STAGE

The Chairs & The Lesson--Two Ionesco one-acters, one sad and one funny. At WHEELOCK THEATRE, 180 The Riverway (566-9583).

A Collier's Friday Night--D. H. Lawrence. At the LITTLE THEATRE, Kresge Auditorium, M.I.T. (UN 4-6900, ext. 2910).

Dear World--A relentlessly dull musical, with little but the beautiful Angela Lansbury to recommend it. Joe Layton has just become this show's third director to date, and Jerry Herman wrote the unhelpful score. Pre-Broadway try-out at the COLONIAL (426-9366).

eh? --A daffy and funny play by Henry Livings, directed by Howard Bay. At SPINGOLD THEATRE, Brandeis (894-4343).

Endgame--Samuel Beckett's play, an absurdist's version of "King Lear" as some would have it. At TEMPO THEATRE, 130-34 Lincoln Street (338-7081).

I Had to Buy a Ticket to the Free Matinee & Up Yours, Arthur Miller--Well, what can one say? Two one-acters at the LOEB EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE (UN 4-2630).

The Indian Wants the Bronx & It's Called the Sugar Plum--Two one-acters by Israel Horovitz, a new American playwright to be reckoned with. To be reviewed tomorrow. At QUINCY HOUSE.

Iphigenia in Aulis--A radical interpretation of the Euripides tragedy. At the CARAVAN THEATRE, 1555 Mass. Ave.(491-9579).

Marat-Sade--The Peter Weiss play performed by Wellesley girls? Heaven help us. At the WELLESLEY COLLEGE THEATRE, Alumnae Hall, Wellesley.

The Millionairess--Possibly Bernard Shaw's last great play, at any rate one of his funniest. Not to be confused with the movie of the same title, or the now-defunct TV series. At the CHARLES, 76 Warrenton (542-3325).

More Stately Mansions--The unfinished Eugene O'Neill play that picks up where "Touch of the Poet" left off. In its second American production at the THEATRE COMPANY OF BOSTON, 136 Mass. Ave. (426-6609).

Murder in the Cathedral--T.S. Eliot. At the HUB THEATRE CENTER, 131 Cambridge St. (227-5088).

Pantagleize--Michel de Ghelderode's farce to make you sad. At DUNSTER HOUSE.

The Proposition--A local satirical revue that has its fans. At 241 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge.

Ruddigore--Gilbert & Sullivan and a witch's curse. At AGASSIZ.

Salome--Oscar Wilde at the CRAFT EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE, 96 Brookline Ave., Boston (262-7777).

Schweyk in the Second World War--Brecht's play in a radical adaptation by Charles Sabel. At ELIOT HOUSE.

The Slave & Birdbath--Two one-acters by LeRoi Jones and Leonard Melfi, respectively. Everyone knows about Mr. Jones, but few know about Mr. Melfi, a fine Cafe Le Mama playwright with a poet's heart. At the ATMA, 498 Tremont (338-9791).

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown--Which somehow works. At the WILBUR (426-9366).

SCREEN

At the Circus--Not among the Marx Brothers best, but still funnier than anything else around, save their "Night at the Opera." Before this movie is over, Margaret Dumont is shot out of a cannon, and Groucho gets to sing an Arlen-Harburg number about a tattooed lady. At the SYMPHONY II, Huntington at Mass. Ave. (262-8837).

Barbarella--Roger, Vadim's very public salute to Jane Fonda; more or less what you'd expect. At the CIRCLE, Cleveland Circle, Brookline (566-4040).

The Boston Strangler--Believe, your worst suspicions. At the MUSIC HALL, Tremont St. near Stuart (423-3300).

Camelot--An overblown adaptation of the Lerner & Lowe musical, with Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave. But swell music. At the FRESH POND in Fresh Pond, Cambridge (547-8800).

Les Carabiniers--Godard. Sunday at the HARVARD-EPWORTH CHURCH, 1555 Mass. Ave.

Closely Watched Trains--Funny and sad like most Czech films. Worth seeing. At the HARVARD SQUARE (864-4580).

Coogan's Bluff--One of Donald Siegel's ("Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "Madigan") finest films, its pleasantly mechanical script completely transcended by the honesty and directness of Siegel's style and a moral concern for the fate of his characters. Clint East-wood is fabulous, and the Siegel stock company (Susan Clark, Don Stroud) again proves a group of Hollywood's most capable new actors. Marred only by an unfortunately pedestrian last 60 seconds. At the ORPHEUM, Washington St. (542-5557).

Dear John--A Swedish film about a romance between two not-so-young and not-so-beautiful people. Well acted, but boring in spots. At the HARVARD SQUARE (864-4580).

Finian's Rainbow--A heavyhanded, poorly acted film version of the musical, with nothing but the splendid score and the magnificent Fred Astaire to recommend it. The director, Francis Fred Coppola, has a bad habit of chopping people's hands and feet off; stars Petula Clark and Tommy Steele ought to act their age. At the SAXON, Tremont and Stuart (542-4600).

Firemen's Ball and Oratorio for Prague--Two first rate, if lightweight, Czech films which run amuck. In Milos (Loves of a Blonde) Forman's comedy, the dramatic action edges toward the consequential and finally becomes downright grisly, with no let-up in the constant low-key joking. In Jan Nemec's documentary, reality gets out of hand as the appearance of Russian tanks drastically alter what had been intended as a cheerful film about the liberalized Dubcek regime. At the EXETER, Exeter St. between Commonwealth & Newbury (536-7067).

The Graduate--Mike Nichols' film about where Joe DiMaggio went. Too big for its britches. At the PARK SQUARE CINEMA, 31 St. James Ave. (542-2220).

Flea in Her Ear--The Georges Feydeau farce, butchered in this Jacques Charon film. Rex Harrison, Rosemary Harris, Rachel Roberts and Louis Jourdan are stuck in it. At the CINEMA KENMORE SQUARE (262-3799).

Funny Girl--If you like Barbra Streisand, there is no getting around the fact that this movie works. The score, the screenplay, and even Omar Sharif are fine. The photography, on the other hand, is unfortunate, as is the editing. At the CHERI 2, Dalton St. in Prudential Center (536-2870).

D.W. Griffith Films--Some short and early works. At CARPENTER CENTER, Sunday.

Great Catherine--Peter O'Toole is wonderful in this movie that goes wildly and badly off track about five minutes after it begins. Jeanne Moreau and Jack Hawkins do what they can to help things along, but Zero Mostel turns in a performance that is too undisciplined, qrotesque and awful to be believed. At the CHERI 3, Dalton St. in Prudential Center (536-2870).

Heart is a Lonely Hunter--Pretty weighty stuff from the Carson McCullers novel, with Alan Arkin as a sensitive deaf mute. At the SYMPHONY I, Huntington at Mass. Ave. (262-8837).

Hot Millions--Peter Ustinov and Maggie Smith are just fine in this gentle suspense-comedy written by Ustinov and Ira Wallach. At the ASTOR, Tremont St. near Boylston (542-5030).

King of Hearts--Phillipe de Broca's color fantasy, bound to bring some joy into your world. Alan Bates is in it, and the whole thing is blessed with one of the nicest background scores ever, the work of Georges Delerue. At the BRATTLE, beginning Sunday (TR 6-4226).

Lady in Cement--Frank Sinatra in a film that should have been buried in cement. At the CHERI I, Dalton St. in Prudential Center (536-2870).

The Lion in Winter--Pretension unleashed, most notably that of Anthony Harvey, the director, who seems bent on doing everything as conspicuously as he can. Neither Peter O'Toole nor Katharine Hepburn gives much of a performance in this cumbersomely filmed version of James Goldman's play, which was unconvincing to start with. At the PARIS CINEMA, 841 Boylston (267-8181).

Negatives--A ponderous and pretentious excursion into illusion-reality land, starring three ugly people, one of whom was much better in "Marat-Sade" and featuring a soundtrack consisting almost entirely of ominous clicking, gratuitous' screaming, and much too much crumpling of polyethelyne. This way madness lies. At the CHARLES CINEMA, 195 Cambridge St. (227-2832).

A Night at the Opera--George Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind loaded the screenplay with more jokes and comic situations than any movie has a right to have. Groucho, Harpo and Chico are fine and have great foils in Margaret Dumont, Sig Rumann, and the drippy romantic leads, Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones. Very likely the funniest movie ever made. At the SYMPHONY II, Huntington at Mass. Ave. (262-8837).

Persona--Ingmar Bergman's horror film about split identity. Through Saturday at the BRATTLE (TR 6-4266).

Raisin in the Sun--Lorraine Hansberry's fine drama about being black in Chicago brought to the screen. ClaudiaMcNeil is stunning, and Sidney Poitier isn't half bad. At 2DIVINITY AVENUE, tonight.

Romeo and Juliet--Although Franco Zeffirelli's teen-age treatment of Shake-speare's situation tragedy may be some what free-wheeling for all tastes, sentimentalists will eat up every second. Olivia Hussey's reading of Juliet proves a truly right interpretation of the part. At the ABBEY, 600 Commonwealth Ave. (262-1303).

Shalako--A mildly entertaining Western sorely in need of a good gag-writer and Brigitte Bardot. Luckily they got Bardot. At the PARAMOUNT, Washington St. across from Raymond's (482-4820).

Star--Despite wonderful music, ranging from Kurt Weill to Cole Porter, an aimless, fruitless movie. The theatrical history, however, is fun, and Julie Andrews and Daniel Massey are likewise as Gertrude Lawrence and Noel Coward. At the GARY, 131 Stuart (542-7040).

The Man from Rio--The incomparable Jean-Paul Belmondo becomes the first screen hero ever to kick a bad guy in the groin. If you like slapstick and involved plots, hop to it. At the SYMPHONY I, Huntington at Mass. Ave.(262-8837).

2001--Stanley Kubrick's epic of human advancement, externally motivated. The special effects must be seen, and can best be seen from the first five rows. At the CINERAMA, Washington Street near Essex (482-4515).

The Vixens--First "Therese and Isabelle" made "The Fox" look a milkfed puppy. Now this film claims to make "I, a Woman" look like "Heidi." Take it from there. At the WEST END CINEMA, North Station (523-4050).

West Side Story--Much, much worse than the show. Badly dubbed and drippily sung, but funny in places. At the SAVOY, 163 Tremont (536-2120).

Yellow Submarine--A good cartoon about the Beatles not to be confused either with The Road Runner or Joyce's Ulysses. The drawing leans overly on contemporary advertising art, but the 85 minutes are provocative and occasionally moving. At the BEACON HILL, Tremont between Beacon St. & ovt. Center (227-6676).PANTAGLEIZE? Dunster Drama. Revolution? Now.