All day: Yodeling

Laughter, cowboy songs and plenty of yodeling will fill the air when Sourdough Slim moseys on over to Heritage Court at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles and later to the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena. Slim is known as a sagebrush comic, cowboy songster and a master yodeler. He’s appeared at the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall as well as on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He has also been nominated Cowboy Yodeler of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists for the last four years in a row.

* Sourdough Slim, Heritage Court, Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Museum admission: $7.50; seniors and students with ID, $5; ages 12 and under, $3. (323) 667-2000. Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, 8 p.m. $10. (626) 398-7917.

8 pm: Pop Music

When it comes to legends, there’s no rock spot in L.A. with more in the bank than the Whisky, launching pad for the Doors and Buffalo Springfield, key destination for British invaders from Led Zeppelin to the Kinks to Elvis Costello to Oasis, caldron of the Los Angeles punk-rock explosion. Now the club is launching a “Whisky Legends” series with a bill that puts the go-go back in the Whisky’s name--Nancy Sinatra, accompanied by a group that includes a certified drum legend, Hal Blaine, and Eric Burdon, erstwhile front man of the Animals. They’ll play their own sets and, in one of the year’s odd couplings, team up for a couple of songs.

* Nancy Sinatra and Eric Burdon, the Whisky, 8901 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 8 p.m. $15. (310) 652-4202.

8 pm: Theater

Troubadour Theatre Company, which scored high marks for its spoof, “Twelfth Dog Night,” puts a pop spin on Shakespeare’s classic, blending the bard and disco in “A Midsummer Saturday Night’s Fever Dream.”

* “A Midsummer Saturday Night’s Fever Dream,” Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank, Friday, 8 p.m. Regular schedule: Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m.; also Dec. 31, 2 p.m. Ends Jan. 28. $15 to $20. (818) 955-8101.

FRIDAY

All day: Movies

A generation after the California Gold Rush of 1849, a pioneer who struck it rich is visited by secrets from his past that could very well destroy the small mountain town he rules over in Michael Winterbottom’s “The Claim.” Inspired by Thomas Hardy’s “The Mayor of Casterbridge,” the film is set in the harsh landscape of the Sierra Nevada and stars Peter Mullan, Milla Jovovich, Wes Bentley, Sara Polley and Nastassja Kinski.

* “The Claim,” rated R for sexuality and some language and violence, opens Friday exclusively at the AMC Century 14, Century City Shopping Center, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., (310) 553-8900.

7:30 pm: Theater

It’s “2001: A Playhouse Odyssey,” as the Santa Monica Playhouse celebrates New Year’s Eve with songs, dance, comedy and other performances from past show favorites, plus preview excerpts from upcoming shows, a buffet supper, champagne, favors and surprises.

* “2001: A Playhouse Odyssey,” Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th St., Santa Monica, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. $25 (Friday and Saturday), $35 (Sunday at 6:30 p.m.) and $45 (Sunday at 9:30 p.m.). (310) 394-9779, Ext. 1.

6:30 pm: Radio

In a throwback to old-time radio serials, KCRW broadcasts the final hour of Walter Mosley’s 1994 novel, “Black Betty.” But don’t despair if you missed it: KCRW repeats the L.A.-based mystery in its entirety on New Year’s Day, a nine-hour marathon Monday beginning at 9 a.m. Set in 1961, the story follows former private eye Easy Rawlins, facing bankruptcy, as he takes money to hunt down the notorious “Black Betty,” who has vanished after her last victim. Rawlins hopes he’s not the next. The cast includes Charles Robinson (Mac from TV’s “Night Court”) as Rawlins, Lonnie Smith as Mouse and Virginia Capers as Black Betty. Ted Lange directed the production, taped at the studios of KCRW.

* Walter Mosley’s “Black Betty,” KCRW-FM radio (89.9), Friday 6:30-7:30 p.m. and Monday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

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FREEBIE: Veteran jazz saxophonist and bandleader Phil Norman leads his tentet in a performance of originals and standards at 5:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. (323) 857-6115.