THEATER

POPULAR MUSIC

PLUNDER QUEEQUEG THE DOG'S LOOT

Steakhouses

Yo, dudes! Show some serious pre-Mother's Day dedication to your significant others by taking a break from the playoff excitement of the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz to enjoy a different kind of jazz.

Synthesis, the Brigham Young University jazz and big band ensemble, will fill up Showhouse II with its smooth sound at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem. So, you miss Game 3 of the series. Fear not, there's always Game 4 on Sunday -- and after treating your little lady to Synthesis, she'll certainly cut you some slack on Mother's Day afternoon. (Hedge your bets, though, with a scrumptious breakfast in bed earlier in the day!) Besides, if you manage to surreptitiously listen to the game with an ear monitor during the concert, well, who wouldn't understand that?

Peer pressure is tough, especially when it's pervasive, grown-up and institutionalized. In samurai movies, as in westerns, the warrior is often faced with a choice between individual morality and fealty to the tribe. Individual morality tends to prevail until society can be established and impose order, though in contemporary samurai movies, such as Jim Jarmusch's excellent "Ghost Dog," both choices can be rendered absurd by the circumstances. This is not entirely so in David Mamet's tricky and engrossing "Redbelt," a contemporary noir with a samurai movie interior, which is as sincere, plaintive and strangely optimistic a movie as he's made.

Kellie Pickler concert

Popularized by her Southern charm and small-town naÃØvety, former "American Idol"finalist Kellie Pickler will perform at the Sandy Amphitheater this summer.

Box Office

Amber Foote

Oils, pastels, and watercolors, oh my! Fine art of all forms and mediums is now on display at the Springville Museum of Art's 84th Annual Spring Salon.

Utah Regional Ballet

The Storybook Series Ballet, featuring Act II of Swan Lake, will perform the family-friendly "Once Upon a Time" this weekend in Orem.

TV Ratings

"THE JUNGLE BOOK" -- Musical performed by Ivy Hall Academy. 7 p.m. May 15. Covey Center, 425 W. Center St., Provo.