Calendar for the week

thursday
october 9
Further Stuff From Beyond the Pond: UK/AZ's "Wallace and Gromit" Mania, "Rootstein Mannequins" and More: The UK/AZ Festival, continuing through October (though some of the offerings extend beyond Allhallows Eve), celebrates the--rather tenuous--connection(s) between England and Arizona. Nick Park's beloved claymation characters "Wallace and Gromit" (Wallace is a toothy, addlebrained inventor/cheese head, Gromit his whip-smart, silent traveling companion) are feted variously this week. Marathon screenings of the pair's all-ages adventures A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave continue daily, through Monday, October 27, at the Cartoon Corner at Biltmore Fashion Park, located at 24th Street and Camelback. Viewing is free; daily hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays (all 954-7345). "An Adventure With Wallace and Gromit," including showings of the aforementioned shorts, opens Friday, October 10, and continues through Friday, January 16, 1998, at the Arizona Museum for Youth, 35 North Robson in Mesa. Viewing hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $2, free for kids under 2 (call 644-2467). The "Rootstein Mannequins" are "celebrity-cloned" look-alikes of the likes of models Karen Mulder and Twiggy and actresses Joan Collins and Audrey Hepburn that are swathed in gear from the swinging '60s to the iconic '90s. Products of the London factory founded by the late Adel Rootstein, the mannequins sass up Saks Fifth Avenue at Biltmore Fashion Park through Halloween. Viewing is free; hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Sundays (call 955-8000). See below for details about the UK/AZ-related openings of The Essential Henry V, Blithe Spirit and "The Rolling Stones Photo Exhibition" (Friday), Umabatha: The Zulu Macbeth (Saturday) and the Stars of the Kirov Ballet (Monday). For info about UK/AZ events not mentioned here, see the Events listing in Thrills or call 258-6055.

Show Boat: Director Harold Prince's gaudy, splashy, special-effects-heavy restaging of the Kern/Hammerstein epic, based on Edna Ferber's novel about old times in the Deep South, stars Richie Cunningham's long-suffering pop, Tom Bosley, as Capt'n Andy, Karen Morrow as Parthy, Gretha Boston as Queenie, Sarah Pfisterer as Magnolia and Andre Solomon-Glover as Joe. The lush score--including "Ol' Man River," "Only Make Believe" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man"--remains the same. This week's performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, October 9; 8 p.m. Friday, October 10; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, October 11; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 12; 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 14; and 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 15, at Gammage Auditorium, located at Mill and Apache in Tempe. The run continues through Saturday, November 1. Tickets range from $15 to $65, available at Gammage and Dillard's; call 965-3434 or 503-5555.

friday
october 10
The Essential Henry V: Matthew Wiener of Actors Theatre of Phoenix adapted and directed ATOP's season-opening presentation of Shakespeare's drama about the conscience of the young warrior-king. Inaugural performances, held in conjunction with the UK/AZ Festival (see Thursday), are at 8 p.m. Friday, October 10; 8 p.m. Saturday, October 11; and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, October 12, in Stage West at Herberger Theater Center, 222 East Monroe. The run continues through Sunday, October 26. Tickets range from $19 to $30, available at Herberger and Dillard's; call 252-8497 or 503-5555.

"The Rolling Stones Photo Exhibition": Photographer Gered Mankowitz captured Mick's massive lips and Keith's emerging crags at various locales and times. The installation of never-displayed shots from '65 to '67, held in conjunction with the UK/AZ Festival (see Thursday), opens Friday, October 10, and continues daily, through Sunday, October 19, at the Gardenside Food Court at Arizona Center, Third Street and Van Buren. Viewing is free; hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Sundays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Call 949-4353.

Blithe Spirit: Arizona Theatre Company injects a note of whimsy into the thus-far Bard-heavy, tragedy-infused stage offerings of the UK/AZ Festival (see Thursday) with Noel Coward's 1941 wordplay souffle, a lighter-than-air concoction about ghostly doings that's really a commentary on British manners. Former ATC honcho Gary Gisselman directed. The run opens with a preview at 8 p.m. Friday, October 10, in Center Stage at Herberger Theater Center, 222 East Monroe. The press opening is at the same time Saturday, October 11. The rest of this week's shows are at 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday, October 12; and 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 15. A discussion follows Sunday's matinee; Wednesday's show is "audio described" for the visually impaired. The production continues through Saturday, October 25. Tickets range from $19.50 to $32.50, available at Herberger and Dillard's; call 252-8497 or 503-5555.

Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs: The Stage Production: Feast of Fools Theatre, recently relocated from Denver, paints the proscenium scarlet with Michael Alessandro's adaptation of writer/director Tarantino's shooting script for the '92 filmic blood bath/character study about a jewel heist gone awry. (The show is presented with the cooperation of Tarantino's A Band Apart Productions, and dovetails with a recent movement in L.A. to transfer, with fidelity, well-known works from screen to stage.) This week's performances are at 8 p.m. Friday, October 10; 8 p.m. Saturday, October 11; and 7 p.m. Sunday, October 12, at the Third Street Theatre at Phoenix Center, 1202 North Third Street. The run continues through Saturday, October 25.Tickets range from $8 to $12. Call 256-7898.