Weekend Picks: ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ Zubin Mehta, family fun in DTLA and more

We welcome 2019 with a blockbuster musical, a legendary maestro’s return and the opening moves of a six-weekend dance festival. A veteran comedy trio cracks wise, a musical ensemble sings out the season and family fun unfolds at a Year of the Boar festival in Little Tokyo.

Troubled teen, the musical

It was a tough ticket when it dazzled the Ahmanson last fall, and the national tour of “Dear Evan Hansen” remains a tough ticket as it swings back through SoCal. Local lad Ben Levi Ross stars as the titular teen struggling with severe social anxiety in this Tony-winning musical with book by Steven Levenson and music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. An L.A. Times Critics’ Choice. Segerstrom Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; other dates and times through Jan. 13. $35.75 and up. scfta.org

Mehta’s back with more Brahms

Former Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Zubin Mehta returns to lead the orchestra in all-Brahms programs. They feature the 19th-century German composer’s Symphony No. 3 plus Violin Concerto featuring violinist Pinchas Zukerman (8 p.m. Thursday and Friday), and Symphony No. 4 plus Concerto for Violin and Cello featuring Zukerman and cellist Amanda Forsyth (8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday). Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. $61-$207. laphil.com

Dancing on the Westside

The annual Dance at the Odyssey festival is back for a third year, with different performers and programs every weekend through Feb. 10. Kicking things off is “maybe,” a site-specific collaboration co-created by Berlin-based choreographer and dancer Shade Théret and artist Lukas Panek. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A. 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $25. odysseytheatre.com

All for three, and three for all

Culture Clash, the veteran comedy trio composed of Richard Montoya, Ricardo Salinas and Herbert Siguenza, returns in the political satire “Culture Clash (Still) in America.” Recommended for high school and older. South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 2 and 7:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; other dates and times through Jan. 20. $30-$78. scr.org

Hark, the herald angels sing

Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble gives two performances of “An Angelic Twelfth Night,” a program of sacred vocal works from the 12th century to the 17th century. 8 p.m. Saturday at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 10750 Ohio Ave., L.A. Also 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 112 S. California Ave., Monrovia. $15-$25. jouyssance.org

Ringing in the new in Little Tokyo

You and your young ones can get a jump on the Year of the Boar at the annual Oshogatsu Family Festival. Expect Japanese dancing, drumming and calligraphy demonstrations, plus mochi-making, candy sculpting, tasty treats and more. Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave., L.A. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. janm.org