Your time is precious. Here are five stellar ways to consider spending it …

• The egotistical and extraordinary Kanye West brings his critically acclaimed Glow in the Dark Tour to the Susquehanna Center on Saturday night. There’s not a single seat left in the house, but you should be able to find something on Craigslist, and Sherry’s Tickets on 15th street has 18th row from the stage for about $150 each (215-561-5544). If you get there early, you’ll have to sit through Lupe and Rihanna, which you might not care to do.

• Also egotistical and extraordinary but in a less cool way, FBI-raided illusionist David Copperfield will inspire awe and female swooning at the Academy all weekend. I’ve seen him a couple of times and, although he’s likely to do the same tricks as before, I’m going again, which says something about either the quality of his work or my lack of a social calendar.

• Like books? The Free Library’s Second Annual Book Festival has lots of ’em, and their authors, too. Look for headliners Barbara Walters and Bernadette Peters (who apparently has a book out) in addition to Philly Mag contributors Ben Wallace (The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine) and Vicki “World’s Most Hated Mom” Glembocki (The Second Nine Months: One Woman Tells the REAL Truth About Becoming a Mom).

• As if the Italian Market isn’t overcrowded enough, it’s the 9th Street Italian Market Festival this Saturday and Sunday. Sounds like it’s a lot less Italian than it used to be, sort of like South Philly itself. I’ll be grabbing a meatball sandwich (or maybe some tamales if the tamale lady is around), hopefully some homemade wine (shhhh!) and catching a set by the thoroughly non-Italian Black Landlord, one of my favorite Philly bands (they perform 3 p.m. on Sunday).

• If you’re shorebound, you’ll find that Chris Rock at the Borgata is sold out, Jim Breuer (fellow SNL alum, also at the Borgata) is not, and then there’s ’80s pop star Deborah Gibson, whose show is actually supposed to be pretty entertaining if you’re into the whole pop-meets-Broadway conceit. If you are, $25 tickets are available, and be sure to check out my interview with Ms. Gibson.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, once-squeaky-clean ’80s pop star Deborah Gibson (she was Debbie back then) just turned up in Atlantic City for a three-week run of her “Pop Goes Broadway” show at Harrah’s. I caught up with her in between vocal exercises to find out why the hell we should care.

First thing first: You’re looking fabulous, and I’m sure my body-conscious readers would like to know how you stay in shape.
Well, they might hate me for it, but I don’t do much. I basically stopped obsessing about my body about a year ago and it all kind of fell into place.

How about your voice? How do you maintain it?
Other than an interview I did just before talking to you, and this interview, I’m not going to speak the rest of the day. I also practice my voice every day. It’s just like working out. You have to keep everything in shape. I stay away from acidic foods, because reflux is the enemy of a singer. And I try to get a lot of fresh air, which I can’t do right now because I’m in the recycled casino air. It’s kind of deadly for a singer.

Your show at Harrah’s pairs your ’80s pop repertoire with Broadway standards, and I know that you did some theater after you stopped recording. But did you have theater experience before that?
I was actually in Actors’ Equity at age 11 and performing at the Metropolitan Opera in the children’s chorus. I basically was in musicals constantly from 6 to 16. I was a theater baby. I got back to it at 21 with Les Mis on Broadway, which is where I left off, because that was the last audition I went on right before I started recording. So it wasn’t like “Here’s some pop singer and like on a whim she thinks she can try Broadway.”

Where’s [fellow ’80s mall popper] Tiffany these days?
She’s out and about performing and keeping it going in her own way.

Do you Google her to keep tabs on the competition?
No, I actually know her. I just call her up.

What about Samantha Fox?
No idea.

I’m surprised you don’t pop up on the reality circuit.
I did one, the skating show on Fox. I did that mainly because, wow, what an honor to be able to skate with Kurt Browning. I basically got to learn from a world champion, which was incredible. I get asked to do insane shows all the time and I turn them down all the time. I have a motto, which is “No smooching on television.” Not for me anyway.

[This is the point at which the interviewer stupidly did not ask a followup question regarding how this modesty squares with Gibson’s 2005 Playboy spread. Instead, he chose to go with an asinine, straight-outta-the-box interview question …]

Who is the most famous person you’ve met?
Ronald Reagan. And Princess Diana. She was one of my favorites. I performed at the Prince’s Trust Concert. I was performing first, doing “Electric Youth,” and I had to be in costume, which meant being in ripped jean shorts and a bandana. Everybody else got to be in their gowns to meet her. I said, “Oh my God, I am so sorry I’m in this outfit.” She said, “You look a heck of a lot more comfortable than I am, so good for you.”

What was Reagan wearing?
A tux.

You recently had some problems with a stalker. Is this a new thing for you or something you’ve dealt with throughout your career?
Everybody quietly deals with it all the time, and then every now and again somebody gets some press, because somebody decides to sell some court papers. On one hand, it’s something I take seriously. On the other hand, it’s not a big deal because it just gets handled by the appropriate people and I just go on with my life.

Deborah Gibson appears in “Pop Goes Broadway” through May 24th at Harrah’s Casino in Atlantic City. Tickets are $25.

If you’ve seen (heck, if you’ve even heard about) Cirque du Soleil, you can’t deny those stunts are pretty damn superhuman. And this Thursday, the Big Top pops up in South Philly for Cirque’s KOOZA show. Acrobatic performance and coaching director Boris Verkhovsky — picture an affable version of the Rocky and Bullwinkle guy, not a looming Karloff — shared a bit about the show and the menacing Wheel of Death. — Cheryl McEvoy

You started off coaching acrobatics and gymnastics. Was Cirque du Soleil a big jump for you?
It was a very big jump, on many different levels. For me, to be able to perform acrobatics has always been an interesting, very involved, curious challenge. But it was in a sports environment, so [there was] a lot of preparation and then a “peak performance.” So that was one aspect of the challenge, because the [show] is done nine to 10 times a week.

Cirque isn’t the typical three-ring gig most Americans are used to. Why do you think it caught on?
It’s very surprising … they say it’s an example of where there is no market and then the market is created. It’s an honest performance. If we do a performance where the risk is too high, we don’t hide the safety elements. We make them visible. So there is no pretending that it’s flying without any aid. I think it’s a healthy attitude.

What’s the story behind KOOZA?
KOOZA, when the initial mandate was given, was to go in the direction of returning to the roots of what circus is. Very physical, risk taking, on the edge, in your face. That was for the acrobatics, and that was also for clowning, because that’s the original clowning in traditional circus, where it’s in your face. The name [KOOZA] stems from the reference to a treasure box. And if you think of the notion of a Jack-in-the-box, the show actually begins with a story of an innocent in this marvelous world, and then Jack literally pops out of the box. It’s a trickster who will run the show, who will play and tease an innocent without malice. So the type of emotions, all those behaviors or relationships that are being established there, are something that we face every day.

One of the acts uses a 1,600-pound Wheel of Death. Who comes up with these death-defying acts?
Well, in this particular case, it’s a discipline that has existed for a while now in traditional circus. We did not invent it. We present it differently than it’s usually done. It’s a lot closer to the public than usual. It actually, to some extent, feels like it’s over the public and, boy, if you’re in the first row, you will feel it. You’ll feel the wind of it … What’s very unique about it is its name and the way it’s performed, there’s an insinuation of an unbelievable level of risk. I’m not gonna say that it’s not risky, but I will say that, from an acrobatic perspective, it’s a fairly simple act. But even though you’re not doing phenomenal tricks, the room for mistake is very, very, very real. And the punishment for the mistake is grave.

Are the performers cliquey — like, contortionists versus clowns — or is it a big happy family?
Of course, you want it to always be a big happy family. You deal with a fairly great ethnic diversity. It’s multiculturalism from every aspect of it … If you and I came from the same country, that does not make us the same culture, because you may come from the South and I may come from the North. That’s already a different culture. If we are 15 years apart in terms of age, that’s already a different culture, even if everything else is the same. If you are male, female — that’s a different culture. If you come from the circus world and I come from gymnastics, that’s a different culture. So in that sense, multiculturalism has so many facets and so many colors that it makes it easier, because everybody is different.

Let’s face it: The cover band is basically the SPAM of the music industry — a cheap substitute. So who has the balls to play second fiddle to one of the biggest rock outfits in history? An all-girl band, of course. Taking a break from her raging tour life (with a stop tonight at World Cafe Live), Lez Zeppelin founder and guitarist Steph Paynes let us in on how four chicks with instruments bring a new edge to Led Zeppelin’s timeless tunes. — Cheryl McEvoy

How did you get the band together?
I had been in enough crap bands to know not to go through auditions. So I just asked around. I talked about it endlessly. To find a drummer who plays like Jon Bonham — that just doesn’t happen much. And how do you find someone who sounds like Plant?

Did you always intend to make it all girls?
Once I decided to go through with this foolish idea, I knew I wanted it to be an all-girl band. Going out and playing this music as all girls is so powerful and has such an effect. It’s the whole gender and cultural dynamic that makes college professors want to write about us. Especially because Led Zeppelin was perceived as being aggressively male, despite the fact that they [had long hair] and wore women’s clothing. It’s kind of fitting that we have that femininity.

Do people give you a hard time for being women?
They’re completely skeptical — they don’t expect the power that comes across. They come thinking we’ll hit some right notes, but they don’t expect to be completely bludgeoned by the power. It’s definitely sexism working in our favor — the surprise contributes to the “wow” factor.

You pay tribute to arguably the greatest rock band of all time. That’s gotta come with some pressure, right?
Yeah, that was the foolish part. We take this seriously. We have fun, but in terms of the music, all of us are very, very serious about what we’re playing. What is it about Led? What is it about the sound? The improvisation, the intensity of it all … But I think this is a group of fairly prodigious musicians — we’ve all done our homework … We do have that Zeppelin energy.

Do you party as hard as the original? You know, the drinking, debauchery, trashed hotel suites?
[Laughs] Oh yeah, all of that — the sex, the drinking, the drugs, the motorcycles in the hotel, the fishing off the balcony, the sharks …

On the HBO hit Curb Your Enthusiasm, she plays Susie Greene, an abrasive wife with a truck driver’s vocabulary. But Susie Essman isn’t quick to bitch and berate in real life. In fact, four-letter words were few and far between when we talked to her about sexism, family, and why it’s healthy to go Greene every now and then. She does her standup routine this Saturday night at the Gershman Y. — Cheryl McEvoy

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After years spent touring other zip codes and scoring movies (in both the acting and musical sense), these not-so-prodigal sons of Philadelphia are back. You can catch their mix of folk, rock, soul, and country on Friday at the Zellerbach at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m ($25 to $60 tickets are available). We caught up with Michael and the other guy to see what they have brewing in the studio. — Cheryl McEvoy

What’s your favorite part about playing in Philly?
Michael: Well, it’s been a long time. I’m not sure how many years. We played out in Phoenixville last summer, but right in Philly it’s been six or seven years.
Kevin: It’s always that hometown feeling … We don’t have as much family here, but we still have pretty strong ties. We still have a real fondness for the city and the people, so it’s fun to keep on playing.
Michael: Kevin wrote a song [for the new album] called “New Year’s Day,” and it’s about the Mummers.

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In from Nashville, Johnny Cash and June Carter will play a benefit concert in Philadelphia this week. Well, kinda. When local Johnny Cash tribute artist David Stone (pictured) performs on Friday, you probably won’t know the difference. On the phone last night, in his smoky, calculated drawl, Stone explained the difference between a tribute band and an impersonator, and probably wanted to break my legs when I brought up Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

What’s up on Friday?
It’ll be me and June Carter playing. We’re going to be doing all the duets between 1965 and 1975. You can count on “Jackson,” and “It Ain’t Me Babe.” Soroptimist International of Indian Rock is a club that helps young women get back on their feet and provides scholarships for their education. They approached us and we felt it was a good cause.

You call yourself a “representation” of Johnny Cash. What does that mean?
We provide an authentic note-for-note reproduction, complete with costume changes and authentic instruments. We keep it in character and do it with dignity. For those who haven’t seen him, we’re the next closest thing.

You’re not an impersonator?
If you look at Elvis impersonators, they give great indignity to the person their impersonating. The moves that they do are grossly exaggerated and overused. We stand for who these people were as people and what they stood for: a way of life, of hard times and hope. You’ll never see us marrying people at the Johnny Cash Chapel in Vegas.

So, no worries about a the stigma that comes with being an impersonator?
I defy anyone to look at our show and call me an impersonator. That type of person wouldn’t come to see us anyway. Screw ‘em.

How accurate is the stage show?
If something didn’t sound right, we’ll go back to the record and listen to it again. Sometimes, that even means practicing the mistakes. We found out that Johnny Cash didn’t put his guitar over his back as much as we thought he did. And there’s one suit that we got rid of because it wasn’t the right shade of black.

What did you think of Walk the Line?
I think Joaquin Phoenix did a good job at representing a very complicated character. But I don’t think he sounds much like Johnny Cash. They did a passable job on the music.

And what about Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story?
I’ve seen the trailer and I think it was … I’m not going to say. I don’t know … I’m just not going to say.

Why did you become Johnny Cash?
The rule in our family growing up was that you had to take a year of piano lessons. A minister came and played a guitar, and I asked my parents, “If the minister can play guitar, why can’t I?” The Johnny Cash Show was on television at that time and I was taken with him. Here was this great, big, tall badass. He flashed that big spiritual smile and said “I’m Johnny Cash.”

Have you ever had an audience like the one Cash played to at Folsom or San Quentin Prison?
We’re actually in talks with San Quentin to play the 40th anniversary show for the prisoners there in February 2009. I just talked to the assistant warden this morning. There’s a lot of I’s to dot and T’s to cross.

David Stone: The Johnny Cash Experience, March 28th at Spring Mill Manor, 171 Jacksonville Road, Ivyland. $45; for tickets, call 215-357-8670. Benefits the Soroptimist International of Indian Rock.

Eleven-year-old Amanda Bronte-Balon, who’s playing Annie in the touring Broadway production of, uh, Annie, called from a stop in North Carolina to talk typical tween stuff — recent birthday presents, cute dogs and the collapsing American economy. See her (and her itchy red wig) at the Academy of Music this weekend. — Amy Strauss

Happy birthday! What’d you get?
A lot of stuff. A Coach purse and a Tiffany’s bracelet.

Ooh, high roller! Which Tiffany bracelet was it?
I have no idea.

Didn’t you ask for these things?
No.

I see. So, does showbiz run in the family?
A little bit — my mom has always wanted to do it.

Yeah, that seems to be the norm. So, what do you like most? Singing, acting, dancing — you do it all. Or is performing like a box of chocolates?
Yeah, that’s basically it.

[Long pause]

OK … Moving on, how does it feel to be a part of such a great show like Annie? You’ve been doing it for a couple of years now, right?
Correct.

[Long pause]

OK …

[Long pause]

It’s a great show. It’s educational because it’s about the Great Depression. And it makes you feel really good. I love it.

You mentioned the Great Depression — are you worried about how today’s economy is going to affect the show?
Yeah.

You are? OK! Tell me, who are your role models? Are you on Team Lohan or Team Britney? Maybe more of a Miley girl?
I like Carrie Underwood.

Have you met her?
No, but I really want to.

Back to Miley — have you heard her new single?
The rock-star one?

No, the techno one, “See You Again.” It’s pretty hot.

[Long pause]

Um, any rituals or things you do before the curtains rise? A little jujitsu session? Sudoku?
I pray.

What do you pray for?
A good show and to make people happy.

That makes sense. But while you’re also backstage, do you have any demanding requests, like only green M&Ms? What do you ask for?
Nothing, really. When I go back to my dressing room, I don’t really ask for anything.

No sprinkled Pop-Tarts?
[Laughs] No.

Yeah, sprinkled Pop-Tarts are da bomb. I like the cherry ones the best.

[Long pause]

So, you must be so busy touring — how do you find time for a boyfriend?
I never dated on tour. I don’t know. Nobody really does, not even the adults.

So you’re saying there aren’t any cute boys in Annie? C’mon, who’s your Daddy Warbucks?
No one.

What about the dog? He’s cute, right?
Yeah, he’s pretty cute.

How is it wearing that red wig?
Really itchy.

I bet. Is it flame-retardant?
Ha-ha. Probably not.

Last night, poet and activist Sonia Sanchez joined composer and University of the Arts professor Evan Solot for the First Person Salon at the Gershman Y. They showcased their work-in-progress: a musical translation of Sanchez’s memoir, Does Your House Have Lions? The epic poem tells stories of Sanchez’s family, including her brother’s death from AIDS. We talked with Solot to find out how he hopes to hit a few high notes by underscoring some heavy verse.

Composing a score for a lengthy poetic memoir sounds like pretty tricky business. Have you ever done it before?
No. I’ve become increasingly interested, though, in interdisciplinary material. The intermixing and flowing of creative juices is an incredible thing. In looking over Sonia’s material, I fell in love with Does Your House Have Lions? I said to Sonia, wouldn’t it be great to do this with an orchestra and not have the singers be opera singers but R&B singers to represent you and your brother?

How is this different from composing a completely original piece?
When there’s a soul singer singing it, it’s just different — any kid on the street can get it, and they’d rather do that than read it. What I’m going for is the emotional underpinning of what’s being said. And I’ve talked to Sonia about her brother, so it’s different than reading about someone who died a century ago.

Has it been difficult channeling Sonia’s voice?
No, the difficult thing is to take something where the end of a line isn’t the end of a sentence. It breaks it up in unusual ways on the page, but that doesn’t sing right.

Do you share the same passion for activism as Sonia?
I don’t always get physically involved even though my heart’s in it. She told me to come down to City Hall to support her with Grandmothers for Peace. It’s one of those things where you watch and feel bad you’re not doing it. She’s really a feisty lady. But she’s also very kind.

Do you relate to the stories and messages in Sonia’s memoir?
It’s about the black experience and being in a less than conducive experience. I guess everyone relates to getting over hardship, but the stuff that was there was not my experience. But it’s also the idea that you come from your ancestors and return to your ancestors.

Do you worry that you’ll get it “wrong”?
I want her to appreciate what I did. But, again, it’s not an exact translation. I’m adding to it. But yeah, I worry about every note I write. But fear is the great motivator for getting things done.

These days, you don’t see people pick up a book of poems, but everyone walks around with iPods that are pumping out lyrics. Is music keeping poetry alive?
I don’t know that that’s occurring. I think that’s a possibility. I can see people coming to hear Jill Scott as Sonia’s voice. Different people who are contemporary people come to draw people in to hear the orchestra and then go back and get the book … I don’t know about saving poetry. I don’t think it needs to be saved. I think all the arts need more attention. I wish it were different and people were totally into all the arts like I am … I once said that I think of myself as a musical travel agent, and it’s up to me to send people on a trip. — Cheryl McEvoy

Veteran New York Times foreign correspondent and bestselling author Stephen Kinzer makes two appearances in town today as part of his “The Folly of Attacking Iran” tour. He hopes to clear the air about Iran and explain that — like in any rocky relationship — we don’t have to be friends, we just have to tolerate each other.

Why did you get involved with this tour?
As a staff reporter, I was not able to beat my spoon on the highchair. That’s one of the reasons I left the New York Times. … I wanted to be sure if the United States got involved in a military confrontation with a country I knew something about, I would be free to speak about it. I do not want to wake up and hear that missiles are falling on Iran and think that “You didn’t do anything to prevent this.”

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