8 pm: Theater

The Occidental Theater Festival returns for a 39th season under the stars, at Occidental College’s outdoor Hillside Amphitheatre. The summer festival kicks off with Thornton Wilder’s bittersweet American masterpiece, “Our Town,” about love and loss, life and death in turn-of-the-century small town Grover’s Corners.

* “Our Town,” Occidental College, Hillside Amphitheatre, 1600 Campus Road, Eagle Rock. Friday and Sunday, 8 p.m. Also July 9-12, 16-18, 8 p.m. $18. (213) 259-2922.

All day: Movies

“Mark Twain’s America in 3D,” a large-format film from director Stephen Low (“Across the Sea of Time,” “Titanica”), mixes archival photographs of Twain and his family, selections from the famous humorist’s own writings, and 3D footage of the picturesque Mississippi River that was Twain’s inspiration. See review, page FXX.

* “Mark Twain’s America” is playing exclusively at the Edwards 21 Megaplex/Imax 3-D Cinemas, Irvine Spectrum, 65 Fortune, Irvine. $6-$8. (714) 450-4900; and the UltraScreen Theater, Ontario Mills Mall, where the 10 and 15 freeways meet, Ontario. $4.75-$6.75. (909) 481-4442.

8 pm: Comedy

With fabulous feet drumming the meaning of life into every kitschy caricature known to modern man, “Miss Lou Lou’s Tap Dancing Extravaganza” is a comedy revue like no other. Lou Lou and Stephen Kearney turn out a cast of zany characters that includes a female Elvis scoring “Burning Love,” a housewife crunching cockroaches a capella and a water-pistol toting, toe-tapping Bond girl.

* “Miss Lou Lou’s Tap Dancing Extravaganza,” LunaPark, 665 N. Robertson, West Hollywood. Fridays, 8 p.m. Ends July 31. No performance July 10. $5. Reservations recommended. (310) 652-0611.

8 pm: Jazz

No, it’s not the Cocoanut Grove. But the elegance of old Hollywood comes alive at the Coconut Club in Merv Griffin’s Beverly Hilton Hotel, where swing music and dancing are in the spotlight. This weekend, the Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra plays inside Friday, then moves poolside Saturday, for a celebration that includes a grand buffet, dance lessons and a few holiday surprises.

* Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra, Coconut Club, Beverly Hilton Hotel, 9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. $20 cover Friday includes one drink; $45 cover Saturday includes buffet. (310) 285-1358.

7:30 pm: Music

For the annual Hollywood Bowl Independence Day Fireworks Spectacular, this year on three consecutive nights, John Mauceri conducts his Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in an all-American program, and Della Reese appears as singer and narrator, reading the words to Copland’s “A Lincoln Portrait.” See story, FXX.

* Annual Independence Day Fireworks Spectacular, 7:30 p.m. Also Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. $3-$70; children under 12 half price. (323) 850-2000.

8:30 pm: Pop Music

One of the most compelling live acts in rock music, Ani DiFranco makes her only Southern California appearance of the year at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center. The independent-minded singer-songwriter from Buffalo, N.Y., mixes the contemplation of folk with the intensity of rock.

* Ani DiFranco at Bren Events Center, UC Irvine, $28. (949) 824-5000.

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Freebie: Salsa music from Ambiente, Farmers Market, 3rd Street at Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, 7 p.m. (323) 933-9211.