Best Bets for Sunday Calendar, Aug. 26, 2001

Movies

The long-delayed “O,” which transposes “Othello” to a contemporary boarding school, stars Mekhi Phifer, above left with Josh Hartnett, and Julia Stiles. Directed by Tim Blake Nelson, the Shakespearean tragedy was adapted by Brad Kaaya. Opens Friday.

Theater

Bea Arthur, best known from TV’s “Maude” and “Golden Girls,” will perform her one-woman show, “An Evening With Bea Arthur,” songs and stories drawn from her six decades of work on stage and in film and television. The show, a benefit for the national animal protection group Defense of Animals, will be presented Thursday at the Wadsworth Theater in Brentwood.

Art

“Heavenly Visions: Shaker Gift Drawings and Gift Songs,” an exhibition of about 125 gift drawings, manuscripts of gift songs and related texts created by Shakers from 1837 to 1850, opens Wednesday at the UCLA Hammer Museum. The exhibition explores the historical interpretations of the drawings--visionary images of heaven--and songs that were created through dreams, trances or states of possession--as well as the contemporary relevance of each.

Dance

“Olm” is where the art is when the Lula Washington Dance Theatre premieres a jazz suite by that name on Saturday at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood. Washington’s daughter, Tamica Washington-Miller, above right with her mom, premieres a hip-hop piece on the same program. On Oct. 14, Lula Washington will receive the American Choreography Award as dance educator of the year.

Music

Conductor Peter Oundjian, formerly a violinist, makes his Hollywood Bowl debut with the L.A. Philharmonic in two Mozart programs this week. On Tuesday, he leads the Symphonies Nos. 29 and 38, and collaborates with the French-born Helene Grimaud, who plays the D-minor Piano Concerto. On Thursday, Julia Fischer plays the Violin Concerto No. 4 and Oundjian conducts the “Juper” Symphony.

Jazz

Singer Rachelle Ferrell will open tonight’s show at the Greek Theatre for singer Al Jarreau and keyboardist George Duke. The Times’ Don Heckman has described Ferrell as a “mesmerizing performer” whose multi-octave range can produce virtually any imaginable sound.

Pop Music

The world of the rave is as shaky as the tech sector these days, with two high-profile events recently canceled after disappointing ticket sales. But Southern California’s Nocturnal Wonderland pitches camp for the eighth time on Saturday, with all-star spinners Christopher Lawrence, below, Rabbit in the Moon, Mark Farina and others setting the beat at Havasu Landing Resort in Lake Havasu.