Date book

Friday, Feb. 4, 2000 | 8:27 a.m.

About art

Actor and artist Gregory Etchison will demonstrate drawing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Mesquite Club, 702 E. St. Louis Ave. Call 393-6192.

Out of Africa

The Las Vegas Natural History Museum presents Frans Lanting's "Okavango: Africa's Last Eden" through March 31 at 900 Las Vegas Blvd. North. Call 384-3466.

Open auditions

Community College of Southern Nevada is holding auditions for its musical production "Blood Brothers" at 5 p.m. Monday and 7 p.m Tuesday at the Horn Theater on the Cheyenne Campus, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave. Call 651-4834.

Opry performer

Doyle Dykes, a Tennessee-based acoustic guitarist, will present an acoustic guitar workshop at 7 p.m. Tuesday at MARS, 2747 S. Maryland Parkway. Reservations are recommended. Call 734-0007.

Planetarium sights

The Community College of Southern Nevada planetarium, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., presents "The Explorers and Sky Watch" at 6 and 7:30 p.m. Fridays and 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, through Feb. 26. Free telescope viewings are offered after 7:30 p.m. shows, weather permitting. Admission is $4; $2.50 for students and seniors. Call 651-4759.

Art exhibits

The works of Santa Fe painter Eli Levin, also known as Jo Basiste, will be on display at the Las Vegas Art Museum, 9600 W. Sahara Ave., through Feb. 27. Basiste is known for his bar, dance-hall and other figured scenes of social commentary. Museum hours are 10-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Call 360-8000.

"The Marietta Robusti Tintoretto Story," by Marietta Patricia Leis will be on display through April 24 at the Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St. The opening reception will be from 6-8 p.m. Thursday. Call 229-4631.

The works of artist Mel Smothers will be on display through Feb. 25 at CCSN's Fine Arts Gallery, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave. An artist lecture will be from 4-5 p.m. today. Opening reception will follow. Call 651-4113.

The Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art presents a group exhibition entitled "Ultralounge" through Feb. 12 at its gallery at 101 East Charleston Ave. Admission is free. Call 434-2666.

The Winchester Center Gallery presents the works of painter Harold Bradford through March 10 at 3130 S. McLeod Drive. A reception will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 11. Call 455-8239.

Centaur Sculpture Gallery presents Salvador Dali's Millennium art exhibition, through Feb. 29 at the Fashion Show mall, upper level, 3200 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Call 369-0704.

Local portraits

The works by local photographer John Broussard will be on display through March 17 at the West Las Vegas Arts Center, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd. The portraits feature councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald; boxing referee Richard Steele; North Las Vegas Police Chief Joey E. Tillmon; Ramon Savoy, publisher of the African-American weekly; disc jockey Jack "The Rapper" Gibson; and Air National Guard Major General Irene Trowell-Harris. Call 229-4800.

Eskimo life

The Lied Discovery Museum, 833 Las Vegas Blvd. North, presents "Siqiniq: Under the Sun," a traveling exhibit exploring the daily life of two Inuit children living in Canada's Eastern Arctic, through April 11. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $5; $4 for seniors, military and children, ages 2-17. Call 382-3445.

Turning their backs

UNLV presents Tony Kushner's Tony Award-winning "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, Part One: Millennium Approaches" at 8 p.m. today, Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Judy Bayley Theater, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. The play looks at America's attitude toward the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Tickets are $12; $10 for seniors, students, military and disabled. Call 895-2787.

Trouble in paradise

The Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3844 Schiff Drive, presents Bill Daily's comedy "Lover's Leap," a tale of two lovers trying to consummate their relationship in a busy hotel room, at 8 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (additional performances are Thursday through Feb. 13 and Feb. 17-20). Tickets are $12; $10 for students and seniors. Group rates are available. Call 362-7996.

'Fresa y Chocolate'

Repertorio Espanol, a New York-based theater company presents "Fresa y Chocolate," a play in Spanish that explores the growing relationship of a gay Cuban artist and a revolutionary, at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St. Simultaneous translation will be provided via headsets. Tickets are $17 at the door, $15 in advance. Call 229-6383.

Giving regards

Bishop Gorman High School's Harmony Express choir presents its annual salute to the Great White Way, "Night on Broadway," at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Gorman High School Theater, 1801 S. Maryland Parkway. Tickets are $5; $3 for seniors and students. Call 732-1945, Ext. 333.

From L.A.

Freeloaders, a Los Angeles-based alternative rock band, will perform tonight at Legends Lounge, 865 N. Lamb Blvd., and from 6-8 p.m. Saturday on the television/radio show "Backstage Live" at the Imperial Palace. For more information, call 367-0331.

Verdi performed

The Nevada Opera Theater presents "La Traviata" at 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at UNLV's Artemus Ham Concert Hall, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Tickets are $35, $25, $20 and $15. There is a 10 percent discount for students, seniors, military and the disabled. Call 895-2787.

Familiar favorites

The Dynamic Trombone Quartet presents an afternoon of familiar favorites as it performs classical pieces, ragtime and Broadway show tunes at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Reed Whipple Cultural Center, 821 Las Vegas Blvd. North. Admission is free. Call 229-6211.