BUDDHIST ART: THE LATER TRADITION. This comprehensive exhibit at the Sackler of Buddhist art from China, Korea, Japan, Tibet and India spans more than 1000 years. Surveying the transmission of Buddhism throughout East Asia from the 10th through the 18th centuries, the exhibit feature 72 pieces, including scroll paintings, Buddhist “sutras” or sacred texts, Chinese censers and Tibetan bell handles. See full story in the Feb. 14 Arts section. Through Sept. 7. Hours: Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. $6.50, $5 students/seniors, free for Harvard ID holders, Cambridge Public Library card holders and to people under 18. Group rates available. Sackler Museum, 485 Broadway, (617) 495-9400. (CWP)

BETWEEN ROCK AND A HARD PLACE. In keeping with the trend of interdisciplinary art, check out a group of creative minds whose lifestyle of rock music has spilled over into other art forms. This exhibit is a multimedia, 21-artist display which includes video, photography, furniture and painting. Features such mainstays as Roger Miller and Reeves Gabrels as well as new arrivals like former Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh. Through March 2. Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge St., (617) 876-6060. (ESH)

THE COLOR YELLOW: BEAUFORD DELANEY. The exhibit, which is the first retrospective of an African-American artist at a Harvard University museum, is also Delaney’s first retrospective since he passed away in 1979. It features 26 highly textured, vibrant paintings by the underappreciated 20th-century African-American expatriate artist, most of which are dominated by warm, vivid shades of yellow See story on page B-3. Through May 4. Hours: Mondays through Saturdays, 10 to 5 p.m.; Sundays 1 to 5 p.m. Free. Sert Gallery, Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., (617) 495-9400. (CWP)

dance

GHUNGROO: A SOUTH ASIAN CULTURAL SHOW. The Harvard South Asian Association presents a cultural celebration featuring sets, songs, award-winning folk dances and comedy. Definitely high-energy and certainly never boring. See sidebar. Thursday, Feb. 27 through Saturday, Mar. 1 at 7:30 p.m and a matinee on Saturday. Tickets $8, Thursday evening and Saturday matinee; $9, Friday and Saturday evenings. See preview. Tickets available through the Harvard Box Office or by phonoe (617) 496-2222. Agassiz Theater. (ILS)

theater

HIGHWAY ULYSSES. Written by Rinde Eckert specifically for the performance at the American Repertory Theatre (ART), this play combines the talents of the ART Acting Company and the Cambridge-based band Empty House Cooperative to reinvent Homer’s Odyssey in the musical world of jazz, rock and blues. Here, Ulysses is a war-veteran-turned-hermit who embarks on a journey upon receiving an urgent message from his estranged son. Saturday, March 1, through Saturday, March 22. Tickets $34-$68. American Repertory Theater, Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St. (617) 547-8300. (SNJ)

THE HOUSE ANSIEDADE BUILT. An original movement thesis piece by Shelby J. Braxton-Brooks ’03. In Brazil, the party never stops, and there are samba, bossa nova, capoeira, caipirinhas and palm trees. Racism? Heck no. Americans? Welcomed with open arms. But there’s more than meets the eye. Reality and fantasy collide to produce disillusionment, and this play combines folklore, theater, music and movement in relation to cultural anxiety in Brazil and in the United States. Friday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Mar. 1, at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Free. Tickets available at the Loeb Box Office. Loeb Experimental Theater, 64 Brattle Street, (617) 547-8300. (TIH)

IT’S A WONDERFUL AFTERLIFE. Where would you like to visit after you die? The Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 155th spoof takes you through Heaven, Hell, and Limbo in a production of Divine Comedy proportions. Meet Rabbi Noah Fense, Nun Taken, and the Roman General Curtis Interruptus. Hilarious. Wednesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets $25 weekdays, $27 weekends. Group discounts available. Through Wednesday, March 19. Hasty Pudding Theater, 12 Holyoke St., (617) 495-5205. (TIH)

readings

BLACK WRITERS’ READING SERIES. Poet Rita Dove and author John Edgar Wideman read from their highly acclaimed new works. Dove, the nation’s new Poet Laureate, is the first African American to have earned the distinction, as well as the youngest. She is also the wordsmith behind the stunning “Thomas and Beulah,” which won the Pulitzer Prize. Wideman’s Hoop Roots, an exploration of the author’s passion for basketball, is a complex and dynamic work that touches upon black language and music. Wednesday, March 5 at 5 p.m. Sackler Museum. (RJK)

MARTHA MINOW. The author’s new work, Breaking the Cycles of Hatred, collects three essays by Minow and a number of responses by prominent legal and political thinkers. The fascinating (not to mention quite relevant) discourse revolves around ways in which violence begets violence, and explores issues such as the roles played by collective memory and legal action. Sure to be an enlightening and thought-provoking event. Friday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass. Ave. (RJK)

JEDEDIAH PURDY. Purdy, whose anti-irony tract “For Common Things” made a stir a few years ago, is promoting his newest work, “Being America,” a post-Sept. 11 exploration of foreign attitudes towards America. Tuesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. WordsWorth Books, 30 Brattle St., (617) 354-5201. (BJS)

ANDY BELLIN. Get those cards out and put on your best poker face. Andy Bellin’s new book, “Poker Nation,” is subtitled “A High-Stakes, Low-Life Adventure into the Heart of a Gambling Country.” Should be a rollickin’ good time. Monday, March 3 at 7 p.m. WordsWorth Books, 30 Brattle St., (617) 354-5201. (BJS)

film