Cirque Berzerk

From the big top to the big time, Cirque Berzerk begins a nearly monthlong residency at Club Nokia. Cirque-goers can expect more of the troupe's signature pairing of traditional circus and aerial arts with punk rock and cabaret noir influences. Club Nokia. 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. Though Jan. 30. $19.50-$125. Check website for times and dates. http://www.clubnokia.com.

From the big top to the big time, Cirque Berzerk begins a nearly monthlong residency at Club Nokia. Cirque-goers can expect more of the troupe's signature pairing of traditional circus and aerial arts with punk rock and cabaret noir influences. Club Nokia. 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. Though Jan. 30. $19.50-$125. Check website for times and dates. http://www.clubnokia.com.

EQUAL parts trippy and sinister, Cirque Berzerk seems like the sort of phantasmagoric spectacle Tim Burton would dream up if he quit filmmaking to join the circus. With masks and characters that look as though they'd be at home in Jack Skellington's world, this 35-member troupe, which has previously staged several dinner-theater shows and Burning Man jaunts, presents "Beneath," its first full-length extravaganza under the big top, starting today.

Don't be fooled by her riding crop, her past career as a porn-film costumer or her penchant for punk rock and Russ Meyer flicks. Take all that away, and Rita D'Albert is a nice Jewish girl from Flushing, Queens, who adores Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and Carnaby Street fashion and gets mushy over Broadway show tunes.

Don't be fooled by her riding crop, her past career as a porn-film costumer or her penchant for punk rock and Russ Meyer flicks. Take all that away, and Rita D'Albert is a nice Jewish girl from Flushing, Queens, who adores Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and Carnaby Street fashion and gets mushy over Broadway show tunes.

FRIDAY First Fridays featuring Little Dragon Natural History Museum 900 Exposition Blvd. 5-10 p.m. $9. Nhm.org/firstfridays FRIDAY Mas Malos opening 515 W. 7th St. 5 p.m.-midnight for dinner (213) 985-4332 SATURDAY Cirque Berzerk Club Nokia 800 West Olympic Blvd. 8 p.m. & 11 p.m. $19.50-$125 Clubnokia.com TUESDAY Mike Kelley show opening Gagosian Gallery 456 N. Camden Drive 6-8 p.m. Gagosian.

STAGE Cirque Berzerk From the big top to the big time, Cirque Berzerk begins a nearly month-long residency at Club Nokia. Cirque-goers can expect more of the troupe's signature pairing of traditional circus and aerial arts with punk rock and cabaret noir influences. Club Nokia, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., L.A. Through Jan. 30. $19.50-$125. Check website for times and dates. http://www.clubnokia.com. MOVIES Palm Springs International Film Festival L.A. may get most of the film-buzz juice in SoCal, but this festival is an underrated host of touted docs, shorts and features every year.

A list of upcoming shows across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses. Gibson Amphitheatre Weezer, Nov. 26-27 (Fri.) Hollywood Palladium Pennywise, Nov. 13; Passion Pit, Dec. 7 (Fri.) Orpheum Peaches Christ Superstar, Dec. 17 (Thu.) Music Box Blonde Redhead, Nov. 17 (Sat.) Club Nokia Devo, Nov. 12; Cirque Berzerk, Jan. 7-9, 12-16 (Fri.) El Rey Theatre RRIICCEE, Nov. 23 (Fri.) Fox Theater Pomona Passion Pit, Dec. 4 (Fri.

STAGE Cirque Berzerk From the big top to the big time, Cirque Berzerk begins a nearly monthlong residency at Club Nokia. Cirque-goers can expect more of the troupe's signature pairing of traditional circus and aerial arts with punk rock and cabaret noir influences. Club Nokia, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. Though Jan. 30. $19.50-$125. Check website for times and dates. http://www.clubnokia.com MOVIES Palm Springs International Film Festival L.A. may get most of the film-buzz juice in SoCal, but the Palm Springs International Film Festival is an underrated host of touted docs, shorts and features every year.

For the last month, social networking websites have been buzzing about a large-scale fantasy event taking place in downtown L.A. this weekend, one that has nothing to do with a certain football game.

EQUAL parts trippy and sinister, Cirque Berzerk seems like the sort of phantasmagoric spectacle Tim Burton would dream up if he quit filmmaking to join the circus. With masks and characters that look as though they'd be at home in Jack Skellington's world, this 35-member troupe, which has previously staged several dinner-theater shows and Burning Man jaunts, presents "Beneath," its first full-length extravaganza under the big top, starting today.

Hollywood is awash in recently opened bars and clubs right now, but two brand new destinations near Hollywood & Highland are using a fresh approach to woo night owls: experiential entertainment. At new clubs Premiere Supper Club and Supperclub Los Angeles at the Vogue , guests interact with friendly staffers (who are sometimes in character) and take in light theater-inspired entertainment. It's the latest bid for your club dollar. "The two things I'm best at [are]

Many Southern Californians who travel to the annual Burning Man event don't want to leave the experience behind on the dry lake bed in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. For those who can't get enough or are looking for a sampler, Saturday's L.A. Burning Man Decompression Arts & Music Festival, or L.A. Decom, offers a taste of the 19-year-old Burning Man festival -- without most of the nudity, swearing and transgressive performance that characterizes the Nevada event. Inspired by San Francisco's Decom festival, which aimed to make the transition between the playa and the "default world" a little less rough, L.A. Decom founder and producer Athena Demos staged the first event in 2002.