‘The Wild Wild Wildest West’ 

Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday

The Bigfork Playhouse Children’s Theater is staging “The Wild Wild Wildest West,” a Western melodrama comedy and hilarious musical spoof of Hollywood westerns.

The play features slick and wealthy Richard Coldheart, who must marry Polly Wanda Cracker to control the Cracker property. However, it’s Polly’s homely sister, Prunella, who wants to marry him.

Meanwhile, the hero, Sheriff Wayne John, has his hands full surviving the hilarious antics of well-meaning but not-too-bright Deputy Doowrong. And a bundle of villains, including Snydley Dastardly, Kid Kid and Calamity Jan, attempt to take over Low Humidity Chasm. 

Tickets are $11 for adults, $9 for seniors, $8 for students and $7 for children under 10 and can be purchased online or at the box office one hour prior to performances.

For more information, call 837-4886 or email bpct@bigforksummerplayhouse.com. Buy tickets online at www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com 

‘The Changing Image of American Indians in Film’

Flathead Valley Community College: Arts and Technology building, room 144, 10 a.m., today; and Blake Hall, board room, noon today. 

The Flathead Valley Community College Multicultural Affairs Office will host the Humanities Montana Speakers Bureau program with writer and lecturer Richard Ellis.

Ellis will explore how Hollywood’s portrayal of American Indians influences public opinion and how movies reflect changing public attitudes toward Native Americans. He also will share a collection of visual images from movies that provide a catalog of inaccuracies and stereotypes. 

Ellis will invite discussion about whether filmmakers have an obligation to provide historical and cultural accuracy in films about Native Americans. 

Ellis, of Stevensville, holds a Ph.D. in Western American history and has taught at Murray State University, University of New Mexico and Fort Lewis College.

For more information, contact the FVCC Multicultural Affairs Office at 756-3945 or mstembor@fvcc.edu

‘The Vagina Monologues 2014’ 

O’Shaughnessy Center, Whitefish, 7 p.m., Feb. 6-7 at 7 p.m.  

The night offers a twist on the classic show, with new material plus the premiere of “Rise Up” with Local Vocal Voices, an original production written and directed by Jesse DeVine. “Rise Up” is a collection of true local stories, perspectives and experiences surrounding domestic violence in the Flathead Valley. 

Proceeds benefit the Abbie Shelter and victims of partner violence.

The cocktail hour, which begins at 6 p.m., will also feature a silent auction on designer purses. 

Men are encouraged to attend also, though children should be left at home. 

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Advance tickets are sold online at EVENTS.FindItMontana.com

For ticket information, call 871-4546; for event information call 261-9082.

Salish and Kootenai Film Series

Flathead Valley Community College, Arts and Technology Building, 6 p.m., Feb. 3-4

The series will open with the showing of “Remembering the Songs” on Feb. 3 in the large community meeting room inside the Arts and Technology Building. This multi-media project explores the music traditions of the Salish, Diné and Zuni people and their common usage of the flute throughout their diverse traditions. 

On Feb. 4, “ReDefined Art & Identity” will examine the personal, cultural and professional insights of several Salish and Kootenai artists on western Montana’s Flathead Reservation.

HeartLines Project Executive Director Julie Cajune was involved in the production of both films and will lead a discussion directly following each film. Cajune is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and is an award-winning educator, profiled in Utne Reader as one of “50 Visionaries who are Changing the World.”

Raffle tickets will be sold at each showing for a chance to win a Chromebook notebook computer. Proceeds from the raffle will support the FVCC American Indian Student Services Office.  

For more information, contact Mick Stemborski at 756-3945 or mstembor@fvcc.edu.