This week’s 5 best bets for arts & culture in Las Vegas

‘The Nance’

In 1930s burlesque, it was far easier to play gay than to be gay, as “The Nance” explores through the campy title character’s on- and off-stage lives. The Tony-nominated play opens at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive, with additional shows at 8 p.m. Oct. 27-29 and Nov. 3-5 and 2 p.m. Oct. 23, Oct. 29-30 and Nov. 6. For tickets ($21-$24), call 702-362-7996 or visit www.lvlt.org.

Haunted Harvest

Haunted Harvest festivities continue from 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays through Sundays, through Oct. 30, at the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., as trick-or-treating, games, a petting zoo, a circus party, music and magic shows and an “Intergalactic Express” train ride ($3 extra) promise fang-tastic fun. For tickets ($8; children 2 and younger are free), call 702-822-7700 or visit www.springspreserve.org.

Mozart Orchestra

There’s Mozart and more Mozart in store as the Mozart Orchestra of New York — teaming the New York Chamber Soloists and music director Gerard Schwarz — steps into the Charles Vanda Master Series spotlight at 8 p.m. Saturday in UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall. For tickets ($25-$75), call 702-895-2787 or click on www.unlv.edu/pac.

‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’

Fop by day, swashbuckling hero by night — that’s “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” who adds song and dance to his French Revolution exploits as Signature Productions stages the musical’s Las Vegas debut. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive; additional performances are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29, Nov. 1-5, Nov. 7-12 and Nov. 15-19 and 2 p.m. Nov. 5, 12 and 19. For tickets ($20-$30), call 702-878-7529 or visit www.signatureproductions.net.

Scary Symphony

Musical chills are in the air when the Henderson Symphony Orchestra performs a free Scary Symphony concert at 2 p.m. on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge at Lake Las Vegas, featuring the Nevada premiere of Nathaniel Stookey’s musical whodunnit “The Composer Is Dead” (with text by Lemony Snicket), plus “Fantasia” favorite “Night on Bald Mountain” and more. For details, visit hendersonsymphony.org.