TheaterEdward Albee burst on the theater scene...

Theater

Edward Albee burst on the theater scene in the late 1950s as an American-style voice of the absurd and was soon destroying the furniture in living-room plays set among the alcoholic upper middle-classes. In “A Delicate Balance,” a 1966 drama being staged at Alternative Repertory Theatre, he explores the existential terror visited upon a family by best friends and how it affects the deeply troubled, if not so fragile, relationships already under enormous strains from the tensions of ordinary life.

* What: Edward Albee’s “A Delicate Balance.”

* Where: Alternative Repertory Theatre, 1636 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana.

* Whereabouts: Exit the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway at Edinger, go west to Grand Avenue and turn left. The theater is on the right.

* When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. Through March 9.

* Wherewithal: $16-$18.

* Where to call: (714) 836-7929.

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Music

In an opera, a singer can rely on sets, costumes, an orchestra, conductor and other colleagues to create a sense of character. But in a recital, the singer has to do it all pretty much alone. Of course, the scale of singing has to change too.

Soprano Kathleen Battle is one of the few who can manage the transition. Battle will sing works by Handel, Strauss, Duparc, Donizetti and Rodrigo, plus a selection of American spirituals, in a recital sponsored by the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. Her accompanist will be pianist Brian Zeger.

* Who: Kathleen Battle, in recital.

* When: 8 p.m. tonight.

* Where: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

* Whereabouts: Take the San Diego (405) Freeway to Bristol Street; exit north. Turn right onto Town Center Drive.

* Wherewithal: $10-$38.

* Where to call: (714) 553-2422.

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Pop

The Humpers play simple, high-octane rock ‘n’ roll songs that are fast and aggressive enough to qualify as punk but primal enough to take cues from Little Richard and other founding fathers. Fronted by Scott Drake, the Long Beach band has just issued “Plastique Valentine,” an album of love-gone-wrong songs with a kick. Joining the Humpers at the Foothill will be the Leaving Trains, one of the longest-running alternative bands on the L.A. rock scene. Founder-leader Falling James Moreland has led the band through garage-rock, countrified and psychedelic periods; former Muffs member Melanie Vammen is one of his new allies on a new album, “Smoke Follows Beauty.”

* What: The Humpers, the Leaving Trains.

* When: 9 p.m. Friday.

* Where: The Foothill, 1922 Cherry Ave., Signal Hill.

* Whereabouts: Take the San Diego (405) Freeway north to the Cherry Avenue south exit. The club is on left at 19th Street.

* Wherewithal: $10.

* Where to call: (562) 494-5196 (club); (562) 984-8349 (taped information).

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Family

Think of it as history on a stick. Saturday at the Children’s Museum at La Habra, puppeteer Pat Lay Wilson will help youngsters celebrate black history month with African stories and legends brought to life through shadow puppetry. Shadow puppets, used in various cultures for centuries, are two-dimensional figures mounted on sticks and moved behind a screen that is illuminated from the top or from behind.

With the puppets, Lay Wilson will dramatize traditional folk tales including “Oh, Kojo, How Could You Do It?” and “The Farmer and the Woodcutter.” Demonstrations of the kalimba, or thumb piano, and African drum also will be offered. The interactive program is recommended for children ages 4 to 11 and their families.

* What: African Shadow Puppet Show.

* When: Noon Saturday.

* Where: Children’s Museum at La Habra, 301 S. Euclid Street.

* Whereabouts: From the Orange (57) Freeway, exit at Lambert Road and drive west. Turn right on Euclid.

* Wherewithal: Free with museum admission: $4, free to children under 2.

* Where to call: (562) 905-9793.