Ongoing
Writers Imagine Las Vegas
Lied Library, UNLVTo the fiction writer, Las Vegas has always offered a fecund excess of things worth writing about: spectacle, risk, easy money, over-the-top characters, the resonant dichotomy of illusion and reality (remember when they were different things?) and a gonzo permissiveness. Now the UNLV library has assembled an exhibit of books that showcase the wide range of Vegas’ portrayals in fiction, a veritable syllabus for the well-read Las Vegan. Through June, unlv.edu/calendar
March 7
Fifth Anniversary Concert
The Smith CenterFive years — that’s practically an eternity in Las Vegas culture years. But that’s how long The Smith Center has been open, quickly establishing itself as a major cultural gravity center. From concerts to Broadway productions to intimate jazz evenings to big-ticket lectures, The Smith has hosted it all. This concert, leaning heavily on its Broadway DNA, will feature Adam Kantor (Rent, Fiddler on the Roof), Betsy Wolfe (Bullets Over Broadway, Falsettos), composer Frank Wildhorn and a host of others — including some surprise guests. 7:30p, $29-$129, thesmithcenter.com
March 25
Panic! at the Disco
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Maybe it’s the Grumpy Grammarian in our soul, but something about that misplaced exclamation point makes us want to be in the audience, waving a lighter and shouting, “Play ‘Mr. Brightside’!” Still, there’s no denying the earworm-worthy catchiness of songs like “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage” and “I Write Sins not Tragedies.” 7p, $39.50-$59.50, mandalaybay.com
March 9-26
Spinning Into Butter
Cockroach TheatreAs with Disgraced at Nevada Conservatory Theatre (see page 15), this play by Rebecca Gilman — about racism, political correctness, identity and hypocrisy — seems perfectly pitched to resonate with each day’s crop of Google news alerts. Cockroach has a history of such pointed programming, thankfully. 2p and 8p, $16-$20, Art Square Theatre, cockroachtheatre.com
March 3-5
Tango Passion!
Winchester Cultural CenterOscar Carrescia leads a merry ensemble of Argentine and local musicians in a tangotastic explosion of full-blooded music. 2p and 7p, $15, clarkcountynv.gov