WEEKEND FORECAST

FRIDAY

MUSIC

The Zappa

legacy

Featuring former members of Frank Zappa’s band the Mothers of Invention, the Grande Mothers Re:Invented were asked in 2002 to reunite for a one-time performance in Leipzig, Germany, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Zappa’s death. A year later, the group members took to the stage and have been performing ever since. They’ll team up with other artists for Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale,” then revisit Zappa albums such as “We’re Only in It for the Money,” “Uncle Meat” and “One Size Fits All.”

Grande Mothers Re:Invented, REDCAT, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 2nd and Hope streets, L.A. 8:30 p.m. Friday. $20 and $28. (213) 237-2800. www.redcat.org

* Also 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

MOVIES

Pin-up girl revealed

As anyone who ever bought a novelty tin lunchbox, black-light poster or multichambered smoking device can tell you, Bettie Page is a countercultural icon. But iconic of what, exactly? Writer-director Mary Harron’s “The Notorious Bettie Page” explores the gender and sexual dynamics behind Page’s black garters and come-hither glances, along with a nuanced portrait of the woman off camera. Gretchen Mol stars as Page, whose bondage-laden pinup photos shocked midcentury sensibilities about female sexuality while jump-starting America’s complex and conflicted relationship with erotica.

“The Notorious Bettie Page,” rated R, opens Friday at selected theaters.

DANCE

Four for Cerritos

Praised by the Village Voice for “lyricism worthy of the masters,” Ballet NY comes to Cerritos with a four-part program. Jodie Gates’ “now and again” uses music by Bach and Dietrich Krueger; Helen Heineman’s “Hook-Up” features music by Arnold Dreyblatt; Stanton Welch’s “Orange” is set to Vivaldi; and the excerpts from George Balanchine’s “Who Cares?” explore arrangements of songs by Gershwin. The company was founded in 1997 by Judith Fugate and Medhi Bahiri.

Ballet NY, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. 8 p.m. Friday. $20 to $36. (562) 467-8818. www.cerritoscenter.com

SATURDAY

EVENTS

Blessed creatures

At 2 p.m. on Olvera Street, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will bless a parade of dogs, cats, cows, horses, snakes, pigs, sheep, goats, hamsters and all kinds of brightly decorated animals with their human companions. An Olvera Street

tradition since the 1930s, the annual Eastertime Blessing of the Animals gives thanks to the animal kingdom for all it provides humanity. Starting at noon, a festival will feature Mexican folklorico dance troupes, live music and other attractions.

Blessing of the Animals, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, 125 Paseo de la Plaza, L.A. Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. Free. (213) 625-7074.

OUTDOORS

Wetlands basics

Can’t tell a magpie from an apple pie? Don’t know the difference between toadflax and a toadstool? Here is your chance to get a hands-on education on bird watching, plant identification and wetlands preservation without cracking “The Idiot’s Guide to the Outdoors.” The Friends of the Ballona Wetlands are hosting a free learning session Saturday during the wetland’s third annual Migration Celebration. Marsh docents will have binoculars and microscopes at several locations along the 1 1/2 miles of walking trails to help visitors spot migrating birds and examine underwater creatures.

Third annual Migration Celebration, Ballona Wetlands. Entrance at Lincoln and Jefferson boulevards. 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Free. (310) 306-5994. www.ballonafriends.org

ART

Homage to Gore Vidal

Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli’s first L.A. exhibition, “The Gore Vidal Trilogy,” is a collection of video installations loosely based on screenplays written by the prolific American writer. “Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal’s ‘Caligula’ ” spoofs the soft-core flick “Caligula” (Vidal sued to have his name removed from the original 1979 title) with the “trailer” featuring cameos by Benicio del Toro, Milla Jovovich and Courtney Love as the Roman Emperor.

Francesco Vezzoli: “The Gore Vidal Trilogy,” Gagosian Gallery, 456 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills. Opens Saturday. (310) 382-9400.

* Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Ends May 20.

POP MUSIC

Radical ranchera

Singer Lila Downs has long captivated audiences with her dramatic interpretations of folkloric music from southern Mexico. On this tour, she returns to the ranchera music she sang as a child, focusing on material from her latest CD, “La Cantina.” Downs transforms these standards with her radical approach, which runs from noisy and aggressive to calm and tender, and she is likely to convert El Rey Theatre into a rousing cantina with songs of heartbreak, romance and the joy of cooking in her own “La Cumbia del Mole.”

Lila Downs, El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. Saturday. $25. (323) 936-6400.

SUNDAY

MUSEUMS

Simpson survey

Since the mid-1980s, artist Lorna Simpson’s conceptual works have expanded photographic technique while provoking issues regarding gender, racism, culture and history. The Museum of Contemporary Art premieres the traveling mid-career survey featuring Simpson’s image-and-text pieces, photographs on felt, film installations and video projections from the last 20 years.

Lorna Simpson, Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 Grand Ave., L.A. Opens Sunday. $5 to $8; 11 and younger, free. (213) 626-6222.

* 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 July 10.

TUESDAY

JAZZ

Play like a jazzman

Blues-rock guitarist-singer-songwriter Steve Miller takes a road less traveled when he sits in with the USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra at Bovard Auditorium. Miller, one of the bestselling pop music artists of the 1970s, scored such top 10 hits as “The Joker,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Rock’n Me” and “Jet Airliner.” Tuesday’s concert, however, will not be the 62-year-old guitarist’s first foray into jazz. His 1988 album “Born 2B Blue” featured him performing jazz standards with saxophonist Phil Woods, vibraphonist Milt Jackson and others.

Steve Miller with the USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra, Bovard Auditorium, 3551 Trousdale Parkway, L.A. 7 p.m. Tuesday. $5 to $15. (213) 740-2167.

WEDNESDAY

THEATER

Miller, pre- ‘Salesman’

A father’s revelation of what he did on the home front during World War II shatters two families in Arthur Miller’s resonant drama “All My Sons.” Len Cariou, Neil Patrick Harris and Laurie Metcalf star in Miller’s 1947 classic about greed, denial and expectations of social and familial morality and responsibility. Directed by Geffen artistic director Randall Arney.

“All My Sons,” Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. Opens 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $35 to $69. (310) 208-5454. (213) 365-3500.

* 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 May 21.