BEST BETS Friday 10/13

FULLERTON

8pm

Theater

The Battle of the Bulge was raging when “On the Town” premiered on Broadway in December 1944, but the musical’s lighthearted, exuberant depiction of the revels and romances of three sailors on a 24-hour leave in New York City looked toward happier days to come. The show, which evolved from a ballet called “Fancy Free,” marked the Broadway debuts of four leading talents: composer Leonard Bernstein, choreographer Jerome Robbins, and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

* “On the Town,” presented by Fullerton Civic Light Opera at Plummer Auditorium, 201 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. Thursdays through Sundays at 8 p.m., except 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22. Matinees 2 p.m. Sundays and on Saturday, Oct. 28. Ends Oct. 29. $15-$36. (714) 526-3832.

ANAHEIM

8pm

Pop Music

One of the key preservationists of Colombian salsa, Fruko y Sus Tesos, arrives in O.C. for a performance at JC Fandango in Anaheim. Formed in 1970 by Mario Rincon as musical director and percussionist Julio Ernesto Estrada, Fruko started out with a mission to rerecord many of the great Colombian salsa songs whose original recordings were sabotaged by poor sound quality. The group’s attempt to play in the U.S. last year was derailed by visa problems of some band members, but everything appears to be on track for this tour.

* Fruko y Sus Tesos, JC Fandango, 1086 N. State College Blvd., Anaheim. 8 p.m. $13. (714) 758-1057.

COSTA MESA

8pm

Theater

Three men and a canvas are the components of “Art,” the 1998 Tony-winning play by French writer Yasmina Reza (with translation by Christopher Hampton). The friendship of the trio proves to have deep fault lines running through it--as revealed when one of them buys a modernist painting that is all white with a few faint lines in it. Humorously nasty clashes of taste, philosophy and ego ensue. John de Lancie, the villainous Q on “Star Trek: the Next Generation,” plays a lover of traditional art who bridles at his friend’s leap into what he sees as trendy novelty.

* “Art,” South Coast Repertory Mainstage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Previews through Oct. 19, regular run Oct. 20-Nov. 19. Oct. 20 sold out. $18-$49. (714) 708-5555.

IRVINE

8pm

Dance

Ballet Pacifica will open its 2000-01 season with two world premieres: Peter Pucci’s “Now You See It” (in a collaboration with visual artist Tony DeLap, using music by Philip Glass) and Paul Vasterling’s “Ballet: Tango” (to music by Astor Piazzolla). Completing the program will be Choo-San Goh’s “Variations Serieuses” (Mendelssohn) and Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s “Triptych” (Karl Jenkins). Company artistic director Molly Lynch will lead preview discussions at 7:15 p.m.

* Ballet Pacifica, Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. 8 p.m. Also Saturday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. $24. ($20 for students, seniors and children under 12. Student/senior rush tickets: $8.) (949) 854-4646.