Night+Day

tuesday
july 29
Ladies Night When the middle-aged caretaker in Three Tall Women emerges, try to stifle that impulse to shout, "It's Ma Walton!" even though actress Michael Learned really did play the rural matriarch on the long-running TV series. Learned's theatrical credits extend long beyond that show, to include roles in Edward Albee's Seascape and A Delicate Balance, making her performance in this touring production her third go at the playwright's work. In this piece, Learned and a young lawyer (Christina Rouner) have come to look after a 92-year-old widow (Marian Seldes), whose re-examination of the events of her life provides the momentum to the comic drama. Albee added the Pulitzer Prize he won for this play to the Tony Award he won for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The show opens at 8 p.m. (and has an open-ended run) at the Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness (at Grove), S.F. Admission is $20-50; call 776-1999.

Ticket to Ride "Fast Pass: A Game of Destinations" is like an urban update on the Game of Life, only instead of navigating toy cars jammed with plastic peg children around a maze of insurance policies, players can move one of 13 tile characters (with names like "Wolf" or "Low Rider") around an open-air mural. The directions of the game are literally written on the wall, in poetic form, as are the rules, which aren't as hard and fast as the rules of regular board games. Players are advised to be aware of challenges and temptations as they travel toward their destination, which could be anywhere from Alaska to outer space. The game was created by kids from the Inner City Public Art Projects for Youth Program, under the direction of muralist Johanna Poethig; a reception featuring readings, refreshments, and appearances by the artists begins at 5:30 p.m. at the mural site at the De Vera Store, Russ & Natoma, between Sixth & Seventh streets, S.F. Admission is free; call 861-9838.