8 pm: Dance

Forty-two years ago, with the premiere of “Aureole,” modern dance maverick Paul Taylor created a whole new choreographic subgenre by setting athletic, all-American moves to highfalutin Baroque music. And even though Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris and other modernists have followed his lead, such barocco Taylor masterworks as “Airs,” “Esplanade” and “Arden Court” haven’t been surpassed. Now the Paul Taylor Dance Company offers the newest installment, “Cascade” (to Bach), with “Aureole” also on view the same weekend. See “Cascade,” “Sunset’ and “Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal)” on Friday, “Aureole,” “Big Bertha,” “Syzygy” and “Company B” on Saturday.

* Paul Taylor Dance Company, Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, 8 p.m. Also Saturday, 8 p.m. (different program). $15 to $43. (800) 233-3123.

7 pm: Celebration

Track 16 Gallery gives SoCal a touch of the Irish with its “St. Paddy’s Day in Our Belfast Pub” event. There’ll be live music and poetry reciting, and actors Brian Dennehy and James Lancaster will read a play excerpt. But there’s an educational component, too: State Sen. Tom Hayden will talk about his recent trip to Belfast and Rosaleen Doherty will speak about Northern Ireland. All in a “pub-style atmosphere.”

* “St. Paddy’s Day in Our Belfast Pub,” Track 16 Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, 7 p.m. $5. (310) 264-4678.

8 pm: Jazz

Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri has explored the sensual side of the tenor sax since his early work in the ‘60s with fellow Argentine bandleader-composer Lalo Schifrin, trumpeter Don Cherry and pianist-composer Carla Bley. Best known for his lusty soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’s controversial 1972 film “Last Tango in Paris,” Barbieri continues to play with fire and raw emotion.

* Gato Barbieri, Center Theater, 300 E. Ocean Ave., Long Beach, 8 p.m. $33 to $39. Also Sat. at Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana, 7 & 10 p.m. $23.50. (562) 436-3661

All day: Movies

In “Erin Brockovich,” Julia Roberts stars as the street-smart, tough-talking title character, a law office file clerk who in the early 1990s rallied 650 Hinkley, Calif., residents to sue Pacific Gas & Electric Co. over contamination of the community’s water supply. The legal drama, based on a real-life case, is directed by Steven Soderbergh (“The Limey,” “Out of Sight”) and is said to be Roberts’ best dramatic work in years. Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart and Marg Helgenberger also are featured.

* “Erin Brockovich,” which is rated R for language, opens Friday in general release.

7 pm: Family

The critically acclaimed Salzburg Marionette Theatre, performing to vintage opera recordings, will present three works by Mozart: “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Don Giovanni” and “The Magic Flute.”

* Salzburg Marionette Theatre, Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Friday, 7 p.m. (“The Marriage of Figaro”), Saturday, 7 p.m. (“Don Giovanni”), Sunday, 2 p.m. (“The Magic Flute”). $20 to $65. (714) 740-7878, (213) 365-3500.

8 pm: Cabaret

You may remember accordionist Paddy Noonan’s appearances on KFI radio and KTLA-TV’s long-lost “Polka Party.” With Paddy’s Irish Cabaret, the native of Cork County and champion of all things Irish brings together his daughter, vocalist Sheila Noonan, the velvet baritone voice of Glen Curtain, Irish comedian Eddie Devin, assorted dancers and others for a St. Patrick’s Day program of music, sing-alongs, high-stepping and laughs in the best Dublin cabaret style.

* Paddy’s Irish Cabaret, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 8 p.m. $16.50 to $26.50. (805) 449-2787.

8 pm: Theater

El Portal Center for the Arts’ second main-stage show of its inaugural season is “Rollin’ on the T.O.B.A,” a musical tribute to the last days of black vaudeville, conceived by Ronald “Smokey” Stevens and Jay Stewart. With Stevens, Sandra Reaves-Phillips and Ted Levy.

* “Rollin’ on the T.O.B.A,” El Portal Center for the Arts, Mainstage Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Tuesday-Wednesday and Sunday, 7 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends April 9. $35 to $42. (818) 508-4200, (800) 233-3123.

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FREEBIE: Downtown Los Angeles celebrates St. Patrick’s Day first with a parade--beginning at 11:30 a.m. at City Hall, at 1st and Main streets, and ending at the Central Library, 630 W. 5th St.--followed by a performance by the Young Dubliners Band at Pershing Square, 532 S. Olive St. (213) 484-6203.