Regional arts and entertainment events

Sunday

Enemy of the state As Shelley had it, "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world," and when their subtle influence is noticed by those wielding more overt power, it can get dicey for the artist. In John Hodges' play Collaborators, set in the Soviet Union in 1938, the great satirist Mikhail Bulgakov, his works banned and his life threatened, is around only because Stalin likes him. When the dictator chooses Bulgakov to write a celebratory play about him, it begins a cat-and- mouse game that, though we know the ending, is at once comic and macabre. A filmed performance of the play by London's National Theatre screens at 12:30 p.m. at the County Theater, 20 E. State St., Doylestown. Tickets are $18. Call 215-345-6789.

The film also screens at the Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets are $18. Call 215-345-7855.

Holiday treat After eight years of presenting an annual holiday panto (the delectable English tradition of sending up a well-known tale, with topical humor, mild double entendre, slapstick, and audience participation), People's Light & Theatre has developed a big back catalog - and a repertoire as well. So it's bringing back Kathryn Petersen and Michael Ogborn's Treasure Island from 2007, with some new bits added. The show goes on at 2 and 7 p.m.

at the company's theater, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, and continues on a varied schedule to Jan. 8. Tickets are $30

to $45. Call 610-644-3500.

Christmas music Devoted to performing

in the style of the 19th- century religious sect,

the Ephrata Cloister Chorus performs seasonal chorales and early American music at 3 p.m. at the German Society of Pennsylvania, 611 Spring Garden St. Tickets are $20. Call 215-627-2332 . . . The Philadelphia Chorus performs winter songs

by John Rutter, Morten Lauridsen, and John Burge, with guests the Masterman Middle School Choir, at 4 p.m. at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, Market and 38th streets. Tickets are $24; $20 for seniors and students. Call 610-352-3565. . . .

Jazz singer Mary Ellen Desmond performs her annual benefit holiday concert at 6 p.m. at the Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany, 330 S. 13th St. Tickets are $20; $10 for seniors and students.

Call 215-732-1918.

Jazz women A concert to benefit the Daphne Fund for female musicians features an all-star lineup of guitarist Monnette Sudler, flutist Cindy LeBlanc, saxophonist Lynn Riley, pianist Suzzette Ortiz, and singers Denise King, Suzanne Cloud, Karen Rodriguez, Rhenda Fearrington, Denise Montana, Wendy Simon, Dawn Evans, Pearl Williams, and Ella Gahnt. The music starts at 6 p.m. at LaRose Jazz Club, 5531 Germantown Ave. Tickets are $20.

Call 215-517-8337.

Monday

Funny stuff You can perform his stories, but he won't come. 1812 Productions presents An Evening Without Steve Martin - truth in advertising, wherein the author's words appear and he doesn't. The show goes

on at 7:30 p.m. at Plays & Players Theater, 1714 Delancey St. Tickets are $30. Call 215-592-9560.

Voice of doom The Bay Area doom-metal duo Black Cobra plays its intense wall of sludge music at 8:30 p.m. at Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. Tickets are $12. Call 215-739-9684.

Tuesday

Cold world In his new book, An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science, Pulitzer Prize- winning historian Edward J. Larson looks at an era of on exploration that still resonates. He discusses his work at 7:30 p.m. at the Free Library, 1901 Vine St. Admission is free.

Call 215-5678-4341.

Wednesday

Local hero Los-Angeles- via-Philly pop craftsman Jim Hanft may have a Swedish record deal,

but his sound is pure Americana with an indie twist. He plays at 8 p.m. at the Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St. Tickets are $10. Call 215-928-0770.

Thursday

Hit the beach As the days grow colder, our pals at Secret Cinema don't want us to forget the days of catching rays and rocking out. So, they're bringing out 1965's A Swingin' Summer for a spin, a beach-blanket epic featuring Raquel Welch and set at a mountain resort with water-skiing as a surfing substitute, plus music by the Righteous Brothers, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Donnie Brooks, and the Rip Chords. The film screens, with an appearance by Richie Rotkin of the Rip Chords, at 7 p.m. at International House, 3701 Chestnut Street. Tickets are $9. Call 215-387-5125.

Invitation to a dance Featuring Dancing With the Stars pros Jonathan Roberts and Anna Trebunskaya, the show Champions of the Dance showcases international ballroom greats at the Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 and 7 p.m. next Sunday. Tickets are $20 to $50. Call 215-898-3900.

Holiday at the Kimmel Conductor

Valentin Radu

leads the

Camerata Consort

baroque ensemble in works by Albinoni, Bach, Corelli, Monteverdi, and Vivaldi, with guest artist

Elin Frazier

, trumpet, at

the Kimmel Center's

Perelman Theater, 300 S. Broad St., at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $20 to $60. Call 215-893-1999. . . . The annual

TubaChristmas

gathers more than 100 tuba, sousaphone, and euphonium players to perform seasonal classics at

the Kimmel Center's

Commonwealth Plaza, 300 S. Broad St., at 1:30 and 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

Call 215-893-1999.