BEST BETS Thursday 2/22

COSTA MESA

7:30pm

Opera

Opera Pacific unveils its new co-production (with Houston Grand Opera and Michigan Opera Theatre) of Bizet’s “Carmen,” directed by Ron Daniels, with sets and costumes by Riccardo Hernandez and Constance Hoffman. Irina Mishura will sing the title role today and Saturday. Angela Horn takes over Friday and Sunday. Mark Baker and Michael Hendrick will alternate as Don Jose. John DeMain will conduct.

* Bizet’s “Carmen,” Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 7:30 p.m. Also Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. $29 to $107. (714) 556-2787.

LAGUNA BEACH

2pm and 8pm

Theater

“Who’s Hot, Who’s Not” is the name of a fictitious celebrity gossip magazine as well as the title of the first play commissioned by the Laguna Playhouse. Laguna Beach novelist Sherwood Kiraly adapted his 1998 novel for the stage. It’s set largely in Laguna, home to hard-driving magazine mogul Harry Poe. This ultra-competitive fellow bets an employee he can give him a head start and beat him on the morning commute to L.A. He wins by forcing a homeless woman into his car on Laguna Canyon Road so he can ride the carpool lane to victory. But the no-nonsense woman stays in his life, and suddenly Poe starts contemplating whether he wasn’t meant for more meaningful things than to be one of the most-hated men in Hollywood.

* “Who’s Hot, Who’s Not,” Laguna Playhouse’s Moulton Theater, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Previews 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Friday, 8 p.m. Regular performances begin Saturday at 7:30. Regular run: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees Saturdays and Sundays. Ends March 25. $24 to $43. (949) 497-2787.

ANAHEIM

8pm

Pop Music

Will NOFX be the next Southern California pop-punk band to break into the big time? They have a solid sense of humor and sharp observations, along with catchy songs, to follow in the footsteps of the Offspring and Blink-182. Fans may want to catch them while they’re still in clubs.

* NOFX, House of Blues, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim. 8 p.m. $12. (714) 778-2583.