Theater, music, dance and poetry: Feb. 14-20

Theater

LITTLE THEATRE OPENS

CHRISTIE MYSTERY

Marooned on a remote island, 10 strangers are accused of murder, one by one. And, one by one, they start to die.

That’s the setup — and the twist — in Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit, “And Then There Were None,” which opens a three-weekend run Friday at Las Vegas Little Theatre, combining suspense and humor as 10 guests who have never met each other (or their apparently absent host and hostess) face seemingly inevitable doom.

David McKee directs the production, which will be staged at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday on the Las Vegas Little Theatre Mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive; performances continue at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through March 2, with an additional matinee Feb. 22. For tickets ($21-$24), call 702-362-7996 or visit www.LVLT.org.

Music/film

CONCERTS BLEND

LIVE MUSIC, MOVIES

You must remember this: Movies and music are a magical combination. And audiences have ample opportunity to experience that magic Saturday.

First up: The Las Vegas Philharmonic will provide live accompaniment for the Oscar-winning 1942 favorite “Casablanca” at matinee and evening performances at The Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall.

Never fear: All the dialogue and sound effects remain as stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman battle Nazis (not to mention their passions) during World War II. But Max Steiner’s lush score, adapted for this presentation by Patrick Russ, will be played live by the orchestra, under the direction of Francesco Lecce-Chong, associate conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. (Dooley Wilson, as piano-playing Sam, will still sing “As Time Goes By,” augmented by live string accompaniment.)

The Las Vegas Philharmonic’s “Casablanca” will be performed at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave. For tickets ($25-$94), call 702-749-2000 or visit www.lvphil.org.

Also on Saturday, the music-movie connection will be celebrated at downtown’s Artifice cabaret bar with “Cinema L’Amour,” a selection of romantic silent films paired with live accompaniment by cellist Elizabeth Mitchell, who will perform familiar pieces from classical cello repertoire — as well as modern songs by everyone from Marvin Gaye to Miley Cyrus.

Among the silents featured: “Beyond the Rocks,” with Rudolph Valentino; Buster Keaton’s “One Week,” a meditation on love, marriage and prefab housing; and “A Woman,” starring Charlie Chaplin — as you’ve never seen her before.

“Cinema L’Amour” begins at 6 p.m. Saturday at Artifice, 1025 S. First St. For tickets ($20), visit amour.brownpapertickets.com/.Theater

LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT

DEBUTS ‘HACIENDA’

It’s the latest play from Las Vegan Ernie Curcio, who definitely knows the territory he covers in “Corner of Hacienda.” The production opens a three-weekend run Friday night at downtown’s Cockroach Theatre, where Curcio is resident playwright.

It’s Thanksgiving 1994. Megaresorts are reshaping the Strip and a million new residents are arriving in Southern Nevada. Over in East Las Vegas, however, brothers Elliott and Francis Debanari try to keep the neighborhood together — while facing challenges of their own — during an especially strange turkey dinner.

“It’s a family play,” Curcio says — one “loosely based” on his experiences as a native Las Vegan. After all, “it’s my home,” he says. “I’m interested in all the history that happened here.”

Among the themes “Corner of Hacienda” addresses, in addition to the changing scene on the Strip: Las Vegas ’90s punk music scene and Las Vegas’ growing Latino community.

Director Bryan Todd also is a Las Vegas native, Curcio says, enabling him to add his perspective to the playwright’s for the world premiere.

“Corner of Hacienda” will debut at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Cockroach Theatre, 1025 S. First St., Suite 110; additional performances are 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through March 2. Tickets ($16-$20) are available online at www.cockroachtheatre.com.

Music/dance

‘TAO’ SHOWCASES

DRUMS, DANCE

Japanese taiko drumming powers innovative choreography as “Tao: Phoenix Rising” visits The Smith Center on Sunday.

Performing hundreds of sold-out concerts for more than a million audience members, Tao combines contemporary costumes and athletic dancing with traditional taiko drumming. Tao’s stars — who live and train at a mountain compound, spending years of intense study to reach their levels of virtuosity — bring nontraditional flair to the group through their diverse backgrounds, which range from hard rock music to gymnastics.

“Tao: Phoenix Rising” begins at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave. For tickets ($26-$49), call 702-749-2000 or visit www.thesmithcenter.com.

Music and poetry

CENTER HOSTS

BLUES, SAXES

The sounds of roots music, poetry and jazz will fill the Winchester Cultural Center this weekend at two separate concerts.

“Blues River,” at 2 p.m. Saturday, features Ellis “Blusoul” Rice, who shares his lifelong exploration of American roots music through song, stories and poems, alongside poet Keith “The Modern Griot” Brantley, recording artist Beverly “Chocolate” Williams and pianist and composer Michael Shane.

And at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the Las Vegas Jazz Society presents “Swingin’ Saxes,” featuring Tom Hall, Gary Anderson, Wayne De Silva, and Charles McNeal performing traditional and original jazz tunes, backed by the Rhythm Machine (featuring Ken Seiffert on bass, Otto Ehling on piano and Mike Mecham on drums).

Both concerts take place at the Winchester center, 3130 McLeod Drive. Tickets for both “Blues River” ($10 in advance, $12 on the day of the show) and “Swingin’ Saxes” ($12 in advance, $15 at the door) may be purchased at the center’s front desk or online at www.ClarkCountyNV.gov/parksregistration; call 702-455-7340 for more information.

Music

TEN TENORS

SING BROADWAY

The Ten Tenors may hail from Australia, but they’ll be singing Broadway favorites when they appear Monday at The Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall.

“The Ten Tenors on Broadway” features the vocalists performing an array of beloved stage classics, from theatrical showstoppers to tender ballads, as they explore the boundaries of the “classical crossover” genre.

The tenors will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave. Tickets ($26-$99) are available by calling 702-749-2000 or visiting www.thesmithcenter.com.

— By CAROL CLING