A ‘Ninja,’ Quartets and Something Tricky in Store

* MOVIES: “Albino Alligator” (at the Sunset 5 in West Hollywood and the South Coast Plaza 3 in Costa Mesa), which marks actor Kevin Spacey’s directorial debut, is a stylish knockoff of “Key Largo” about three fugitives holed up in a New Orleans bar with a quartet of hostages. It’s overly theatrical, but the performances are solid, particularly that of Gary Sinise as a crook with a conscience. . . . Jack Hazan’s “A Bigger Splash” (1974), a captivating, shimmering, beautiful film in which painter David Hockney and his friends reenact a crisis in the artist’s life, is being shown Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Sunset 5. It has returned in conjunction with the Los Angeles Opera production of “Tristan und Isolde,” which Hockney conceived and designed. . . . TriStar didn’t have enough confidence in “Beverly Hills Ninja” to preview it, but it’s an enjoyable knockabout comedy (in general release) with Chris Farley up to his ears in misadventures as the world’s klutziest ninja in pursuit of international counterfeiters. . . . The American Cinematheque presents a series of new films produced by Britain’s Channel 4 starting tonight at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood while a retrospective of films from the pioneering animators at the Fleischer Studios continues at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Also continuing: the UCLA Film Archive’s “The Art of Kenji Mizoguchi” at the Melnitz Theater and, in West L.A., the Nuart’s “Tribute to Gena Rowlands,” who will appear Saturday at 6:30 p.m. before the 7 p.m. screening of “Gloria.”

* MUSIC: The admired, eclectic Kronos Quartet (see review, F1) plays at the Alex Theatre in Glendale tonight. The program will conclude with Terry Riley’s “Cadenza on the Night Plain.” (Also see Families, below). . . . For its final local appearance as currently constituted, the Juilliard String Quartet will be at Schoenberg Hall, UCLA, Saturday night playing Haydn’s Quartet in E-flat, Opus 50, No. 3; the Quartet No. 5 by Bartok; and Beethoven’s Opus 132. . . . Opera Pacific opens its production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” Saturday night (to be repeated Sunday afternoon and next week) in Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. Mark Rucker and Gordon Hawkins will alternate in the title role; Steven Mercurio is conducting.

* THEATER: “Forever Plaid,” Stuart Ross’ musical about an early ‘60s tight-harmony group’s comeback from beyond, has made a welcome return to the Can~on Theatre in Beverly Hills, where it shines in a touching and funny production. . . . Michael Learned, of “The Waltons” fame, leads a superb cast in “You Shall Give Me Grandsons,” Thomas Jonigk’s scathing sociopolitical farce about a woman pushing her son to procreate, at the Lee Strasberg Institute’s Marilyn Monroe Theatre in West Hollywood through Sunday.

* PHOTOGRAPHY: “The Eye of Sam Wagstaff,” an exhibition that demonstrates why the late collector from New York helped legitimize picture-taking, continues at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu (through April 6). The 43 works--drawn from thousands--feature mostly individual photographs displayed in pairs with both humorous and compelling results. This is the museum’s final exhibition of photography before the collection is moved to the Getty Center in Brentwood, and provides good reason for venturing to the facility in Malibu before it closes this summer for renovation. Note: Parking reservations are required; no walk-in traffic is permitted.

* POP: Marilyn Manson brings his rock ‘n’ roll horrorshow to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Saturday. . . . English trip-hop star Tricky plays tonight at the Glass House in Pomona and Saturday at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles.

* JAZZ: A host of the area’s best saxophonists--including Pete Christlieb, Buddy Collette, Kim Richmond, Bruce Eskovitz, Herman Riley and Brandon Fields--will share the stage Saturday and Sunday at the West Coast Jazz Saxophone Conclave at the Crossroads School in Santa Monica. . . . Singer Dianne Reeves, an improvisational storyteller whose songs reflect her experience, performs Saturday at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles as part of the Jazz Explosion concert, a fest of fusion musicians that also will include Will Downing, Gerald Albright, Alex Bugnon and Doc Powell.

* FAMILIES: “Home Made Music From Around the World” should be a triple treat Saturday at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater in Brentwood. Noted musician-educator Dr. Craig Woodson will lead an instrument-building workshop, the renowned Kronos Quartet will perform, and then the audience and quartet will jam together. It starts at 2 p.m. . . . The production values are modest but Imagination Station’s fractured fairy tale “Rumpelstiltskin” is a hoot. It’s back for a second run at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica, Saturdays at 10 a.m. and noon.

--Compiled by Calendar writers