Best Bets / MARCH 7-13, 1999

Movies

“The Deep End of the Ocean” stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Treat Williams, above, as parents whose 3-year-old son disappears in a flash yet returns mysteriously nine years later. It opens in general release Friday.

Theater

Kelsey Grammer and Christine Baranski head a notable cast in Reprise! Broadway’s Best in Concert’s production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s fierce musical thriller “Sweeney Todd--The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Friday through Sunday at the Ahmanson Theatre.

Music

Two hard-to-classify musicians confound categories this week when Mark O’Connor brings his fiddle-violin-guitar mastery to Pepperdine on Tuesday and his sometime collaborator (“Appalachia Waltz”), bassist Edgar Meyer, performs his Concerto for Cello, Double Bass and Orchestra, aided by the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, at UCLA on Friday and the Alex Theatre on Saturday.

Dance

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performs Nacho Duato’s “Jardi Tancat,” Kevin O’Day’s “Quartet for IV (and sometimes one, two or three . . .),” Harrison McEldowney’s “Group Therapy” and David Parsons’ “The Envelope” on Friday at the Alex Theater in Glendale. The company also appears March 19-21 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre in Orange County.

Art

“Sam Francis: Paintings 1947-1990,” a major retrospective of works by L.A.’s noted Abstract Expressionist, opens today at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. The exhibition will feature 60 paintings and 30 drawings.

Pop Music

Lock up your children! It’s been ages since a rock tour has inspired dread in the heartland, but if anything can shake the cobwebs off rock’s slumbering form it’s the teaming of Marilyn Manson, above, and Hole. The dynamic duo come to the Arrowhead Pond on Saturday and the Great Western Forum next Sunday.

Architecture

The models, plans and drawings behind such noted cultural centers as the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Tijuana Cultural Center will go on display Wednesday in “Open House West: Museum Architecture and Changing Civic Identity” at USC’s Fisher Gallery.

Jazz

Popular jazz singer-pianist Diane Schuur performs music that ranges from swing standards to modern pop tunes and occasional gospel. “Deedles” doesn’t often play clubs, making her six-night engagement at Catalina’s (starting Tuesday) a rare opportunity.

Video

Walt Disney unleashes the beloved 1961 animated classic “101 Dalmatians” after a seven-year moratorium. The film, which arrives Tuesday, is available for--yes--101 days.