WEEK IN PREVIEW

MOVIES

Football player-turned-actor Howie Long plays a “smoke-jumper” who has to battle two forest fires and outwit a homicidal escaped convict in cinematographer-turned-director Dean Sempler’s “Firestorm.” Talk about your tough days. The film opens Friday in general release.

THEATER

Richard Dreyfuss headlines as Benedict Arnold in L.A. Theatre Works’ radio theater staging of “The General From America,” by Richard Nelson. The production, which also stars Charles Durning, Shirley Knight and Douglas Weston, opens Wednesday at Doubletree Guest Suites in Santa Monica.

OPERA

Christian Badea conducts Opera Pacific’s “La Boheme,” opening Tuesday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. Leontina Vaduva, Cassandra Riddle, Marcello Giordani, Carlo Scibelli, Christopher Schaldenbrand, John Robert Autry and Robin Follman sing the key roles.

ART

“Manuel Neri: Early Works, 1953-1978” documents the only sculptor to keep company with Richard Diebenkorn et al in the Bay Area Figuration Movement. The exhibition opens Saturday at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. Above: the artist in his Benicia studio.

POP MUSIC

Dust off the poodle skirts and blue suede shoes: Lee Rocker, Rosie Flores and two dozen other pillars of the local roots-rock community--plus a few special guests, no doubt--pay tribute to the King on Thursday at the 12th annual Elvis Birthday Bash at the House of Blues in West Hollywood.

JAZZ

Tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson has scored a string of winners with album tributes to Billy Strayhorn, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Gershwin’s “Porgy & Bess.” Henderson’s sextet, featuring vibraphonist Stefon Harris, plays Tuesday through next Sunday at the Jazz Bakery in Culver City.

FAMILY

Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the gang glide into Long Beach Arena on Wednesday, where Walt Disney’s World on Ice will tell its “Toy Story,” choreographed by Olympian Robin Cousins, through next Sunday. The show will move to the Los Angeles Sports Arena for performances Jan. 14-19.

VIDEO

The charming little French comedy “When the Cat’s Away” is the perfect film for feline fans. Garance Clavel stars as a Parisian makeup artist who experiences a series of misadventures while searching for her beloved cat. Writer-director Cedric Klapisch’s film pounces onto video on Tuesday.

Early Warning: Can Pearl Jam regain some of its lost sales luster after “No Code”? Eddie Vedder & Co. return with their fifth album, “Yield,” on Feb. 3.