Naomi Watts) who comes into possession of some damaging information. Written by Oscar nominee Steven Knight (“Dirty Pretty Things”).

“Eastern Promises,” rated R for strong brutal and bloody violence, some graphic sexuality, language and nudity, opens Friday at Pacific’s ArcLight, 6360 W. Sunset Blvd. (at Ivar Avenue), Hollywood, (323) 464-4226.

EVENTS

Lobsters galore

More than 13 tons of live Maine lobsters will be flown into Los Angeles this weekend, but they will never return home. Instead they’ll be cozying up with some Californian lemon and melted butter for the Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival in San Pedro. This annual event offers discount lobster meals ($17 for one 1 1/4 -pound lobster; $31 for two) and a concert lineup that will include Ambrosia, Common Sense, Great Northern and Scissors of Lefty. There will be lots of other foods to choose from, including Brazilian barbecue, sausage, shrimp fajitas and baked potatoes. Rides, games, arts, crafts and other attractions will also be featured.

Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival, Ports O’Call Village, Berth 76, Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro. 5 to 11 p.m. Friday. $6 to $8 festival admission (does not include dinner); 11 and younger, free. (310) 798-7478; www.lobsterfest.com.

Also 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

THEATER

Sondheim’s Sweden

Romantic liaisons are played out during a summer night in turn-of-the-century Sweden in the waltz-filled Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler musical comedy “A Little Night Music,” inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film “Smiles of a Summer Night.” The veteran cast includes Stephanie Zimbalist, Mark Jacoby, Teri Ralston and Misty Cotton.

“A Little Night Music,” South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. $35 to $70. (714) 708-5555; www.scr.org.

Runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Ends Oct. 7.

SATURDAY

FAMILY

A-maizing labyrinths

If someone tells you to get lost, now you know where to go. As a prelude to harvest time, the annual corn maze at Pierce College opens Saturday. This year’s 5-acre maze is a celebration of Native American culture. Throughout the maze are informational exhibits about the Chumash, Cherokee, Sioux and Navajo nations. The maze itself is carved in the silhouette of an American Indian chief.

Pierce College Corn Maze, 20800 Victory Blvd., Woodland Hills. Opens Saturday and then daily, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., through Nov. 4. Pierce’s Halloween Harvest Festival opens Sept. 28. $6 to $8, maze only. (818) 999-6300.

Other corn mazes:

Forneris Farms, 15200 Rinaldi St., Mission Hills. Tractor-pull train ride, farm frolic for little children, 4-acre maze. Opens Oct. 6. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, through Nov. 4. $6; 2 and younger, free. www.forneris farms.com, (818) 730-7709.

Frazier’s Pumpkin Patch, 19773 Bear Valley Road, Apple Valley. Opens Oct. 13. 9 a.m. until dusk daily, through Oct. 31. $3.50. (760) 247-8423.

Lombardi Ranch, 29527 Bouquet Canyon Road, Saugus. Opens Sept. 30. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends only, through Oct. 31. $4. (661) 296-8697.

POP MUSIC

Antidoto returns

Latin rock might not get the U.S. mainstream media attention it did a few years ago, but a look at the summer’s concert bookings shows that it’s still a going concern in Southern California. The season’s biggest blowout is Antidoto 2007, with two stages and a lineup headed by Julieta Venegas and Los Amigos Invisibles. Also on board: Jumbo, Lucybelle, Allison and Volumen Cero, among others.

Antidoto 2007, Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., L.A. 4 p.m. Saturday. $34.75 to $74.75. (323) 665-5857.

DANCE

Holden salute

Before he became a much-honored local ballet teacher, the late Stanley Holden was a highly esteemed character dancer in England’s Royal Ballet. He will be honored in both capacities during one half of the annual Los Angeles Dance Invitational. The event, held this year at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, will also include seven companies dancing seven premieres, among them Lux Aeterna, San Pedro City Ballet, Amy Ernst, Sacramento Ballet, LA Contemporary Dance Company, Moving Arts Dance and Commonality Dance Company. Expect special guests (some on video) and tributes galore.

Los Angeles Dance Invitational, Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 W. Washington Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. Saturday. $25. (800) 595-4TIX ; www.ladanceinvitational.org.

ART

Mature McGee

Purveyor of both sanctioned and “unsanctioned” public art, Barry McGee had a lengthy tenure in the trenches of the New Folk art movement centered in San Francisco’s Mission District, with cohorts Bill Daniels, Margaret Kilgallen and Alicia McCarthy, among others, paving the way for a new generation of lowbrow, graffiti-minded art with an alternative take on the urban landscape. Once known by the graffiti moniker “Twist,” McGee made a splash with his inclusion in the 2001 Venice Biennale. For this exhibition at REDCAT, “Advanced Mature Work,” McGee unveils a site-specific installation, a selection of existing works and a new sculptural/environmental construction.

“Barry McGee: Advanced Mature Work,” the Gallery at REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. Opens Saturday. (213) 237-2800.

Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Ends Nov. 25.

MUSIC

Chamber opener

The Dilijan Chamber Music Series starts its third season with the world premiere of Vache Sharafyan’s “Quintetto quasi concerto per pianoforte e archi.” Sharafyan, whose music has been championed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violist Yuri Bashmet, will be the pianist. The rest of the ensemble will consist of violinists Martin Chalifour, Aroussiak Baltaian and Movses Pogossian; violist Brian Dembow; cellist Peter Stumpf; clarinetist Gary Gray; and pianist Serouj Kradjian. Works by Franck and Marutunian will complete the program.

Dilijan Chamber Music Series, Zipper Concert Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave. 8 p.m. Saturday. $15 to $35. (818) 572-5438; www.dilijan.lark musicalsociety.com.

SUNDAY

POP MUSIC

Timberlake encore

He was called “the most supremely confident entertainer of his generation” in these very pages, and while you can see for yourself by ordering up his HBO special, there’s nothing like a face-to-face with Justin Timberlake in the setting of his “FutureSex/LoveShow.” The in-the-round performance was a smash its first time through, and now it’s back for another L.A. run.

Justin Timberlake, with Good Charlotte, Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., L.A. 8 p.m. Sunday. $56 to $151. (213) 742-7340.

Also 8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday.

TUESDAY

JAZZ

A surfeit of strings

Guitarist John Pisano’s Tuesday-night celebrations of his instrument have been among the Southland’s most enduring and entertaining musical events. The list of players who have appeared with him in Spazio’s laid-back setting is a roster of all-stars, and many will show up for the 10th anniversary nonstop jam. Among those scheduled to perform: Anthony Wilson, Phil Upchurch, Ron Anthony, Barry Zweig, Frank Potenza and Pat Kelly. Drummer Kendall Kay and bassist Jim Hughart will provide backup.

The 10th Anniversary of John Pisano’s Guitar Night, Spazio, 14755 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. (818) 728-8400.

WEDNESDAY

THEATER

Dramatist’s swan song

Christine Lahti heads the cast in the West Coast premiere of Wendy Wasserstein’s final play, “Third,” an exploration of preconceived notions of liberalism and discrimination, set against a backdrop of red state/blue state America in the months surrounding the launch of the Iraq war.

“Third,” Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., L.A. Opens 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $35 to $74. (310) 208-5454, (213) 365-3500; www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends Oct. 21.