Best Bets Orange County HERE AND NEAR

TODAY

8pm

Music

Edward Downes will conduct the Royal Opera Orchestra of Covent Garden in a varied program of opera excerpts drawn from 50 years of company productions. Soloists will include sopranos Rita Cullis and Judith Howard, tenor Gwyn Hughes Jones and baritone William Dazeley in arias from Weber’s “Der Freischutz,” Gounod’s “Faust,” Verdi’s “Don Carlo,” Puccini’s “Tosca” and other works. The orchestra also will play overtures and other instrumental selections. The program is sponsored by the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.

* “Fifty Years of the Royal Opera,” Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. $15 to $55. (949) 556-2122.

TODAY

7:30pm

Cabaret

Yes, she is the late film composer’s daughter, and Monica Mancini has no problem singing the songs of her famous father, Henry. Critics have liked the idea too, praising her lovely voice and the elegance that she lends such chestnuts as “Moon River.” After more than two decades as a studio and backup singer for her dad and such talents as Dolly Parton and Michael Jackson, Mancini launched her solo career last year. Appearing in the intimate Founders Hall as part of the Cabaret Club Series, she replaces Rita Moreno, who had a scheduling conflict.

* Monica Mancini, Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Founders Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 7:30 p.m. Also Friday and Saturday, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. $42 to $46. (714) 556-2122.

TODAY

8pm

Theater

As Teddy Roosevelt charged up that famous hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, actor John Davidson charges on stage in “Bully,” Jerome Alden’s compelling and humorous one-man play about our 26th president. During one of the most volatile periods in America’s political history, Roosevelt was a progressive, dedicated to fairness and solidarity. This is Davidson’s second portrayal of Roosevelt; he starred in the musical “Teddy and Alice.”

* “Bully,” Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive. 8 p.m. $27 to $42. (800) 300-4345 or (562) 916-8500.

FRIDAY

all day

Movies

Hong Kong action star Chow Yun-Fat, who gained cult status in the United States in the John Woo films “The Killer,” “Hard-Boiled” and “A Better Tomorrow,” stars with all-American boy Mark Wahlberg in “The Corruptor,” an action drama about corruption within the NYPD. The film is directed by James Foley (“Glengarry Glen Ross,” “The Chamber”).

* “The Corruptor,” which is rated R, opens Friday nationwide.

FRIDAY

8pm

Theater

Hope Alexander directs Friedrich Durrenmatt’s dark marital comedy “Play Strindberg,” about a couple on their 25th anniversary and a gentleman visitor who stirs things up. With Hal Landon Jr., Don Took and Martha McFarland.

* “Play Strindberg,” South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends April 11. $18 to $43. (714) 708-5555.

FRIDAY

8pm

SATURDAY

7&9pm

Pop Music

For those seeking a head start on Wednesday’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities, mark your calendars for two musical mood-setters in San Juan Capistrano. To hear how the hyphenated Irish do it, check out local folk and folk-rock bands the Fenians, Tintangel and the American Wake Friday at the Coach House. On Saturday, Niamh Parsons, one of Dublin’s fairest voices, alights at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library for a performance straddling traditional and folk-rock renderings of old Irish songs and originals. Before you cheer for Niamh, be alerted that her Gaelic first name is pronounced “Neeve.”

* Fenians, Tintangel and American Wake, the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Friday, 8 p.m.. $10-$12. (949) 496-8930. Niamh Parsons at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library, 31495 El Camino Real. Saturday, 7 and 9 p.m. $6. (949) 248-7469.

SATURDAY

7am-5pm

Festival

With the sounding of the mission bells and a weekend of entertainment and family activities, Mission San Juan Capistrano celebrates the legendary return of the swallows. The fun begins with the ringing of the old mission bells as the first swallows are sighted after daybeak. Later there will be performances by colorfully dressed Aztec dancers, mariachi bands, school choirs and the Anaheim Ballet. Docents will lead tours of the mission; living-history groups will offer demonstrations of life in early California, and artisans will demonstrate such old-time crafts as spinning, weaving, beading and basketry. Visitors can also enjoy a variety of ethnic foods, including Indian fry bread prepared by Native American chefs.

* Return of the Swallows celebration. Mission San Juan Capistrano, 31522 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also March 19. $4-$5. (949) 248-2048.

SATURDAY

8pm

Cabaret

Sure, and it’s a darlin’ bunch from the Emerald Isle come all this way to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Southern California. One of Dublin’s most popular acts for more than two decades, Doyle’s Irish Cabaret, founded by musical director Joe Fitzgerald, boasts an array of talent. It should be a rousing show, with acts that include he award-winning Mae Crean Dancers, backed by the band Celtic Force; one of Ireland’s top comics, Noel V. Ginnity; and two of Ireland’s best-loved cabaret singers, Paul Hennessey and Anarine McAllister. The finale, featuring Doyle’s Irish Cabaret Dancers, caps an evening of Gaelic rhythms and buoyant spirits, and that’s no blarney.

* Doyle’s Irish Cabaret, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive. 8 p.m. $29 to $44. (800) 300-4345 or (562) 916-8500.

SATURDAY

7pm

Pop Music

With Marilyn Manson’s theatrics and Courtney Love’s antics, the high-profile Manson-Hole tour rolls into the Southland like an underground-rock mutation of the Ringling Bros. circus parade. And don’t forget potent opener Monster Magnet (see story, Page xx).

* Marilyn Manson, Hole and Monster Magnet, Arrowhead Pond, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 7 p.m. $35. (714) 704-2500. Also Sunday at the Great Western Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood. 7 p.m. $35. (310) 419-3100. SATURDAY

8pm

Dance

To mark the Iranian New Year, which begins when the sun crosses the equator--about March 21--the Avaz International Dance Theatre will present a colorful concert of dances and music from Iran, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The renowned Los Angeles-based company is under the artistic direction of Anthony Shay and Jamal and the musical direction of Mohammad Nejad.

* Avaz International Dance Theatre, Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. 8 p.m. $30. (949) 854-4646.

SUNDAY

4pm

Music

Flute and guitar are rarely played together, but the two instruments complement each other beautifully. Swiss flutist Emmanuel Pahud and Cuban guitarist Manuel Barrueco will play a recital of works including Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Sonatina, Opus 205; Michael Daugherty’s “I Loved Lucy”; Leo Brower’s “Rite of the Orishas”; Telemann’s Fantasies Nos. 6 and 7; Debussy’s “Syrinx” and Astor Piazzolla’s “Historie du Tango.”

* Emmanuel Pahud and Manuel Barrueco, Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Founders Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 4 p.m. $32. (714) 556-2787.

SUNDAY

8pm

Pop Music

The Fabulous Thunderbirds bring blues firepower aplenty to bear, with the trenchant vocals and harmonica of leader Kim Wilson and the hot guitar work of David “Kid” Ramos.

* The Fabulous Thunderbirds with Blue Spirit Band and Blanco Debris. Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $17.50 to $19.50. (714) 957-0600.