Press Picks

thursday
december 29
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers -- Live The Power Rangers are the hottest ticket in town. Need evidence? News of this appearance of the youthful do-gooders caused more of a stir than any of Barbara Streisand's recent American concerts. In fact, if Ms. Streisand had more business savvy, she would have signed on for the Mighty Morphin tour and played the fabulous and wicked Rita Repulsa. But Streisand won't be missed; the Rangers' multimillion-dollar spectacular is as grand as anything "on ice." (As in Beauty and the Beast On Ice, Aladdin On Ice, etc.) The five Power Rangers, lil' Alpha 5 and dread Lord Zedd meet in a show filled with special effects, pyrotechnics, astounding aerial stunts, martial arts and glamorous evildoers.

Parents uninterested in the adventures of the five fresh-faced, squeaky clean Rangers might enjoy the show on another level. While the kids drool cotton candy (or whatever they're selling in the AstroArena that day) and stare goggle-eyed at the show, parents can study the production and ponder the fact that designers Rikki Farr and Ian Knight have also staged shows for Prince, Barry Manilow and The Who. Through December 31. Today, 4:15 and 7:15 p.m. AstroArena, Astrodomain, Kirby at Loop 610, 799-9555. $9.50-$17.50; a limited number of Power Section seats are available.

friday
december 30
Kwanzaa for kids As part of its holiday Festival of Lights, the Children's Museum is having Kwanzaaworkshops throughout the week. Rosalind Holt leads children in song, tells stories and teaches crafts. This workshop focuses on Nguzu Saba, the seven principles of unity. Perhaps the most important part of this workshop, though, is that kids will be able to be messy without parents having to clean up. Today's workshop is from 1-2:15 p.m. and pre-registration is required. The facility is open Tue.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., noon-5 p.m. Children's Museum, 1500 Binz, 522-1138. Fee for the full five-session series is $20, which breaks down to $4 a day -- for kids whose parents can't get them to class every day.

Kwanzaa for all The Museum of Fine Arts' A Place for All People program is sponsoring "Days of Zawadi." Zawadi is Swahili for "gifts" and the term is used in Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa, the African-American festival, will be celebrated in this holiday happening with crafts demonstrations, dances by Kuumba House performers, videos and other prideful frolic. Through December. 1-4 p.m. Museum of Fine Arts, 1001 Bissonnet, 639-7586. "Days of Zawadi" included with museum admission. $3; $1.50 students, children 6-18 and seniors; free to children under 5.

Cafe au Lait Young French writer-director-actor Mathieu Kassovitz originally titled his film Metisse (Blended); he could have dropped that java notion and simply released it in America as She's Gotta Have Two Men and a Baby. The "she" of Cafe au Lait is Lola (Julie Mauduech), a free-spirited and apparently fearless West Indian girl. When the rabbit dies, she tells both of her beaus about her delicate condition, explains that she has no idea which of them is the lucky winner and then they all move in together. One possible father is the very regal Jamal (Hubert Kounde), an African Muslim who trades his studies for a slacker job and fatherhood -- never mind that a greater good would be done for the unhatched heir if Jamal continued at the university. (Although, perhaps, a young man not bright enough to understand that lawyers make more money than burger flippers might never be able to offer his children anything more than what he has left of his own inheritance.) Kassovitz himself stars as the other suspect, Felix. This one is a scrappy bicycle messenger who could almost be a French and Jewish version of "Puck" from The Real World 3. Jamal and Felix have nothing in common, aside from Lola, and don't get along. They bicker like children while Lola moons around in the glow of pregnancy. Mathieu Kassovitz is only 25 years old, so perhaps this film is a hint of things to come, evidence of an auter in the making. Or maybe Kassovitz is just a fan of Spike Lee's on-screen women, and throws out this homage to/Francophile version of She's Gotta Have It to goad Lee into making another movie with female central characters. Opens today and continues for one week. Several shows each evening. Landmark's Greenway, 5 Greenway Plaza, 626-0402. $6.50 feature ticket price.

saturday
december 31
New Age New Year's celebration "ReGenesis" is not brand-spanking-new; this midnight meditation has been held on seven previous New Year's Eves. Moreover, soft-spoken John Maisel and Christina Morris are helping to get this little do together and they are both members of the Rotary Club. So, it's Rotarians setting up this event, they say, "to bring about inner harmony and create a world of peace." The design is grand: "ReGenesis" will be held in the Crystal Pyramid at Moody Gardens. Last year, more than 300 people crawled in with the waterfalls and butterflies (whose opinion of these late-night festivities in their home is unknown). Music for this evening will be "SO" sound, Barry Oser's "multidimensional sound experience." This SO sound will be played over speakers of Oser's own design and, for those with tastes more in line with an eremite, Richard Hite will play Tibetan gongs. And, possibly, those who join together in the pyramid will enjoy the music of cetaceans. The whales and dolphins who create this music will not be present; the cetacean songs will be pre-recorded. This year's theme is "A Gathering of Angels Celebrating Peace," which means, presumably, that those who attend are angelic. Make reservations now; seating is limited. And remember to carry a cushion or stadium seat; seating is also BYO. The pyramid can accommodate 500 people, but Maisel says they'll stop taking reservations before "we have so many people that it would be uncomfortable in there." Moody Gardens, 1 Hope Boulevard, Galveston. For reservations, call (409) 763-8989. $15.