CIRCUS THRILLS: People in Orange County apparently...

CIRCUS THRILLS: People in Orange County apparently love a circus. . . . Two weeks before its scheduled Jan. 24 opening at South Coast Plaza, Cirque du Soleil has announced a two-week extension. “The show is sold out, and they haven’t even gotten into town yet,” spokesman Marc LaFont said of the traveling circus. Last time the group came here, he said, a larger percentage of available seats was filled than anywhere else in North America. The new tickets go on sale Sunday at Ticketmaster.

GAY SUPPORT: Former FBI agent Frank Buttino will help Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays celebrate its 16th birthday by speaking at a Garden Grove brunch on Feb. 5. . . . Buttino, author of “A Special Agent: Being Gay Inside the FBI,” told organizers that their group is especially meaningful to him for personal reasons. “He had such a wonderful, loving parent,” a group spokeswoman said of his late mother.

POWER DINNER: To celebrate the GOP’s recent congressional takeover, local Reps. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) will be dining tonight in Alexandria, Va., with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, survivor of a major Democratic grilling on allegations of sexual harassment. . . . “We are going to celebrate this historic occasion,” Rohrabacher said, “and drink a toast to Clarence Thomas, who has (also) had his head kicked in a few times by political opponents around here.”

TONIGHT: A preview performance of “Love Letters,” by A.R. Gurney, at the Vanguard Theatre Ensemble, 699 S. State College Blvd, Fullerton, at 8. $6 (admission during the regular run will be $12 to $16). Information: (714) 526-8007.

WEATHER: A chance of morning showers, otherwise mostly cloudy and slightly warmer with highs in the mid-60s and lows in the lower 50s. (B6)