OC LIVE!

Art

Anyone intrigued by Chinese art will want to reserve Saturday afternoon to hear the erudite and witty Chinese art historian James Cahill, professor emeritus at UC Berkeley and author of the classic text “Chinese Painting� (Skira, 1960). Cahill will give an illustrated lecture on a neglected aspect of painting during the Ch’ing Dynasty (1644-1912). He has discovered that a group of little-known artists working in Yangchou, Nanking, Wu-hsi and Suchou employed Western illusionism based on European paintings and prints in portraits and paintings of beautiful women ( mei-jen ), family scenes and themes from stories and plays.

* Who: Prof. James Cahill, speaking on “A Neglected Current in Mid-Ch’ing Painting: Figure Compositions by Urban-Professional Masters.�

* When: Saturday, 2 p.m.

* Where: Gumbiner/FHP Conference Center, Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana.

* Whereabouts: Exit the Santa Ana (5) Freeway at Main Street, go south; the museum will be on your right.

* Wherewithal: Free with museum admission: $4.50 for adults, $3 for students and seniors, $1.50 for children 5 to 12, under 5 free.

* Where to call: Chinese Cultural Arts Council at (714) 963-3458 or (714) 965-2425.

Comedy

Before he made it big as the star and creator of “Welcome Back, Kotter� in the last half of the 1970s, Gabe Kaplan was one of the hottest stand-up comedians working. How hot was he? On the 1975 Emmy Awards telecast, he performed about six minutes of stand-up, something unheard of at the time. Now, 20 years later, as Nick at Nite has added the old series to its lineup, Kaplan is taking another stab at the spotlight.

* Who: Gabe Kaplan.

* When: Tonight and Sunday at 8:30 p.m., Friday at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. and Saturday at 8 and 10:30 p.m.

* Where: The Improv, 945 E. Birch St., Brea.

* Whereabouts: Take the Lambert Road exit from the Orange (57) Freeway and go west. Turn left onto State College Boulevard and right onto Birch Street. The Improv is in the Brea Marketplace, across from the Brea Mall.

* Wherewithal: $10 to $12.

* Where to call: (714) 529-7878.

Music

1995 is the tercentenary of the death of Elizabethan English composer Henry Purcell, known today primarily for his opera “Dido and Aeneas� and for Benjamin Britten’s series of variations on a Purcell theme in “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.� Musica Pacifica, a quintet based in San Francisco, made up of members of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, will commemorate the anniversary with a program of music by Purcell and his teacher, John Blow, as part of the Fullerton Friends of Music’s 37th season.

* Who: Musica Pacifica.

* When: Sunday, 3:30 p.m.

* Where: Sunny Hills High School Performing Arts Center, 1801 Warburton Way, Fullerton.

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

* Wherewithal: FREE. (Sponsored by the Fullerton Friends of Music)

* Where to call: (714) 525-9504.

Family Affair

The holiday season means more than shopping, parties, shopping, parties and shopping (and parties). With it also come all sorts of plays, concerts and other programs (see F2-3), and among the more promising groups on the list is the Capistrano Chorale, conducted by Jonathan Jenkins.

The 45-voice ensemble, whose repertoire ranges from Renaissance songs to contemporary carols, will perform Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Sea Country Senior and Community Center (24602 Aliso Creek Road, Laguna Niguel); Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Dana Point Recreation Center (34052 Del Obispo) and Dec. 9 and 10 at the Women’s Club of Laguna Beach (286 St. Ann’s Drive) and the San Clemente Community Center (100 N. Calle Seville) respectively. Tickets are $4 in advance (at Coast Music stores in Mission Viejo and San Clemente and at Capistrano Sheet Music in San Juan Capistrano); $6 at the door. Information: (714) 240-6498.