This Week:

March 26-2760th Annual Stairway To The Stars, annual high school talent show, 7:30pm, $12, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main St., 310.399.5865 x538.March 27Banda Brothers Quintet, jazz, 7 and 9pm, $10, Edye Second Space at SMC Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St., 310.434.4323.Human Spaceflight Update, 8pm, preceded by The Night Sky Show, 7pm, $5 or $9 for both shows, John Drescher Planetarium, SMC, 1900 Pico Blvd., 310.434.4223.Manding Jata, African dance program, 8pm, $20-$35, Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, 24255 PCH, Malibu, 310.506.4522.USC Masters Program Students Reading, 7:30pm, free, Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, 310.822.3006.VDay Santa Monica, with a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues, 8pm, after-party 10pm, Broad Theatre, SMC Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St., 800. 595.4849.March 27-29LA Women’s Theatre Festival, performances by women, $25 per day, Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., 818.760.0408.My Uncle Arly, presented by British Theatre Company Hoipolloi, 7:30pm Friday, 1pm Saturday-Sunday, $15-$25, UCLA Freud Playhouse, WW, 310.825.2101.March 28Ross Eccles, paintings, reception 1-5pm, through April 25, Hangar Gallery at Santa Monica Art Studios, 3026 Airport Ave., 310.706.1247.Group Drumming for People With Cancer And Their Families, 11am-1pm, free, The Wellness Community_West LA, 2716 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 1040, 310.314.2555. Hope Amidst The Storm, lecture by Greg Martin, music 2pm, lecture 3pm, free, SGI Plaza, 606 Wilshire Blvd., 310.309.3227.An Introduction to Edward S. Curtis, the photographer who is the subject of The Shadow Catcher, with scholar Bruce Kapson, 3pm, free, MLK Jr. Auditorium, Santa Monica Main library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., 310.458.8600.Jamaica Farewell, return of Debra Erhardt’s one-woman show, through May 3, 3pm Saturday, 3 and 7pm Sunday, $30, Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th St., 323.692.0423.NextWords: Cal Arts MFA and Critical Studies Programs present student readings, 7:30pm, free, Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, 310.822.3006.Planet Siqueros Pena presents Reverence and Revelry: Music Of Colonial Mexico, 7:30-10pm, $10, SPARC, 685 Venice Blvd., Venice, 310.822.9560, sparcmurals.org.The Sacred Prostitute, a play performed by Santo Cervello, 7:30pm, $20, Church In Ocean Park, 235 Hill St., 310.664.3767.Skincare Demonstration with Ole Henriksen, noon-6pm, free, Sephora, 1244 Third Street Promenade, 310.395.3460.SMMUSD Facilities Policy Forum, 9am-noon, Cafeteria, John Adams Middle School, 2425 16th St., 310.450.8338. South Asian American Art Festival, reception 3-8pm, through April 4, Arena 1 Gallery, 3026 Airport Ave., 310.397.7449.Storytelling With Kathleen Zundell, 10:30am, free, Children’s Book World, 10580 1/2 Pico Blvd., LA, 310.559.2665.Travel Workshop: Europe, 11am, $5-$10, Hostelling International Travel Store, 1434 2nd St., 310.393.3413.March 28-29Railfest 2009, festival celebrating railroad trains, presented by Fillmore and Western Railway, 9am-5pm, $25, Fillmore Central Park, Fillmore, scrvrhs.com.The Verdi Chorus, Spring Concert, 7:30pm Saturday, 4pm Sunday, $10-$40, First United Methodist Church, 1008 11th St., 310.684.3024.March 29Dr. Chris Chapple, reading, interview, and book signing for Yoga and the Luminous, 7:30pm, donation, Church In Ocean Park, 235 Hill St., 310.399.1631.Daughters of India: Photographs by Stephen P. Huyler, lecture 2pm, through July 26, Fowler Museum at UCLA, WW, 310.825.8655.SMC Symphony, with works by Haydn, Mendelssohn, Debussy and Sousa, 4pm, $10, Broad Theatre, SMC Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St., 310.434.4323. March 30Sarah Goldfinger, TV writer/producer, appears at the SMC Entertainment Speakers Series, 7pm, free, Screening Room, SMC’s Academy of Entertainment & Technology, 1660 Stewart St., 310. 434.3777.March 30-April 1The Three Yogas of the Bhagavad Gita: Lord Krishna’s Advice on How to Live the Good Life, teachings with Buddhist monk Venerable Sumati Marut, 7:30-9:30pm, Mahasukha Center, 6512 Arizona Ave., LA, aci-la.org.March 31Hank Rosenfeld and Irving Brecher discuss and sign The Wicked Wit of the West, a biography of screenwriter/humorist Brecher as told to Rosenfeld, 7:30pm, free, Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore Ave., PP, 310.454.4063.April 1-4Suadade, dance piece by David Roussève, 8pm, $15-$46, UCLA Freud Playhouse, UCLA, WW, 310.825.2101.April 1Cy Tymony, author of Sneaky Green Uses for Everyday Things, signs and demonstrates projects from his new book, 3:45pm, free, Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., 310.458.8621. April 2Bill Frisell’s Disfarmer Project: Musical Portraits from Heber Springs, music inspired by the life of a photographer, 8pm, $20-$30, Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., LA, 310.440.4500.