MOON OVER BUFFALO - Presumably talented actors entertain audiences by playing untalented actors.

The intersection of science and art is a topic that's preoccupied artists for some 100 years, since the early 20th century's explosion of scientific advances. So there are countless directions that Phenomena, opening at SPACES Gallery (2220 Superior Viaduct) tonight, could take - and chances are, if it's a typical SPACES group theme show, will take. Thirteen artists, local and national, will tackle (in a multitude of media) how each of the disciplines has impacted the other. One of the artists contributing is former Clevelander (now based in Chicago) Christa Donner, whose striking work has focused on body issues. She'll be presenting her own body of work, based on a series of films she created with scientist/artist Andrew Yang, exploring the impact of fertility drugs and genetic modification on human reproduction. Also opening in SPACElab, the gallery's experimental project space, is Akron artist Chelsea Blackerby's "I Felt That (Rainbow Troop, crawl)," an interactive textile installation. The free reception from 6-9 p.m. features a gallery talk by Donner at 6. Call 216.621.2314 or go to spacesgallery.org for info. - Anastasia Pantsios

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 16

Moon Over Buffalo

Yet another of those comedies about the travails of marginal theater folk, Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo is a light-hearted look at a questionably talented acting couple with delusions of Lunt-Fontanne type grandeur, as they terrorize fellow thespians way off-off-off Broadway - in Buffalo, New York. Weathervane Playhouse (1301 Weathervane Lane, Akron, 330.836.2626) opens the show in previews at 7:30 tonight and tomorrow, followed by official opening night at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18. Tickets: $14-$20. The show runs through Feb. 10. - AP

Aida

There's a movement afoot among presenters of the art form to take opera to The People. New York's Metropolitan Opera has been broadcasting its opening nights on a giant screen in Times Square. Singers are being promoted like rock stars as much for their chic good looks as their vocal talents. And opera broadcasts have been showing up in the multiplexes, also courtesy of the Met. Now Milan's fabled 200-plus-year-old La Scala Opera House is following suit. In the first of a series of broadcasts from various Italian opera houses, La Scala's production of repertoire staple, Verdi's Aida (which was originally produced at La Scala in 1872), will be shown in theaters around the world, including the Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Hts.). It will have three showings: at 7 tonight, at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20. Performances of Tristan Und Isolde, La Traviata, La Forza Del Destino, Maria Stuarda, Il Trittico and La Rondine will be shown at the Cedar Lee on later dates through early June. Tickets: $20. Go to clevelandcinemas.com for info and tickets. - AP

THURSDAY JANUARY 17

Art History 101

The Akron Art Museum (1 S. Market St.) extends a lifeline to confused art novices when it kicks off its Art History 101 series of lectures from 6:30-8:30 tonight. Conducted by Kent State instructor Albert Reischuck, the lectures will connect listeners with contemporary artworks such as those in the museum by delving into their thematic connections. The first lecture covers class struggles and social justice. In subsequent months, Reischuck will delve into love and family/gender issues, war and peace, culture vs. nature/the subconscious/escapism, and formal issues/art for art's sake. They're free to members, $7 or $25 for the series for non-members. Call 330.376.9186, ext. 230 to register. - AP

Cleveland Orchestra

It's hard to believe, now that our ears have had nearly a century to get used to it, but Igor Stravinsky's work once sounded so dissonant and discomfiting to listeners that it evoked hostility, rage and scorn. Now it's unlikely that even the most conservative audience member will find anything to criticize in the Cleveland Orchestra's choice of Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird to headline its concerts this weekend. The programs also include his Suite from Pulcinella, the US premiere of Thomas Adès' Suite from Powder her Face and, for the super-traditionalists craving the familiar, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20. Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst will conduct the three performances at 8 p.m. tonight, tomorrow and Saturday, with soloist Radu Lupu featured in the concerto. Tickets: $30-$83. Box office: 216.231.1111. - AP

FRIDAY JANUARY 18

Curious Terrain, Have We Forgotten

Cleveland State's Art Gallery (2300 Chester Ave., 216.687.2103) will open two contrasting shows. Curious Terrain includes the painting and drawing of three artists ruminating visually on the idea of the landscape. Have We Forgotten ... Still in Chains features five artists' thoughts, expressed in painting, sculpture and photography, on the black experience in this country. Free opening reception from 5-7 p.m. tonight. - AP

SATURDAY JANUARY 19

Lauren Kalman at the Sculpture Center

Women artists seem especially prone to become preoccupied with body issues, perhaps because women more than men are often defined by their physical features. Cleveland Heights native Lauren Kalman, now an assistant professor at Nashville's Watkins College of Art and Design, tackles such issues in her sprawling installation A Pretty Little Trick, opening today at the Sculpture Center (1834 E. 123rd St., 216.229.6527, sculpturecenter.org). Combining video, audio and actual objects such as jewelry and medical artifacts, Kalman explores at length the contrasts between media body images, peoples' own body images of themselves and the reality of the body's physical presence. The show opens with a free reception from 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Kalman will give an artist's talk at 7:30. - AP

Ticking Crocs and Fairy Dust

Talk about interactive. The latest exhibit at the Akron Art Museum (1 S. High St., 330.376.9185), is titled Ticking Crocs and Fairy Dust - want to take a guess which venerable childrens' story it centers on? Subtitled Youthful Visions and the Art of Peter Pan, the exhibit consists of local kids' illustrations of scenes from James M. Barrie's much-loved book, chosen by artist and theatrical designer Inda Blatch-Geib from submissions made last fall. But for those kids who didn't submit or didn't get picked, throughout the run of the exhibit (through April 13), there will be a series of Peter Pan-themed events that incorporate visual arts and design, theater, dance and film, and even a Peter Pan costume brunch on March 9. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays, until 9 on Thursdays. Admission is $7 adults, free kids 12 and under. - AP

TUESDAY JANUARY 22

John Boertlein signing

Who doesn't love a good scandal? As coverage of the Anna Nicole Smith train wreck or the OJ Simpson case showed, not too many people. And we seem to relish scandals more when they're closer to home. In Ohio Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder and Mayhem in the Buckeye State, author (and ex-cop) John Boertlein takes a look at incidents in Ohio's past (and up until as recently as Congressman Bob Ney going to prison last year) that religious moralists such as the Citizens for Community Values would just as soon pretend never happened. Boertlein will be signing his book at 7 tonight at Joseph-Beth Booksellers (24519 Cedar Rd., Lyndhurst, 216.691.7000). It's free. - AP