Cheap Thrills

SOLO SONGSTRESS: You probably know her as a riveting vocalist with Tucson's best little big-time band, The Mollys.

Now Nancy McCallion takes the stage on her own, backed by guitarist Danny Krieger, at 6 p.m. Sunday, February 27, in The Boondocks Lounge, 3306 N. First Ave. Admission is $2. Call 690-0991 for details.

ULTIMATE OUTSIDER: Dubious contacts between shady characters and a stranger are dissected in The Foreigner, by Larry Shue.

Presented by the PCC and directed by Chris Wilken, the play is billed as "an uproarious award-winning comedy for the entire family." It centers around Charlie, a pathologically shy British visitor petrified at the thought of chatting with strangers. Soon the timid chap overhears more than he should -- dark secrets and sinister plots -- at a backwoods Georgia fishing lodge. When the "foreigner" miraculously learns English in a few days, the villains get their due in the hilarious climax to this off-Broadway hit that landed Shue an Obie.

Curtain is 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, through March 4, in the PCC Black Box Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $7, $5 for students, and available by calling 206-6988.

PILFERING PATRIARCH: Pavel Chukhrat's 1997 film The Thief details the troubled relationship between a petty criminal and his son.

Ranked among the best movies to emerge from post-Soviet Russia, the title refers to the father, who claims to be Stalin's offspring. Metaphorically speaking, he is: in teaching his son how to be a man through intimidation, fear and theft, he's really tutoring an entire generation. But the story is more than a simple parable -- the son's ambivalence for the father is richly portrayed, with one of the most gut-wrenching climaxes in modern film.

The Thief screens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 25, in the UA Modern Languages Auditorium, east of the Administration Building and north of the main Mall. Admission is free. For information, call 621-1836.

STAR-BOUND HOUND: He played an orphan's best friend in Disney's production of Annie. Now Chester the pooch makes waves -- and helps less fortunate critters -- in a fund-raiser for PETsMART's Luv-A-Pet adoption program.

"Chester's appearance with his trainer is a great opportunity to educate people about the benefits of adopting homeless pets, and the importance of providing pets with proper training, nutrition, plenty of play time and exercise, regular health care and grooming, and of course lots of love," says Timothy Walter, store director.

Visitors can photograph the four-legged celebrity, and chat with his trainer about Chester's transformation from pound puppy to top dog.

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, February 26, in PETsMART, 7727 E. Broadway Blvd. Call 290-0076 for details.