Best Bets April 18-24, 1999

Movies

The satirical comedy “Election” stars Matthew Broderick as a student government advisor who sabotages the student body presidential campaign of an over-achieving high school student (Reese Witherspoon). Opening in general release on Friday.

“eXistenZ,” a futuristic thriller written and directed by David Cronenberg, depicts a society in which game designers are worshiped as superstars and players can organically enter the games. Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh star. Opening Friday at selected theaters.

Theater

Jeff McBride, a four-time Magician of the Year award winner and international headliner, presents the Southern California premiere of his theatrical extravaganza “McBride--Magic!,” a mix of illusion, mime, dance, Kabuki and drums, at Magicopolis in Santa Monica. Opens Wednesday.

Music

Popular, much-recorded 28-year-old American violinist Gil Shaham closes the 1998-99 season of Celebrity Recitals at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion tonight at 7:30. Assisted by pianist Akira Eguchi, the Grammy Award-winning Shaham will play three sonatas: by Brahms (A-major), Prokofiev (F minor) and Andre Previn (“Vineyard,” written in 1994) in this, his first Music Center recital.

Dance

First seen locally last year, Moses Pendleton’s “Baseball” earned a place high on The Times’ best-of-’98 list for being a ceaselessly witty and inventive multimedia spectacle tailor-made for the uninhibited Momix ensemble. This full-evening sports tribute returns to local stages on Saturday at the Smothers Theatre of Pepperdine University in Malibu.

Art

“Patssi Valdez: A Precarious Comfort,” the first major museum survey devoted to the L.A. Chicana artist, opens Saturday at the Laguna Art Museum. It will include paintings, prints, mixed-media works and a large-scale installation.

Pop Music

The Smashing Pumpkins have been the strained Pumpkins lately, enduring disappointing sales of their last album and then firing their management, but the name of their new tour--”The Arising”--portends better times. One upbeat note: Original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin is back after his drug-related dismissal. At the Roxy on Saturday.

Enrique Iglesias is one of the hot young heartthrobs in the burgeoning Latin pop field, and his older brother Julio Iglesias Jr. is waiting in the wings, but meantime, don’t forget the old man. Julio Iglesias--senior--brings his old-school cool and European charm to the Universal Amphitheatre for concerts on Friday and Saturday.

Jazz

One of the big three of current jazz guitarists (along with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell), John Scofield has a recognizable tone and the ability to play anything from bop to funk. His quartet will be grooving at Catalina’s for six nights, starting this Tuesday.

Video

Disney and Pixar Animation Studio followed up their 1995 computer-animation hit “Toy Story” with the equally delightful and clever “A Bug’s Life.” Directed by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, the comedy focuses on an ant colony threatened by evil grasshoppers. The blockbuster arrives Tuesday on video.