BEST BETS Thursday 11/1

7:45pm

Theater

World War I has just ended and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, haunted by the death of his son in battle, comes to an impoverished Welsh village where the boy’s spirit has emerged at a seance. What unfolds in “Nostalgia,” by young British playwright Lucinda Coxon, brings modern rationalism face to face with old superstitions and obsessions with the afterlife and death. At stake in this world premiere are Conan Doyle’s peace of mind (the Sherlock Holmes author is played by Larry Drake of “L.A. Law” and “Darkman” fame) and the chances of happiness for a strange young woman (the village pariah) and the likable farmer who loves her but is balked by his disapproving brother.

* “Nostalgia,” South Coast Repertory’s Second Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tuesdays-Sundays, 7:45 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m. Preview tonight; regular performances begin Friday. Ends Dec. 2. $19 to $51. (714) 708-5555.

2pmTheater

“Moving On” is a new revue of songs by Stephen Sondheim; nothing new about that, given that the acclaimed Broadway composer has had three previous major revues of songs culled from his songbook. This one, however, offers Sondheim’s own voice, providing taped reminiscences and observations that help string together the selections. The creator and director of “Moving On” is David Kernan, who 25 years ago was the force behind the first Sondheim revue, “Side by Side by Sondheim.” After a world premiere last year in London, “Moving On” is having its U.S. premiere in Laguna Beach.

* “Moving On,” Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. Special matinee today, 2 p.m. Regular performances begin Saturday. Ends Dec. 2. $25 to $49. (949) 497-2787.

8pm

Pop Music

One reward of renewed interest in Southland punk acts of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s has been the periodic reunion shows by X, one of the best bands ever out of Los Angeles. The original quartet--Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and D.J. Bonebrake--gets an additional appreciative salute with the recent reissue of its first three bar-raising albums, “Los Angeles,” “Wild Gift” and “Under the Big Black Sun.” X, which still plays with the ferocity of its youth, wraps up a two-night stand at House of Blues in Anaheim tonight.

* X, House of Blues, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim. 8 p.m. $25. (714) 778-2583