Saturday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m.

Politics is Bill Maher’s bread and utter. Give the man a mike and an audience, and you’ve got a night of stinging, full-frontal satire sure to have politicos and gossip-worthy celebs digging a Q-Tip dangerously deep into their ear canals. If you like his commentary and comedy on TV (HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher), this is your show. Doors open at Tulsa’s Brady Theater, 105 W. Brady St., at 7 p.m. Tickets for the show are $64.50-$78.50. The show is for labeled as an “all-ages” event, but considering that many comics speak from a “mature” standpoint, discretion is advised. Go to www.bradytheater.com for more.
 

Friday, Feb. 8-Saturday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m.

The Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College brings together its Signature Stars – including Booker Gillespie, Lisa Stefanic and Marla Patterson – to revisit the music of our state. 100 Years of Oklahoma Music  goes even deeper into the panhandle state’s musical roots than the original show performed for Oklahoma’s 2007 centennial celebration. Look for the music of Bob Wills, Woody Guthrie, Leon Russell, Reba McEntire, Roger Miller, Garth Brooks, Jimmy Webb, David Gates and more. Shows are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Feb. 8-9) at the VanTrease Performing Arts Center for Education on the TCC Southeast Campus, 10300 E. 81st St. Tickets are $27.50-$49, available at www.signaturesymphony.org.
 

This Week

If any theater company can handle opposing tales of newlywed bliss in the same week, it’s Playhouse Theatre. Led by the sparkling partnership of Courtneay Sanders and Chris Crawford – the theater group’s founders – Playhouse goes classic romance and comedy with Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park as a young couple learns to live with one another. The play runs for two weekends. The sweetness of marriage turns bitter in Othello, Shakespeare’s famed drama of envy, manipulation and murder. To be sure, Playhouse will tell in its own, unique way.
Show times for Barefoot are at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8-9 and 14-16 and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 10. The Feb. 15 performance will be interpreted in sign language. Tickets are $25.
Othello is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13, and 2 p.m. Feb. 16, the later a sign language-interpreted performance. Tickets for the show are $10. Tickets to both plays are available at www.myticketoffice.com. For more about Playhouse, go to www.playhousetheatretulsa.com.
 

Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m.

Kid Rock has an image to maintain, and nothing says it better than an album titled Rebel Soul. Whether he’s rapping hardcore or crooning like a lonesome cowboy, Kid Rock never fails to rouse with bad-boy antics and lyrics to match. His tour stops at the BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. Tickets run $39.75-$85. Guest acts Buckcherry and Hellbound Glory prep the crowd for the 7:30 p.m. show on Saturday, Feb. 9. Purchase your tickets online at www.bokcenter.com.

Friday, Feb. 8, and Saturday, Feb. 9

Are they entertainers? Are they athletes? Can’t they be both? The plucky Harlem Globetrotters return to two venues in Oklahoma with more fun on the basketball court and a new concept. This time, the fans determine the rules of play, whether that means two balls at play at once or something really weird – such as the other opposing team winning. The globetrotters play Tulsa at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, at the BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave., before moving to Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave. Games there are scheduled for 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9. Tulsa tickets are $21-$112, available online at www.bokcenter.com. Tickets for the OKC matches are $26-$121 each and can be purchased at www.chesapeakearena.com.
 

Saturday, Feb. 9, at 6:30 p.m.

Named after Tulsa businessman and philanthropist Henry Zarrow, the event called Heart of Henry, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, will bring together people from across the Tulsa area to benefit the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless. Not to put words into Mr. Zarrow’s mouth, but we think he approves. The evening includes dinner and an awards ceremony in which Walter Helmerich III, the late oilman and philanthropist, will be honored posthumously for his generosity to the community. The inaugural Heart of Henry, held at the Hyatt Regency Tulsa, 100 E. Second St., doesn’t stop there. An after-party featuring a cigar and scotch tasting continues after the awards with live music and more. The Heart of Henry is infectious. This benefit for the homeless is counting on it. Tickets to the dinner and awards ceremony are $250 each. The after-party event is $50 with the dinner and ceremony or $75 for the party alone. Visit www.tulsadaycenter.org to buy your tickets through Feb. 8 or call 918.556.6425.

Friday, Feb. 8, at 10:30 a.m.

After listening to seven U.S. presidents speak their minds, Ann Compton is ready to talk, too. The next guest of Tulsa Town Hall, the lecture series bringing inspiring individuals to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Chapman Music Hall, takes the stage at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 8. Compton, an award-winning journalist, is ABC News’ White House correspondent. Ann Compton: Up Close and Very Personal looks at her experiences in the White House press corps and work as a foreign correspondent. Attendance is through subscription to Tulsa Town Hall. Individual subscriptions are $75 and include admission to all speaking engagements in the 2012-13 series. Luncheon with Compton follows the lecture. Luncheon is $20 per person, and reservations are required. For more, visit tulsatownhall.com.
 

This week

Fat Tuesday is two parades in two cities – that’s a lot of beads and confetti. The Norman Mardi Gras Parade is back for the 19th year. Starting at the corner of Jones Avenue and Main Street in Norman, the march of bands, dancers, fanciful floats and entertainers moves east on Main Street and turns south on Crawford Avenue before veering west on Comanche Street back to Jones. Parade entries will be judged on such categories as Best Marchers, Best Music, Best Unidentified Rolling Object and Best Doggie Gras. Parade begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9. Go to www.normanmardigrasparade.com to read about more taking place around the parade. Tulsa’s Blue Dome Mardi Gras Parade isn’t as long-standing as Norman’s big party, but after 4 years, word has spread and continues to bring out larger crowds each successive year. Why should it be any different in 2013? Area organizations, clubs, business and groups get into the New Orleans-state-of-groove through the Blue Dome District (roughly First and Second streets between Cincinnati and Elgin avenues). Remember, this is a family event, so no flashing or requests thereof for beads and treats. Parade starts at 7 p.m. on Fat Tuesday (Feb. 12). For more, go to www.mcnellies.com or check out the favored pub’s Facebook page.
 

Thursday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m.

For an up-and-coming band, nothing does wonders like exposure, and Churchill is about to get it in Tulsa. The five-member Denver band plays a free show at the Vanguard Music Hall, 222 N. Main St. (just down the street from Cain’s Ballroom) Thursday, Feb. 7. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show opens with guest acts Willy Moon and the Lonelys. The band recently released the EP titled Change plus a new video (see it here) for the title track – a prelude to Churchill’s forthcoming debut CD on the Octone record label. From what we’ve seen and heard, you’re unlikely to find this fresh folk-pop ensemble live at this price anytime, anywhere else in the future. The event is for ages 18 and over only. For more, visit www.thevanguardtulsa.com.
 

Concludes Sunday, Feb. 3

A collection of some of the most iconic images of the West have been on exhibit at Gilcrease Museum, 1400 N. Gilcrease Museum Road, since the fall, but are about to be packed up and shipped to a new venue. Get in your look at amazing photographs of wildlife, landscapes, cowboys and the prevailing rugged culture both past and present contained in National Geographic: The Greatest Photographs of the American West before the exhibit closes Sunday. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, and admission is $5-$8 for most visitors. Go to gilcrease.utulsa.edu to learn more.