BEST BETS Friday 10/27

ORANGE

6pm

Art

A special discussion on the death penalty will take place at the Guggenheim Gallery at Chapman University as part of a new exhibition, “The Waiting Room.” The exhibition is an installation by Richard Kramer, who deals with the emotional, visual, physical and social environment of a death row waiting room in his art.

The special discussion, titled, “Community Conversation No. 5,” is moderated by Stephen Hartnett, a professor of communications, film and media at the University of Illinois at Urbana; Renny Crushing, executive director of Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation; Dr. Fred Smoller, associate professor of political science at Chapman University; and Scott Howe, professor of law at Chapman.

* “Community Conversation No. 5” and “The Waiting Room,” Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange. One-time discussion, 6 p.m. Regular hours: Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Through Nov. 28. (714) 997-6729.

SANTA ANA

8pm

Pop Music

Halloween approacheth, which means psychobilly horror group the Cramps can’t be far behind. For their Friday show in Santa Ana, count on always outrageous lead singer Lux Interior to outfit himself in something extra flamboyant for the season.

* The Cramps, Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. With Lords of Altamont. 8 p.m. $20 to $22. (714) 957-0600.

BREA

8:30 & 10:30pm

Comedy

He’s an ebullient performer with a megawatt smile: George Wallace. “That’s right, George Wallace,” the African American comic has been known to say when announced. “A lot of people get stuck with names they don’t like. Look at Mr. Green Jeans.” The Atlanta-born comedian touches on a variety of topics. Take garage sales: “What is it you white folks do Friday and Saturday nights that make you put all your furniture on the lawn Sunday morning?”

* George Wallace, Brea Improv, 945 E. Birch St. 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Also Saturday, 7, 9 and 11 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. $20 to $25. (714) 529-7878.

COSTA MESA

8pm

Dance

Ballet superstar Julio Bocca formed his Ballet Argentino in 1990 to showcase not only himself but other dancers and choreographers from his native Argentina. Bocca and his troupe will dance a mixed repertory program that will include him in one of his signature virtuoso roles--the pas de deux from “Don Quixote.” Among the four other pieces, there will be the new “Tango Vivo,” choreographed by Ana Maria Stekelman, to music by Astor Piazzolla.

* Ballet Argentino, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. Also Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. $12 to $68. (714) 556-2787.

BREA

8pm

Theater

If you’re pondering, weak and weary, how to escape the same ol’ Halloween routine, try indulging in some mind candy, courtesy of John Astin and Edgar Allan Poe. Astin, chiefly famed as Gomez, the paterfamilias of television’s creepy, kooky, altogether ooky “Addams Family,” goes for the mysterious and spooky in his one-man show, “Edgar Allan Poe--Once Upon A Midnight.” Astin-as-Poe dramatizes the author’s tormented life and reads excerpts from the darkly brilliant and pioneering horror stories.

* John Astin in “Edgar Allan Poe--Once Upon a Midnight.” Curtis Theatre, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. $17-$27. (714) 990-7722.

ANAHEIM

8:30pm

Pop Music

In the Talking Heads’ waning years, rhythm section members Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz launched Tom Tom Club to keep themselves busy while front man David Byrne increasingly occupied himself with solo projects. Even more than the Heads, Tom Tom Club demonstrated that alternative rockers could play convincing party funk music. They’re back touring with a new album, “The Good, the Bad and the Funky,” which they’ll sample Friday in Anaheim.

* Tom Tom Club, Sun Theatre, 2200 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. With Livehuman (featuring DJ Quest). 8:30 p.m. $19.50. (714) 712-2741.

IRVINE

8pm

Theater

Canadian theater innovator Robert Lepage presents the West Coast premiere of “Far Side of the Moon,” a one-man multimedia meditation on humanity’s dream of one day reaching the moon and its realization in 1969. The piece, written, directed and performed by Lepage, features an original score by pop avant-gardist Laurie Anderson.

* “Far Side of the Moon” by Robert Lepage, Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. $30-$40. (949) 854-4646.