BEST BETS Saturday 9/29

6pm

Gala

It’s time to take part in the “Romance of the Mission” dinner gala at the Mission San Juan Capistrano courtyard. Presented by the Friends of the Mission and the Mission Preservation Foundation Board, the evening features a Spanish dinner prepared by Chef John Sedlar and Ritz Carlton Chef Christian Rassinoux. Actress Sally Kellerman will be there. The event highlight is the auctioning of “La Cancion Malancolica,” a 1934 painting by Theodore N. Lukits. Proceeds benefit the preservation of the Mission’s Great Stone Church monument.

* “Romance of the Mission,” Mission San Juan Capistrano, 31522 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 6-11 p.m. $250. (949) 234-1300, Ext. 323.

8pm

Music

The Mozart Classical Orchestra will open its 17th season with a program of music by Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn. Founder Ami Porat will conduct the Overture to Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 (with soloist Daniel Shapiro) and Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 (“London”). A frequent visitor to the Southland, Shapiro appeared during the orchestra’s 1999-2000 season and is a member of the piano faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music. The program will be repeated Sunday afternoon at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach.

* Mozart Classical Orchestra, Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. 8 p.m. $20 to $36. (949) 854-4646. Also Sunday, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 600 St. Andrews Road, Newport Beach. 4:30 p.m. $15 to $33. (949) 830-2950.

8pm

Dance

Juan Talavera will headline a “Flamenco Bravo!” program that includes company members Catarina Del Sol, Cristina Villalobos and Artoro Nazzari. Additionally, 14-year-old Ryan Zermeno (El Romero) and 18-year-old Timo Nunez will dance, along with Zermeno’s sisters, La Candela and La Monica, and Nunez’ sister, Beatrice. The team of Jordi and Verano will present new stylizations combining modern, jazz and flamenco dance.

Guest artists will include dancer Lourdes Rodriguez, singer Jesus Montoya and guitarist Jose Tanaka.

* Juan Talavera’s Flamenco Bravo, McKinney Theatre, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. 8 p.m. $22 general; $20 students and seniors. (949) 582-4656.

8pm

Pop Music

Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, India Arie and Sunshine Anderson are among the women reinvigorating R&B; with their soul-rooted singing and songwriting. That could be good news for one of their ‘90s predecessors, MeShell Ndegeocello, who has faded somewhat from the pop spotlight and has gone two years since her last album, 1999’s “Bitter.” She turned in a strong performance this year at the Conga Room in Los Angeles, and returns to the Southland for shows tonight at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana and Monday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

* MeShell Ndegeocello, Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. With Yayo Jones, Mama. 8 p.m. $29.50. (714) 957-0600. Also Monday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. With Brooke Ramel and Yvonne Perea. 8 p.m. $29.50. (949) 496-8930.

8pm

Theater

“Late Nite Catechism” takes an affectionate if barbed look at Catholic education. The one-woman show originated in Chicago in 1993, with its co-writer, Maripat Donovan, playing the part of Sister, the stern, demanding nun whose mission it is to instruct her students--the audience, that is--with the values and lore of the church. Of course, the true mission is to make everybody laugh, and attendees may be called upon to serve as comic foils in the show’s spontaneous, interactive segments. “Catechism” has turned into a franchise that plays across the country, with various actresses as Sister. This performance features Donovan.

* “Late Nite Catechism,” Plummer Auditorium, 201 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. 8 p.m. Saturday. $22.50 to $27.50. (714) 278-3371.