Your 5 best bets for arts and culture in Las Vegas

MUSIC

With the 2012 opening gala and 2014 New Year's Eve concert to her credit, Tony nominee Laura Osnes is no stranger to The Smith Center. This weekend, however, the versatile Tony nominee — who played both "Cinderella" and Bonnie Parker in "Bonnie and Clyde" — makes her Cabaret Jazz debut, sharing tunes and tales at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; for tickets ($39-$59), call 702-749-2000 or visit www.thesmithcenter.com.

CIRCUS

You don't have to run away to join the circus this holiday season; it's as close as Circus Vargas' blue-and-white big top, where its new show "ArleQuin" unfolds through Dec. 20 at the Meadows Mall and from Dec. 25-Jan. 4 at Boca Park, featuring acrobats, aerialists and magicians (all in the person of "America's Got Talent" contestant Patrick Marinelli) plus daredevils, clowns and more. For showtimes and tickets ($15-$35 general admission, $35-$70 for reserved ringside seats), call 877-468-3861 or click on www.circusvargas.com.

THEATER

Move over, Santa. Step aside, Scrooge. Holiday theatergoers have another memorable character to embrace as burlesque queen Blanche DeBris takes over the Onyx Theatre, in Commercial Center at 953 E. Sahara Ave., for "The Blanche DeBris Emergency Xmas Broadcast," in which she attempts to save a low-power radio station from a scheming developer. The show goes on at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays through Dec. 10; for tickets ($20), call 702-732-7225 or visit www.onyxtheatre.com.

ART

"Third World America" returns for a third time to the Eden Gallery, as artists Daniel Miller and Justin Lepper explore local homelessness through their work. The opening, at 6 p.m. Saturday, includes a clothing and food drive benefiting Safe Nest and HELP of Southern Nevada; 50 percent of all art sales (and 100 percent of cash donations) will go to the National Aliiance to End Homelessness. "Third World America" continues through Jan. 1 at the Eden Gallery, located in the Arts Factory at 107 E. Charleston Blvd., Suite 215. For more information, call 702-706-7103.

MUSEUM

Who says you can't go home again? Not the Clark County Museum, 1830 S. Boulder Highway, which offers a seasonal blast from the past with its free Heritage Holidays program from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. In addition to the museum's historic houses glowing with holiday lights, the festival features strolling carolers, a craft tent where kids can make their own ornaments, a model holiday railroad display and, of course, visits with Santa and his elves. For more information, call 702-455-7955.