Arts scene (1/6/12)

Mute and musical

The Anchorage Symphony Orchestra will perform live while two classic silent films are screened at 8 p.m. Saturday in Atwood Concert Hall -- Buster Keaton's "One Week" and Harold Lloyd's masterpiece "Safety Last." The restored films on the double-bill are spectacular to view and the live music brings the action vividly into the present. Tickets are $17-$39 at centertix.net and video samples of the movies can be seen at anchoragesymphony.org.

theater

Jolly old Job

Imagine the sober profundity of the biblical Book of Job as interpreted by the comic mind of Neil Simon -- and there you have "God's Favorite." The zany yet serious play opens tonight at 8 p.m. at Valley Performing Arts in Wasilla. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 22. Tickets are $17, $15 for students and seniors, available by calling (907) 373-0195 or online at valleyperformingarts.org. VPA is collecting non-perishable food items at each performance to help out local residents.

theater

Quick writing

The Alaska Overnighters -- short plays written and produced within a 24 hour timeframe -- returns this weekend. The first round of writers get their themes at 8 p.m. tonight. See what they've produced at 8 p.m. Saturday and again at 8 p.m. Sunday. This edition is titled "The Plot Thickens," and each playwright will be assigned a specific plot device to weave into their tale. Performances take place at APU's Grant Hall and tickets are $10, either at the door or online at tbatheatre.org or by calling 677-7529.