BEST BETS / MAY 21-27, 2000

Movies “Shanghai Noon” finds Jackie Chan as an Imperial Guard who comes to the Old West to rescue a kidnapped Chinese princess (Lucy Liu); a trunkful of gold figures into the plot, which teams the guard with a partner (Owen Wilson) he doesn’t trust. Opening Friday in general release.

Theater

“Gun Shy,” Richard Dresser’s zany, no-holds-barred comedy about marriage, incompatibility, infertility, diets and household accidents, a 1997 Humana Festival of New Plays standout, makes its Southern California premiere at the Laguna Playhouse. It stars a host of stage and screen pros. Opens at the Moulton Theatre in Laguna Beach on Thursday.

Museums

Five museums located along the Arroyo Seco, one of Southern California’s most famous canyons, will offer free admission from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. today in honor of the annual “Museums of the Arroyo Day.” Free shuttle service will escort visitors to the Gamble House, Heritage Square Museum, the Lummis Home and Garden, the Pasadena Historical Museum and the Southwest Museum, all located in Highland Park and Pasadena.

Pop Music

Bruce? Billy? Macy? Where do you drop your concert dollars this week? Old reliable Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, back for a post-Staples encore at the Arrowhead Pond tonight and Monday? The Smashing Pumpkins, fighting to recapture their luster Tuesday at the Universal Amphitheatre? Or star-on-the-rise Macy Gray, hitting the big time Wednesday at the Greek?

Video

The innovative Tim Burton has taken the old Washington Irving story “The Legend of the Headless Horseman” and turned it on its head with his fantasy thriller “Sleepy Hollow.” Johnny Depp, in his third film for Burton, is perfectly cast as Ichabod Crane, a maverick constable sent to an isolated small village under siege by a murderous headless horseman (Christopher Walken). Christina Ricci also stars in this Oscar winner for art direction, which debuts Tuesday on video and DVD.