Best Bets Orange County HERE AND NEAR

TODAY

8pm

Theater

The hit Broadway musical “Footloose,” which began life as a popular film starring Kevin Bacon, continues its nationwide tour this weekend at the Orange County Performing Arts Center before moving to Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre. A lively, kinetic morality tale, the story concerns Ren, a hip kid who moves to a small town only to find that the local minister has banned dancing. Ren won’t accept that and begins to guide the locals from bebop to hip-hop, all the while courting the minister’s daughter.

* “Footloose,” Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Ends Aug. 22. $18 to $52.50. (714) 740-7878.

TODAY

8:30pm

Theater

One of Shakespeare’s lightest and most romantic comedies, “As You Like It” revels in disguise. Rosalind, in one of the Bard’s best-loved “britches” roles, causes all sorts of confusion dressed as handsome young Ganymede. Displaced royalty, the romantic ponderings of wise old Jacques and a mighty wrestling match featuring Rosalind’s heartthrob Orlando add to the fun. This production opens at the Grove Theater Center’s outdoor amphitheater and continues its run at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in September.

* “As You Like It,” Festival Amphitheatre, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. Thursdays through Sundays, 8:30 p.m. Ends Aug. 29. $18.50-$22.50. Reopens Sept. 9 at Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W. Malvern Ave., Fullerton. Thursdays through Sundays, 8:15 p.m. Ends Sept. 19. $20.50 to $24.50 (Friday and Saturday dinner option $14). (714) 741-9555.

TODAY

all day

Art

The weathered brick walls, the historic bell tower, the ornate fountains--see the solemn beauty of Mission San Juan Capistrano through new eyes with the help of the California Art Club. Artist members of the club will be at the mission throughout the week painting the grounds and local landscape scenes as part of the fifth annual California Art Club Outdoor Festival. Monday through Friday the public will be able to visit the mission and watch the artists creating their works. The highlight of the festival is Saturday, when the paintings will be judged and three artists will receive cash prizes ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. Paintings will be sold Saturday and Sunday at the mission.

* Fifth annual California Art Club Outdoor Painting Festival, Mission San Juan Capistrano, 31522 Camino Capistrano. Observe artists painting today and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Award ceremony: Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Exhibition and sale: Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. $4 for seniors and children; $5 for adults. (949) 494-0854.

TODAY

5pm

Retro TV

It seems like only yesterday that Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) and her twin, Brandon (Jason Priestley), were 16-year-olds. (Off the show, she was a 19-year-old, and he was 21). But it’s been nine years since those Minnesotans became Californians in the two-hour premiere episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” a series that begins another run on cable’s FX channel. Don’t be surprised if you get a little teary-eyed looking at those fresh faces of the Walshes and their Beverly Hills pals--among them Donna, Dylan, David, Scott and Andrea (OK, Andrea is a Valley girl passing for a Beverly Hills resident)--and the promise that their future holds: romance, betrayal, drug abuse and murder. In other words, it’s a typical soap opera--in a really, really good neighborhood.

“Beverly Hills, 90210” premiere, FX. 5 p.m., repeating Friday at 10 a.m.

TODAY

9am-9pm

Last Chance

Call them patchwork ballads--tales of love, childhood, history and tragedy woven into the colorful squares of lovingly handcrafted “story” quilts. Through Sunday, some of the best examples of this unique style of quilting can be seen in “Stitched Stories: Art of the Quilt,” a show by Irvine’s Flying Geese Quilters Guild and other California artists at the Irvine Fine Arts Center. Show highlights include the 21-foot Internet Memorial Quilt created in response to the Oklahoma City bombing and a community quilt stitched together by 19 civic groups from Irvine.

* “Stitched Stories: The Art of the Quilt,” Irvine Fine Arts Center, 14321 Yale Ave. Also Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Free. (949) 724-6880.

TODAY

7pm

Latin Jazz

Trumpeter-educator Bobby Rodriguez is a busy guy. His Latin Jazz Explosion big band has just released a new eponymous recording. Recently, Rodriguez took over the directorship of the 21-piece Next Wave Orchestra founded by the late Bobby Bryant. The bands of Rodriguez, director of jazz studies at the Los Angeles High School for the Arts, have made prize-winning appearances at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Here, the enthusiastic trumpeter leads a quintet upstairs in Odessa’s stylish dance club.

* Bobby Rodriguez, Odessa Supper Club, 680 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. $10. (949) 376-8792.

SUNDAY

Jazz

7:30pm

They’ve explored the music of Ellington, Mercer, Jobim and many others. Now, the Great American Music Company looks to George and Ira Gershwin for an evening that features the songs and the stories behind them. With singers Stephanie Haynes and Dewey Erney and bassist Jack Prather directing, this show promises the obscure as well as the best-known tunes, including “Summertime,” “But Not for Me” and “S’Wonderful,” in this celebration of America’s musical geniuses.

* The Great American Music Company, Agostino’s Ristorante Italiano, 34700 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 100, Capistrano Beach. $10 cover, $10 minimum. (949) 661-8266 (after 5 p.m.).

FRIDAY

all day

Movies

What happens when a proper Englishman meets a lovely Italian American girl, falls in love and then finds out her father is a mob boss? That’s the premise of “Mickey Blue Eyes,” a romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant, Jeanne Tripplehorn and James Caan. The film is the second from Grant and girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley’s production company, Simian Films. “Kids in the Hall” veteran Kelly Makin directs.

* “Mickey Blue Eyes,” rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some violence and sensuality, opens Friday in general release.

FRIDAY

7:30pm

Pop Music

Pop chart-topper in the ‘60s, TV star in the ‘70s, Oscar-winning actress in the ‘80s, infomercial guru in the ‘90s--and now a pop chart-topper again. Say what you will about her musical vision, Cher’s career has never been dull. Neither have her outfits, many of which will probably be on display in this rare Southland concert appearance.

* Cher, with Cyndi Lauper and Wild Orchid, Arrowhead Pond, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sold out Friday. $35.25 to $75.25. (714) 704-2500.

FRIDAY

9pm

Art

Gregorio Luke, executive director of the Museum of Latin American Art, presents a unique outdoor multimedia lecture as seven murals by Diego Rivera are projected on a 500-square-foot wall via four laser projectors. The roster of murals, displayed in their actual size, will include “Sunday Afternoon at the Alameda Park,” “Teatro de los Insurgentes,” “Rio de Juchitan,” “Detroit Institute of Art,” “San Francisco City College,” “Palacio Nacional” and the controversial “Rockefeller Center.”

* Diego Rivera murals, the Museum of Latin American Art, 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach. Nonmembers, $12; members and students, $10; children 13 and under, $6. Reservations: (562) 901-9162.

FRIDAY

7:30pm

Music

Philippine pianist Raul M. Sunico will play works by Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt and other composers in this recital to raise funds for the renovation of the parish hall at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Anaheim. Sunico graduated from the University of the Philippines with degrees in music, mathematics and statistics. He received a masters degree in music from the Juilliard School in New York and a doctorate in piano performance from New York University. His recital is sponsored by the Filipino Ministry of the church.

* Raul M. Sunico, St. Boniface Catholic Church, 120 North Janss St., Anaheim. Friday, 7:30 p.m. $15. (714) 635-3479.

FRIDAY

8pm

Last Chance

Love, loneliness, betrayal, revenge and redemption permeate 19th century New York’s upper crust in “The Heiress,” a stage adaptation of Henry James’ novel “Washington Square” that closes Saturday at the Theatre District in Costa Mesa. “Director Mario Lescot has lucked on to the right actors for this revival, bringing to the piece exactly the right sense of period and balancing the performances delicately so that the musical quality of Henry James’ novels is felt in every moment,” T.H. McCulloh wrote for The Times.

* “The Heiress,” Theatre District, 2930 Bristol St., Suite C-106, Costa Mesa. Also Saturday, 8 p.m. $15 to $20. (714) 435-4043.

FRIDAY

8pm

Jazz

David Sanborn, the alto saxophonist whose sound and success in the ‘70s launched a thousand imitators, has never been easy to peg. One of the most visible of jazz musicians thanks to his hip television and radio series of year’s past, Sanborn has pursued jazz both smooth and hard for some 25 years. Here, he’ll concentrate on his bread and butter, beat tunes spread with his trademark R&B-toasted; sound.

* David Sanborn, Hyatt Newporter, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach. 8 p.m. $35. (949) 650-5483.

SATURDAY

7:30pm

Pop Music

Texas native Katy Moffatt has a green thumb for tilling the fertile musical soil where folk, country and rootsy rock music all run together. Based in Los Angeles since 1979, she has kept musical company with kindred artists such as Rosie Flores and Tom Russell. On this Living Tradition series gig, she’ll have good company in opening act Dennis Roger Reed, a San Clemente resident who has written some world-class folk-country songs himself.

* Katy Moffatt, Dennis Roger Reed, Anaheim Downtown Community Center, 250 E. Center St. $10. Concert reservations: (949) 646-1964 or steve@psitech.com.

8pm

SATURDAY

Pop Music

Psychic Rain, one of the local scene’s most persistent bands, is about to release its third CD, “Spun Out.” After signing with Warner Bros. to market and distribute the album, Psychic Rain will instead put it out on a custom label, WorldStar. Executive turnover at Warner’s prompted the band, which specializes in catchy melodic-rock anthems, to go it alone rather than risk being lost in the upheaval, reports manager Arnie Wohl. Psychic Rain will try its own luck pitching the album’s title track to radio programmers. Fans can get a preview as it plays this opening slot for the Outfield.

* Psychic Rain, the Outfield, Parkaimoon. Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. $17.50 to $19.50. (714) 957-0600.

SATURDAY

5:30pm

Family

Can a parking lot really be transformed into an island paradise? You bet it can when the Samoan Congregation of the Garden Grove United Methodist Church hosts its Third Annual Luau.

Members of the troupe Nonosina will dance and sing, performing traditional Polynesian entertainments dressed in colorful Samoan costumes.

The party is a family event so take the kids to munch on American food while mom and dad savor some exotic Polynesian delicacies. Park that minivan and head for the islands.

* The Third Annual Luau hosted by the Samoan Congregation of the Garden Grove United Methodist Church, 12741 Main Street, Garden Grove. 5:30 p.m. Advance tickets $15; $20 at the door. Children 10 and under free. (714) 534-1070.

SUNDAY

all day

Cat Show

Need a companion? Want to brush up on your grooming skills? Maybe your cat deserves a new scratching post? Whatever your feline-inclined interests, you will find it all at the Los Colores Cat Show. Booths will offer the latest in pet accessories, and just about every kind of cat, from those with fancy pedigrees to household tabbies, will be on display. You’ll also find a Feline Petting Zoo and plenty of professionals offering helpful cat-care tips. Don’t have a kitty? Don’t worry, a “cat adoption” booth will be open for business.

* Los Colores Cat Show, Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., Hall E, Anaheim. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also Saturday. Admission: $8; senior citizens, children and military personnel, $6; children under 6, free. (714) 765-8900.