BEST BETS Friday 2/2

FULLERTON

8pm

Theater

“The Elephant Man,” a hit on Broadway in 1979 and later as a film, tells the true story of John Merrick, whose congenital deformities made him an outcast and a circus attraction. Playwright Bernard Pomerance’s telling follows Merrick as he comes under the care of Frederick Treves, a well-connected London surgeon, and emerges as a curio among high society in Victorian England.

* “The Elephant Man,” Stages, 400 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 5 p.m. Through March 3. $15. (714) 525-4484.

MISSION VIEJO

8pm

Theater

Stephen Schwartz made his mark in the early 1970s by writing the songs for three Broadway hits, “Godspell,” “Pippin” and “The Magic Show.” He has continued to do high-profile work as a composer for animated films, including “Pocahontas,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “The Prince of Egypt.” Schwartz is also a recording artist, and now he is taking his show on the road. Joining the singer-pianist are Broadway singer Debbie Gravitte and New York cabaret singer Scott Coulter.

* Stephen Schwartz and Friends, McKinney Theatre, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. $23-$25. (949) 582-4656.

COSTA MESA

8pm

Music

The Artemis String Quartet took top honors at the German Music Competition in 1995, the Munich Competition in 1996 and the Borciani Competition in 1997. Not bad for an ensemble formed only in 1989. For its Orange County debut, violinists Natalia Prischepenko and Heime Muller, violist Volker Jakobsen and cellist Eckart Runge will play Beethoven’s Second and Eighth quartets and Ligeti’s String Quartet No. 2.

* Artemis String Quartet, Founders Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. $36. (714) 556-2787.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

8pm

Pop Music

In his turns at the microphone with the Band, Levon Helm sang some of the monuments of rock music, including “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Up on Cripple Creek.” That classic voice has been silenced after successful treatment for throat cancer, and the Arkansas native now channels his passion for the bedrock of American music as the drummer for the Barn Burners, a New York blues band. And there’s still a Helm voice to be heard--his daughter, Amy, sings with the group.

* Levon Helm & the Barn Burners, Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 8 p.m. $16.50. (949) 496-8927. Also Saturday at the House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 9 p.m. $17.50. (323) 848-5100.

FULLERTON

8pm

Music

Flutist Debra Reuter-Pivetta won the 1999 Concert Arts Competition and also received the first-ever Community Concerts Performance Prize. Principal flutist with the Greensboro, N.C., Symphony, she will appear in recital here with her husband, pianist Federico Pivetta, in a varied program. The concert is part of the 55th season present by the North Orange County Community Concerts Assn.

* Debra Reuter-Pivetta and Federico Pivetta, Fullerton First United Methodist Church, 114 N. Pomona, Fullerton. 8 p.m. Admission by membership only, available at the door. (714) 535-8925.