Best Bets Orange County HERE AND NEAR

TODAY

8pm

Latin Jazz

With 17 recordings in as many years on the Concord label and endless appearances here and abroad, the eight-piece band of Poncho Sanchez serves as Southern California’s Latin Jazz ambassador to the world. Here’s your chance to see him on home turf in the intimate setting of this new jazz room.

* Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, Odessa Supper Club, 680 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. 8 p.m. $20 cover, $10 with dinner. (949) 376-8792.

TODAY

9pm

Retro TV

TV Land says happy birthday to Alfred Hitchcock with terror, suspense and irony--courtesy of Hitchcock himself. Its 24-hour marathon is made up of episodes from his anthology series, which began as the half-hour “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” in 1955 and whose title was changed to “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” when it went to a longer format. Among the must-sees: “Man From the South,” with Steve McQueen as a gambler who could lose a finger in a bizarre wager with Peter Lorre (9:30 p.m.); “Bang! You’re Dead,” with Billy Mumy as a kid who doesn’t know the gun he’s pointing at people is real (Friday at 12:30 p.m.); and “Lamb to Slaughter,” about a nervy killer who offers the murder weapon to police (Friday at 5 p.m.). And make sure to stick around long enough to hear Hitchcock--who was born in London 100 years ago Friday--put in his two cents at the end of each episode.

* “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”/”The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” 24-hour marathon, TV Land. 9 p.m.

TODAY

8:30pm

Comedy

Just back from Montreal, where his nightly sold-out shows were considered the hit of the weeklong Just for Laughs comedy-fest, three-time Cable ACE Award-winner Richard Jeni kept audiences laughing with a variety of topics. On “first-date lies” told by males, he cites: “I really like kids, I don’t really like sports, tell me more about your cat.” And, according to Jeni, there are only two reasons to sit in the last row of a plane: “Either you have diarrhea or you’re anxious to meet people who do.”

* Richard Jeni, the Irvine Improv, 4255 Campus Drive. 8:30 tonight; 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Friday; 8 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday; and 8 p.m. Sunday. $12 Thursday and Sunday. $15 Friday; $17 Saturday. (949) 854-5455.

TODAY

8:15pm

Theater

It’s Neil Simon under the stars, when “The Odd Couple” opens at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center’s popular outdoor amphitheater. The acclaimed production, originally seen at Grove Theater Center’s Gem Theater in February, is directed by Kevin Cochran and features Patrick Lawlor as the irascible Oscar, and Broadway veteran David Allen Jones as fussy friend Felix. Poker games, buddy bickering and some real male bonding have made this one of the most popular American comedies for the last 35 years.

* “The Odd Couple,” Grove Theater Center at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W. Malvern Ave., Fullerton. Thursdays-Sundays, 8:15 p.m. Ends Aug. 28. $20.50-$24.50. (714) 741-9555.

FRIDAY

all day

Movies

Everyone (at least everyone in this town) knows how hard it is to make a movie even when all the stars are on board, all the permits are signed and the financial backing is in place. Imagine making a low-budget movie, guerrilla-style, with a major action star . . . without that actor’s knowledge. That’s the scenario in “Bowfinger,” a comic skewering of the movie-making business written by Steve Martin and directed by Frank Oz. Martin plays a wannabe movie producer whose attempts to make a film with Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy)--an ego-driven box-office powerhouse--results in comedic chaos. The film also stars Heather Graham as an ambitious ingenue, Christine Baranski as an aging B-movie diva and Robert Downey Jr. as a sleazy studio executive. Murphy also plays Kit’s ultra-nerdy but good-hearted brother, Jiff.

* “Bowfinger,” rated PG-13 for sex-related material and language, opens Friday in general release.

FRIDAY

7pm

Jazz

The three-day Long Beach Jazz Festival, held at Rainbow Lagoon Park near the Long Beach Convention Center, is one of the summer’s greatest outdoor music parties. The action begins Friday night with guitarist Lee Ritenour, trumpeter Chuck Mangione and guitarist Norman Brown, and continues Saturday with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval; Guitars, Saxes & More; rap godfather Gil Scott-Heron; and others. The festival closes Sunday with Poncho Sanchez, keyboardist Joe Sample, singer-pianist Diane Schuur, vocalist Barbara Morrison and others.

* Long Beach Jazz Festival, Rainbow Lagoon Park, Ocean Avenue at Linden Street, Long Beach. 7 p.m. Also Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. $26 to $135. (562) 436-7794.

FRIDAY

8pm

Pop Music

Reassembling for their first tour in four years--and their first in support of a collaborative album since 1991--Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers hit the road with material from the new “Echo” and a back catalog of classics.

* Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8808 Irvine Center Drive. 8 p.m. $25.50 to $62.50. Also Sat. at 8 p.m. (949) 855-6111.

FRIDAY

8pm

Jazz

Spyro Gyra, the longest lived of jazz fusion bands, has just released its 22nd album, a smooth jazz collection of cool beats, hot sax and synthesizer gloss dubbed “Got the Magic.” The band--saxophonist Jay Beckenstein, keyboardist Tom Schulman, guitarist Julio Fernandez, drummer Joel Rosenblatt and bassist Scott Ambush--demonstrates the value of collective experience in this outdoor concert.

* Spyro Gyra, Hyatt Newporter, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach. 8 p.m. $25. (949) 650-5483.

FRIDAY

6:30pm

Movies

Now that “The Blair Witch Project” has everyone talking about horror films, why not see the classiest of them all? Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” was released in 1980 and still is arguably the best. It broke away from the splatter-flick genre, creating its effects with intelligent writing, marvelous sets and locations and solid acting by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. See it and you will never forget the Overlook Hotel. Needless to say, this is not for young children.

* “The Shining,” rated R for nudity, language and violence, Lyon Auditorium, Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach. 6:30 p.m. $3-$5, includes refreshments and after-movie discussion. (949) 759-1122.

FRIDAY

8pm

Music

He co-starred in films with Zero Mostel, Barbra Streisand and John Lennon, but Michael Crawford will probably be best remembered for singing “Music of the Night” as the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit “The Phantom of the Opera.” Crawford originated the role in London in 1986, has toured with it internationally, and has been singing the show’s most popular song ever since. Crawford’s original-cast album sold more than 12 million copies, reaching quadruple platinum status. Friday and Saturday nights, Crawford sings it live, along with other Lloyd Webber material, Broadway hits and a wide range of music, in a rare, intimate concert at the Cerritos Center.

* Michael Crawford, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive. 8 p.m. Also Saturday. $55 to $100. (800) 300-4345. SOLD OUT.

TK pablo francisco by DOGGRELL

SATURDAY

6pm

Music

Music by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Bizet and other composers will be played by the Cypress Pops Orchestra under the direction of founder John Hall in an outdoor “Romance Romance” program. The festivities also will include vocal soloists Tania Solomon, Ron Anderson and Velear Chavez, and violin soloist Richard Adkins. The program is free.

* “Romance Romance,”, Cypress Pops Orchestra, Cypress Civic Center Green, Orange Avenue and Grindlay Street. Free. (714) 828-4276.

SUNDAY

11am

Pop Music

In its first five years, the 92.3 the Beat Summer Jam became such an institution that this year, sponsor KKBT-FM put tickets on sale without announcing any of the acts. It immediately sold out. So what do the ticket-holders get? Missy Elliott, Faith Evans, OutKast, Nas, Shanice Wilson, Tyrese, Dru Hill and many more R&B; and hip-hop luminaries.

* 92.3 the Beat Summer Jam, Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8808 Irvine Center Drive. 11 a.m. (Doors open at 9 a.m.) Sold out, but KKBT-FM is giving away tickets. (949) 855-6111.

SUNDAY

2pm

Festival

Elvis fans can catch a glimpse of “The King,” once again when he makes a special appearance at The Lab in Costa Mesa.

OK, so it really isn’t Elvis Aron Presley , it’s just Mark Wilde , an Elvis impersonator. But unlike the real “King,” Mark is also a comedian.

Band Tex Twill will play alternative-pop and accompany Mark as he croons favorite Elvis songs and entertains the audience with his unique sense of humor.

But, don’t think that you are just going to sit there and relax at The Labs courtyard. This performance includes audience participation, so put on your “Blue Suede Shoes,” get out of your seat and join the fun.

The performance by Wilde and Twill commemorates the anniversary of Elvis’ death and is part of The Lab’s third annual Elvis Festival.

Participating stores at The Lab will offer specials on Elvis related merchandise, so bring your wallet and maybe you’ll find an Elvis cookie jar or cool velvet painting.

* Elvis Festival at The Lab, 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. Mark Wilde performs at 2 p.m., Tex Twill performs at 3 p.m. Free. (714) 960-6661 or https://www.antimall.com