Italian hours Among the composers revitalizing American musical theater, Adam Guettel stands out. His Tony Award-winning The Light in the Piazza is based on Elizabeth Spencer's novella about a mother and daughter traveling in 1950s Tuscany whose trip takes them to difficult truths. The Philadelphia Theatre Company production goes on at 3 p.m. today at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Broad and Lombard Streets, and continues on a Thursday-through- Sunday schedule to Dec. 6. Tickets are $51 to $70. Call 215-985-0420.

Folk dance Founded in 1937, the Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company is renowned for its colorful presentation of traditional music and dance. The troupe performs at 3 p.m. at the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce Streets. Tickets are $29 to $62. Call 215-893-1999.

Chamber music Pianist Anna Polonsky plays works by Honegger, Schumann, Brahms and Debussy at 3 p.m. at the Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catharine St. Tickets are $16.50. Call 215-569-8080. . . . Violinist Juliette Kang is joined by guests Christoph Eschenbach, piano, and Thomas Kraines, cello, in works by Mozart and Schubert at 3 p.m. at the Curtis Institute of Music's Field Concert Hall, 1726 Locust St. Tickets are $28. Call 215-893-7902.

Loud and brief The Japanese noise-rock combo Melt-Banana features shrieking vocals over short bursts of intense punk shredding. It's cool, really. They play at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. Tickets are $12. Call 215-821-7575.

Monday

Crime out of mind Louis Malle's 1958 directing debut, Elevator to the Gallows, is an existentialist film noir in which lovers plot to kill the woman's husband, but circumstances spiral out of control. The film, featuring a sublime performance by Jeanne Moreau and an improvised jazz score by Miles Davis, screens at 7:30 p.m. at the County Theater, 20 E. State St., Doylestown. Tickets are $8.75. Call 215-345-6789. The film also screens at the Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets are $8.50. Call 215-345-7855.

Tuesday

Darwin and Lincoln We'll say it: New Yorker star Adam Gopnik belongs on any list of the best writers in America. His new book Angels and Ages, considers the impact of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln, born on the same day in 1809. Gopnik discusses his work at 7:30 p.m. at the Free Library's Montgomery Auditorium, 19th and Vine Streets. Tickets are $14; $7 for students. Call 215-567-4341.

Folk pop, kind of The Brooklyn-based brother-and-sister duo This Frontier Needs Heroes plays an "outlaw folk" that veers into a region where bubble-gum pop, psychedelia, and mountain murder ballads coexist. They play at 8 p.m. at Silk City, 435 Spring Garden St. Tickets are $7. Call 215-592-8838.

Wednesday

Laughs on the edge Former Saturday Night Live star Jim Breuer may start from a frat-boy base, but he's a gifted mimic and improviser whose latest incarnation is - a family man? Well, that's what it says here. He performs at 8 p.m. at the Keswick Theatre, Easton Road and Keswick Avenue, Glenside. Tickets are $27.50 and $32.50. call 215-572-7650. . . . Get in the holiday spirit (and maybe get some material for Thanksgiving dinner) with a downbeat comedy summit featuring woozy anti-hipster Dave Attell, insult expert Jeffrey Ross, top rantmeister Greg Giraldo, and acerbic ace Joe DeRosa at 8 p.m. at the Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow Streets, Upper Darby. Tickets are $25 to $49.50. Call 610-352-2887.

Thursday

For dessert After the turkey, it's time for an evening treat, when Celtic rockers Enter the Haggis play at 8 p.m. at Sellersville Theater 1894, Main and Temple Streets, Sellersville. Tickets are $25. Call 215-257-5808.

Friday & Saturday

Giant steps Conductor Jaap van Zweden leads the Philadelphia Orchestra in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 19 with soloist Horacio Gutierrez, and then assays Bruckner's monumental Symphony No. 9 at the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce Streets, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. next Sunday. Tickets are $10 to $125. Call 215-893-1999.

Jazz singer Swinging and precise, Jackie Ryan is adept with lyric interpretation and vocalese alike on her dynamite new CD Doozy. She sings at Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St., at 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25 for the early show, $20 later. Call 215-568-3131.