7Days: Regional arts and entertainment, by Michael Harrington

Sunday

Going through changes An adaptation of the influential epic by Ovid, Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses presents the mythical amorous and transformational doings of mortals and gods on a set that includes a pool filled with 2,600 gallons of water (look out for splashes). The show goes on at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. Second St., and continues with performances on a varied schedule to Nov. 1. Tickets are $36 to $50. Call 215-922-1122.

Monday

Pure pop, now people Don't be fooled by the 1960s Dylanesque halo of hair. Australian singer-songwriter Fraser A. Gorman may be a deft musicologist, mixing jangle-pop, country-rock, and folk hootenanny, but he's no retro curator of the past. His dynamite new album, Slow Gum, is a 21st-century reminder of what makes the music fun (check the freewheeling cover pic). He plays at 8 p.m. at Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St. Tickets are $10. Call 215-291-4919.

Tuesday

Rabbits run Based on the fabulous epic novel by Richard Adams, the 1978 animated adventure Watership Down follows an intrepid band of rabbits as they struggle to establish a new warren in the face of human builders, lapine foes, and a host of predators. The film screens at 7:30 p.m. at the Woodmere Art Museum, 9211 Germantown Ave. Admission is free. Call 215-247-0476.

Wednesday

New moves The innovative Complexions Contemporary Ballet performs works by Dwight Rhoden at the Prince Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 3 p.m. next Sunday. Tickets are $20 to $57. Call 215-422-4580.

Thursday

Words and pictures He's either a short-story master in the guise of a graphic artist, or vice versa. In his new book, Killing and Dying, Adrian Tomine looks at modern life and its discontents. He discusses his work on a double bill with the wonderful poet and novelist Ben Lerner (10:04), just named a MacArthur Grant winner, at 7:30 p.m. at the Free Library, 1901 Vine St. Admission is free. Call 215-567-4341.

Lone star Texas troubadour, novelist, humorist, and erstwhile politician Kinky Friedman plays at 8 p.m. at the Sellersville Theater, 24 W. Temple Ave. Tickets are $25 and $35. Call 215-257-5808.

Friday & Saturday

Far out Quirky singer Nellie McKay celebrates the 1960s in a cabaret show at the Rrazz Room at the Prince, 1412 Chestnut St., at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $36 and $45. Call 215-422-4580.

Music man It's kind of hard to imagine late-20th-century popular music without Leon Russell. He started early in Oklahoma, where he was a high school classmate of Elvin Bishop and David Gates and played piano in Tulsa nightclubs in a group with J.J. Cale. He studied guitar with Elvis Presley sideman James Burton. He was a member of the famed L.A. studio group known as the Wrecking Crew, backing the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and Glen Campbell. He figured centrally in Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour and George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh. He wrote hits for the Carpenters and George Benson. From 1972 to 1974, Les Blank set out to document Russell in performance, in the studio, and at home - but the film was never released and acquired a legacy as a lost artifact of a distant time. But, newly restored, A Poem Is a Naked Person is finally available. It screens at International House, 3701 Chestnut St., at 5 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $9; $7 seniors and students. Call 215-387-5125.

Double bill German pianist Simone Weissenfels teams with Philly saxophonist Keir Neuringer for an evening of improvisational jazz at 1816 House Gallery, 1816 Frankford Ave., at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $10. Call 215-901-7190.

A complete guide to events in the region over the coming weekend will appear in the Weekend section in Friday's Inquirer. Send notices of events for "7 Days" to Michael Harrington at mharrington@phillynews.com.