In Brief: Theater, art and music

Theater

Little Theatre gives sex farce a twist

Sex and love get complicated -- actually, when are they not? -- when Las Vegas Little Theatre's Black Box ushers in 2012 with playwright David Grimm's who-loves-who? comedy, "Measure for Pleasure," opening tonight for a three-weekend run.

Love triangles aren't normally this, well ... colorful: Will Blunt (Will Yonemori) has a heart that beats only for Molly (John Dolpies), a transvestite prostitute, rescuing him from a life on the streets. And how is he -- "he" being Will, not Molly -- rewarded? Molly flips for a womanizer named Dick Dashwood (TJ Larsen), about whose name we will not comment.

Ain't love a kick in the head (plus a few other body parts)?

Directed by Mario Mendez, "Measure for Pleasure" explores what LVLT calls "the elusive nature of happiness, featuring mistaken identities, duels and double-dealings, gay marriage and the obligatory sex cave."

Performances are 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 5. Tickets are $14 for seniors and students, $15 for adults at the theater at 3920 Schiff Drive. For info, call 362-7996 or visit www.lvlt.org.

Whoa, wait a minute ... sex cave?

Arts

'Mama' sews up exhibit at arts center

Sew, you want to see an exhibit?

You can -- how shall we put this? -- weave one into the fabric of your life by visiting the free "Mama's Fabric" display that continues through early May at the West Las Vegas Arts Center Gallery.

Photographer John Broussard uses "Mama's Fabric" to celebrate the life of Beatrice Dixon, a community organizer who, he says, "believed deeply in the goodness of people and in the American dream." Becoming a mother figure to many, she had a passion for sewing, prompting many people to provide her with fabric. She passed away in 2002, at the age of 90.

Honoring her, Broussard trains his camera on her eclectic collection of fabrics, combined with images of 30 people from diverse ethnic backgrounds to explain their own families' journeys through the United States, and how they feel about being American.

"Mama's Fabric" can be seen from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays at the gallery at 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd. Call 229-4800 for information.

Music

Professor playing works for oboe

Oboe, oh boy.

That's his instrument, though you can skip the "boy" and address him as "professor," as Stephen Caplan of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas takes center stage at the Doc Rando Recital Hall in the Beam Music Center on campus Thursday night.

Performing traditional works for oboe, as well as the debut of a work written exclusively for him by composer Paul Basler, Caplan -- who does duty as the principal oboist of the Las Vegas Philharmonic -- has quite the musical cred, having played with orchestras throughout Europe and the United States, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Caplan is also a recording artist, and his CD, "A Tree in Your Ear," has been heard on NPR's "Performance Today" and "All Things Considered."

On the Nevada portion of his extensive resume, Caplan's rocked the classics with the Reno Chamber Orchestra, the Nevada Chamber Symphony and at the Las Vegas Music Festival. On the Strip, he's lent oboe support to numerous stars, including Ray Charles, Johnny Mathis and Andrea Bocelli.

Give him his oboe props. The prof's earned them.

Check out the free recital at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call the UNLV music department at 895-3332.

-- By STEVE BORNFELD