It makes one wonder why the stage version of THE GRADUATE seems to rise and fall on the star factor behind Mrs. Robinson. First there was Kathleen Turner, followed by Jerry Hall, and then Amanda Donohoe, and so on. And while one could argue that Jason Biggs was a decent rising star of sorts when he took on the role of Benjamin Braddock when the show opened on Broadway in 2002, all the talk centered around Turner and the now-famous nude scene. Hey, sex sells, as we'll get a chance to see when The Graduate comes to the Saenger Theatre (143 N. Rampart St., 524-2490; wwww.saengertheatre.com) this week. In hindsight, maybe Mike Nichols' 1967 film version of the Charles Webb novel might have indeed been even more interesting had it focused more on Mrs. Robinson as played by Anne Bancroft and less on Dustin Hoffman's Benjamin Braddock. Surely Bancroft received her critical due, but nearly 40 years hence, I wonder what it would have been like to tell the story more from Mrs. Robinson's perspective. Yes, The Graduate was supposed to be a movie of its generation, the sexually, politically, socially charged 1960s. But lost-generation punks have their certain decades; desperate housewives, as we've come to learn, are clearly timeless. And now we turn our lonely eyes to Morgan Fairchild (left, opposite Nathan Corddry as Benjamin), whose primped porcelain features in a dark slip have been staring us down in countless print ads for weeks now. Morgan Fairchild, who has never been confused for Anne Bancroft or even Kathleen Turner in the acting world and yet, believe it or not, once actually snagged a Golden Globe nomination for her turn as Constance Weldon Semple Carlyle in the early-1980s NBC cheesefest Flamingo Road. She earned greater fame as Jenna Wade on Dallas and in yet another soap, Falcon Crest. (In a weird bit of symmetry, Fairchild, 55, once did a hilarious bit with Kathleen Turner as Chandler's understandably divorced parents on Friends.) But this is also the same woman who scored an Emmy for an appearance on Murphy Brown, has worked off-Broadway and clearly knows the value of self-parody when she sees it. This is all in service of the question of what will happen when this woman who's credited with saying "You can never be too beautiful or too thin" is forced to reveal the wounded soul of the embittered Mrs. Robinson. Regardless, we'll still have all those Simon & Garfunkel tunes. Tickets to this Broadway in New Orleans series touring production range from $14-$54 and are available through the Saenger box office or Ticketmaster (522-5555). Showtimes are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Thursday and Saturday-Sunday. -- David Lee Simmons

Organ Rededication Gala 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 8 Temple Sinai, 6227 St. Charles Ave., 861-3693 Temple Sinai celebrates the restoration of its beloved E.M. Skinner Pipe Organ with a performance by nationally acclaimed concert organist Lorenz Maycher. The sanctuary's pipe organ was recently named for Rabbi Edward Paul Cohn in recognition of his 30th year in the rabbinate. Rabbi Cohn's connection to the instrument extends beyond just the new name itself, as he has had a lifelong devotion to the classical organ and is a member of the national and local chapters of the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society. The historic three-manual, 1927 organ -- which boasts more than 5,000 speaking pipes -- was entirely rebuilt by master organ-builder Roy Redman of Texas and installed in a new console. Maycher, organist and choirmaster of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bethlehem, Penn., and organ teacher at Lafayette College, will perform both classical and Jewish compositions. A reception follows the concert. Free admission. -- Frank Etheridge

Louisiana Sportsmen's Show Wednesday-Sunday, March 9-13 Louisiana Superdome, 464-7363; www.lasportsmenshow.com Sportsmen will receive instant gratification for all their boating, fishing and hunting desires as the Superdome's hallowed turf is converted for the 26th year in a row into a 4-1/2-acre sportsman's wonderland. More than 400 booths will feature the latest in fishing, boating and hunting merchandise from a variety of local and national manufacturers. Time not spent shopping and browsing can be filled with exhibitions by bow-hunting and fishing professionals, among others. Kids will be kept busy with interactive wildlife presentations offered by the Audubon Institute and also will be allowed to live out fishing fantasies in the massive trout-fishing pond. The Louisiana Children's Museum will provide kid-friendly activities. The 'Doc Dogs' group will also sponsor a dog-jumping contest. Tickets are $9 for adults, $3 for children. -- Ian Manheimer

Lives Remembered: Photographs of a Small Town in Poland 1897-1939 Wednesday, March 9, through June 5 Tulane University, Newcomb Art Gallery, 865-5328 For almost a half-century before Hitler's 1939 invasion, Zalman Kaplan and his sons were the official photographers of the small Polish town of Szczsuczyn. The pictures they made provide a visual record of the life of the town through its citizens' daily activities at the market, the church and the synagogue. Passed on to relatives in America and all over the world, the photos reveal people who, in individual and group portraits, appear to have lived vibrantly normal lives in the years before the Holocaust, in contrast to some widely held views about Jewish life in pre-war Poland. Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps and the 25th anniversary of Tulane's Jewish Studies Program, Lives Rememberd features am accompanying catalog and a lecture series. Call 865-5328 for more information. -- D. Eric Bookhardt

The Weirdos 8 p.m. Thursday, March 10 TwiRoPa, 1544 Tchoupitoulas St., 232-9503; www.twiropa.com In early November, a local DJ said, 'It's not such a bad thing that Bush was re-elected; we got some great punk rock out of the last second-term Republican White House.' Actually, good punk knows no political parties; the Weirdos and the Los Angeles scene exploded at the beginning of Jimmy Carter's presidency. The Weirdos are together and back on the road in support of We Got the Neutron Bomb (Frontier), a collection of hits, live tracks and remixed versions of songs from their heyday. The title cut, the band's signature tune, recalls the Clash in its anthemic chorus and power-chorded guitars. The song's broad threat was a rejection of conservatism and consumer culture with a solid, danceable beat a rebel army could march to. Duane Peters Gunfight, River City Rebels and Civet open. Tickets $10. -- Alison Fensterstock

Paul Westerberg 9 p.m. Thursday, March 10 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE; www.hob.com Former Replacements frontman and singer-songwriter Paul Westerberg performs Thursday at House of Blues. When it comes to Paul Westerberg, objective journalism goes out the window. Westerberg is one of my heroes, and in my mind, he is what rock 'n' roll is all about. I can quote his songs better than I can quote myself. Whether bashing out underdog anthems in the 1980s for Minneapolis' the Replacements -- arguably one of the best bands ever -- or singing tighter arrangements in his solo career, Westerberg has always come up with excellent songs coupled with an honest, casual attitude that go straight to an audience's emotional core without being cheap or maudlin. His influence looms over everyone from Lucinda Williams to Ryan Adams and any new songwriter who ever wore his or her heart on the sleeve and got drunk onstage. Westerberg's new CD, Folker (Vagrant), is chock full of his signature wry humor and slightly melancholy tunes, all with a tinge of vulnerability. When reached on the phone in Anaheim, Calif. ('We rolled in from Phoenix this morning and now I'm in Disneyland.'), Westerberg said, 'This is the most aggressive group I've ever played with. We're putting out a lot of energy. We have a lot of fun, too, and that's on display when we play.' Tickets $20. -- David Kunian

"State of the Nation" Festival 6 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, Mar. 10-12 Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., 866-7387; www.cacno.org This weekend kicks off a 10-day arts festival focusing on the unique overlap that exists with arts and activism. Not only will the festival feature poets, dancers, musicians and painters, it also will bring local lawyers, organizers and educators to the table to offer workshops surrounding this year's theme, 'moral values.' The second incarnation of the 'State of the Nation' brings the festival from Jackson, Miss., to the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) via ArtSpot Productions -- a local nonprofit arts advocate. It continues Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19, starting at 7:30 p.m. Festival passes can be purchased daily for $50 general admission, $35 for students, seniors/CAC members. Individual workshop passes cost $10 and individual performances are $10, $5 for students, seniors and CAC members. -- Manheimer

New Orleans Musicians' Clinic benefit parties 7 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday, March 11-12 Lot adjacent to The Bulldog Bar, 3236 Magazine St., 891-1516; www.nojhf.org/clinic Great music and a worthy cause are set against the frenzied foolishness of St. Patrick''s Day celebrations on Magazine Street this year, with the New Orleans Musicians'' Clinic holding benefit parties Friday night and all day Saturday. The nonprofit clinic seeks to improve the health of local musicians and artists and is sponsored by numerous health agencies and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation. Top-notch local musicians appear ready to support the cause, as several performances are scheduled, beginning Friday night with Andi Hoffman & B-Goes. On Saturday, the Fessters take the stage around 3 p.m., followed by Otra and then John Gros. Friday''s food comes courtesy Nacho Mama''s, and Saturday the Bulldog donates jambalaya. Admission $5. -- Etheridge

Backyard Babies 10 p.m. Friday, March 11 One Eyed Jacks, 615 Toulouse St., 569-8361 The Backyard Babies play Friday at One Eyed Jacks. With bands like the Hellacopters, the Hives and Sahara Hotnights, there are days when it seems like Sweden likes American rock 'n' roll more than Americans do -- the fun, aggressive, high-energy stuff, anyway. Backyard Babies come from the same mold, with Ramones tempos and songs that walk the same punk/hard rock line that the New York Dolls navigated in the early '70s. Their last album, Stockholm Syndrome, won a Swedish Grammy, and their newest, Tinnitus (Liquor and Poker) -- the first U.S. release since 1998 -- collects tracks from all the band's albums. Like the Hellacopters, the Backyard Babies can write hooks; they may sound a little familiar, but they catch nonetheless. Besides, the echoes of other songs are just further evidence of the band's love of rock 'n' roll and its culture. Call club for cover. -- Alex Rawls

Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Club Mass and Parade Noon Mass, 1 p.m. parade, Saturday, March 12 Traditional parade route, 522-5444; www.irishchannelno.org Watch out for the flying cabbage and pay heed to beer-fueled wildness if you find yourself in the Irish Channel/Garden District this Saturday, as it's once again time for Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Club Mass and Parade. Now celebrating its 58th year, the 900-member club sticks to its cherished, tried-and-true traditions for the day. Mass begins at noon at St. Mary's Assumption Church (Constance and Josephine streets). The raucous, rollicking parade then follows at 1 p.m., beginning at Felicity and Magazine streets, heading downtown on Magazine Street to Jackson Avenue, then toward the lake two blocks to St. Charles Avenue, then Uptown two blocks to Louisiana Avenue, then returning to Magazine Street before it ends at the intersection with Jackson Avenue. The club also holds the annual block party on St. Patrick's Day (Thursday) at Annunciation Square, a benefit for St. Michael's Special School, one of several local charities the group supports. -- Etheridge

Bustout Burlesque 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday, March 13; through May 29 One Eyed Jacks, 615 Toulouse St., 569-9100 First there were the Shim Shamettes, and then came the Southern JezeBelles (currently working on its new show). Now comes Bustout Burlesque, a collaboration between former Shim Shamettes bandleader Ronnie Magri and burlesque-phile Rick Delaup, once again reliving the French Quarter's glory days of the 1940 and '50s when the tease was as important as the strip and the music was live. Former Shim Shamette Marcy Hesseling will provide the vocals for Magri's six-piece band, and the performers (with names such as Stormy, Anais Djolie and Leila) have received training from New Orleans' legendary stripper, Evangeline the Oyster Girl. Tickets $20 general admission, $25 table seating. -- Simmons

Marcos Nimrichter 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Sunday, March 13 Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696; www.snugjazz.com If Brazilian Marcos Nimrichter's self-titled CD (Niteroi) is any guide, Sunday's show will be a series of surprising contrasts: driving accordion riffs butting up against Nimrichter's pensive, bitonal piano writing, rootsy frevo rhythms meshing with serene synthesizer scoring -- an artful balancing act between his American and Brazilian influences. Nimrichter has played with dozens of Brazilian luminaries as well as northern hemisphereans like Michel Legrand and Stanley Jordan, and a key to his wide-ranging career is a diverse sound. In addition to a mastery of Brazilian idioms on piano and accordion, he plays and composes in a thoroughly modern American jazz idiom. Not every town has the sidemen who can pull off backup duty on such tricky, bicultural originals, but our city does: bassist James Singleton, guitarist Steve Masakowski and drummer Wayne Moreau will join him for the occasion. Tickets $18. -- Tom McDermott

Ambulance LTD, with VHS or Beta 10 p.m. Monday, March 14 TwiRoPa, 1544 Tchoupitoulas St., 232-9503; www.twiropa.com For today's forlorn college-rocker -- jaded by perceived Clear Channel mediocrity -- the current remedy to this problem seems to be nostalgic '80s throwbacks and a good dose of emotional honesty a la The O.C. and Garden State soundtracks. So it seems fitting that the crown jewel of WTUL-FM's annual fundraiser, the "Rock-on Survival Marathon" should be this coupling of VHS or Beta with Ambulance LTD. VHS or Beta borrows strongly from the Cure and mixes in the dark electronics of Daft Punk for an old-school, synthesizer dance party. The up-and-coming Ambulance LTD fits right in with contemporaries like the Shins, Bright Eyes, and Elliot Smith, playing soft, jangly pop tunes full of subtle, complex guitar interplay. Tickets $9. -- Rob Bryant