McGuinn, Starship, Murder and 'Monologues' Headline Stage Menu

Chicago (South Side)

Roger McGuinn, the legendary 1960s rock icon, Chicago native and original member of the Byrds, returns to Beverly Arts Center with his wonderfully soft yet powerful voice for an evening of most memorable song and conversation.

SouthScene spoke with McGuinn this week about his music, life and concerts.

For starters, his last name is pronounced McGwinn. "That's how our family has always said it," McGuinn said.

He was born Jim McGuinn, but during the rock era, a guru urged him to change it to Roger, a better fit with the universe. Asked if he still follows the guru, McGuinn explained, "No, I've returned to a more personal relationship with God, Jesus."

Asked about the 1960s before the Byrds were universally recognized, McGuinn recalled the early days when the band opened for the Rolling Stones.

"We only knew about 10 songs," he said. However, the Stones were late one night and the Byrds had to keep playing. What did they do to fill the time? 

"We started playing Rolling Stones songs," he quipped, adding that the music was well received.

Today McGuinn's performances go beyond music, and there's not enough time for him on stage, certainly not according to this Patch reporter. Iconic folk artist Pete Seeger motivated McGuinn to make a change in his own performance style. 

"He (Seeger) sang and was also very conversational, connected with the audience and made people feel as if they were in his living room," McGuinn said.

In fact, that's exactly how SouthScene responded to a McGuinn concert a few years ago. The musician, one of the finest guitarists in the business, walked on stage, sat down and began to chat with the audience.

Of course, he also sang—a lot—numbers from his Folk Den collection and classic Byrds favorites including “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” He relied on his self-designed seven-string guitar for the distinctive and instantly identifiable opening chords of both blockbuster numbers.

See next week's SouthScene for more about McGuinn's guitar, his approach to music in the 21st century, a Peter Fonda memory from the CB radio days, and he and wife Camilla McGuinn's increasing reliance on solar energy. Oh yes, and the Lear jet—flying upside down.

When: 8 p.m., June 3
Where: Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., Chicago (southwest corner of Western Avenue and 111th Street)
Cost: $30; $27 for members
Tickets and information: www.beverlyartcenter.org and 773-445-3838 

Chicago Heights

Eve Ensler's acclaimed and controversial production, The Vagina Monologues, heads to the south suburbs in early June. 

South Suburban Family Shelter brings the show to stage for the V-Day campaign, "a global movement to end violence against women and girls through benefit productions of Ensler's award-winning play," said show director Brigid McCormick.

Yes, this script absolutely is geared for adults. SSFS production manager Vicki Meilach cautions, "This production contains strong adult content and language and is meant for an adult audience."

When: 7 :30 p.m., June 3 and 4:30 p.m., June 5
Where: Prairie State College, 202 S. Halsted St., Chicago Heights

Cost: $15, two tickets for $25

Tickets and information: Contact Vicki Meilach at SSFS, 708-794-2140, ext. 303

Chicago Heights

American playwright Neil Simon finds the humor in life's toughest times, including the struggles of basic training for soldiers heading off to the battlefield in World War II. Biloxi Blues, set in the Biloxi Army base, Simon's 21st play to make it to the Broadway stage, garnered a Tony Award in 1985.

The Army training camp down in Biloxi, Miss., along with Simon's semi-autobiographical Eugene Morris Jerome, pulls the Drama Group back to the 1940s on the Studio Theatre stage and promises laughter and no doubt some tears. 

When: 7:30 p.m., June 10, 11, 17, 18, and matinees at 2 p.m., June 12 and 19

Where: Drama Group Studio Theatre, 202 W. 202nd St., Chicago Heights

Cost: $18, $17 seniors and students

Tickets and information: 708-755-3444 and the Drama Group online.

Frankfort

The full story behind President Abraham Lincoln's assassination has never been told, according to author Nora Titone, who reveals what she has uncovered while researching the Booth family. Titone will speak at the Frankfort Public Library early next moth.

Her book, My Thoughts Be Bloody, brings to light another character in addition to Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth. Edwin Booth, four years older than John, appears to be a key figure in Titone's story.

Titone has accessed Booth family private letters and diaries to bolster her information and belief behind Booth's rise to fame as the most notorious assassin in American history.

When: 7 p.m., June 6

Where: Frankfort Public Library, 21119 Pfeiffer Rd., Frankfort
Cost: Free, registration required
Information: 815-469-2423 and at Lincoln assassination discussion 

Homer Glen

Victorian Village presents Concerts on the Green, a series of free, open-to-the-public musical productions. The summer opens with Nifty Fifties and Sixties starring the Legacy Girls, who bring the mid-20th century era to life via their music.

When: 6:30 - 7:30 p.m., June 2
Where: Victorian Village, 12600 Renaissance Drive, Homer Glen

Cost: Free, registration required
Information: 708-301-0800

New Lexox

Patch editors have unraveled a music mystery in advance of Starship's upcoming concert in New Lenox, the first of the Triple Play Summer Series.

It turns out two legendary rock bands have rights to the name Starship. There's Jefferson Starship, which evolved from the legendary Jefferson Airplane of the 1960s. And there's Starship, minus the Jefferson. Plain Starship evolved from Jefferson Starship. Following us? Both bands rocked the airwaves with megahits in the latter part of the 20th century. 

So which Starship will land in New Lenox next week? Mickey Thomas and Starship—no Jefferson. Starship hit the charts in the late 1970s into the '80s with several tracks, including “No Way Out,” “We Built This City” and “Sara.”

Bernie Glim and Country Roads along with M&R Rush will open for Starship. 

Bring blankets and chairs. Outside food and beverages are prohibited but will be sold on the premises.

When: Gates open at 5:30 p.m., concert at dusk, June 4.

Where: Village Hall Performing Arts Pavilion, 1 Veterans Parkway, New Lenox

Cost: $60 covers all three concerts including Cheap Trick on Aug. 6 and REO Speedwagon, Sept. 3. Separate tickets not available at this time.

Tickets and information: 815-462-6400 and at Village Hall

Oak Lawn

How sweet it is ... the Oak Lawn Park District Theatre presents Sugar, the musical version of the classic 1959 Billy Wilder comedy Some Like It Hot (which starred Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis). The show, with a stellar cast of Southland actors, opens June 3 and runs for two consecutive weekends.

So here's the setup. Joe and Jerry, two unemployed musicians, unfortunately happen to witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. As mob targets themselves now, they need to get out of town before Spats Palazzo and his thugs find them.

There is a temporary solution. Joe and Jerry go in drag and join up with an all-women's band hopping a train for a gig at a Miami Beach Hotel. Needless to say, the escapade becomes ... well, you need to see this for yourself. Oak Lawn's musical productions stand with the best of community shows, and tickets do sell quickly. So grab your ticket, and gear up for some big-time laughs.

When: 8 p.m., June 3, 4 and 10, 11; matinees 3 p.m. June 5, 12
Where: Oak View Center, 4625 W. 110th St., Oak Lawn

Cost: $21 ($20 for seniors and children)

Tickets and information: 708-857-2200 

Orland Park

The Orland Park Public Library features photographer Michelle Shinners, who will display many of her photos and talk about how she selects her subjects.

"Shinner extracts the extraordinary from the everyday minutia of our world to create vignettes that intrigue and amuse," the library release says. Nature in its seasonal transition phases and "the ephemeral moments of childhood" also capture her attention.

When: 7-8 p.m., June 3
Where: Orland Park Public Library, 14921 S. Ravinia Drive

Cost: Free

Information: Michelle Shinners program and 708-428-5100

Park Forest

Shouts and Whispers, a lifetime in photography retrospective exhibition by Donald W. Kouba, opens tonight at Tall Grass Gallery.

In his artist's statement, Kouba says, "A (photographic) shot is a public proclamation, an emphatic call to a mass audience, a bold outburst of emotion ...

"A whisper, on the other hand, is intended as an intimate, private communication between two friends ..."

When: Through July 17, and gallery hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
Where: Tall Grass Gallery, 367 Artists Walk, Park Forest

Cost: Free

Information: Tall Grass Arts Association and 708-748-3377 

Park Forest

The Midwest Motet Society presents its spring concert, The MMS Goes POP! in early June under the direction of founder Marie Grass Amenta. Technically a form of sacred music, the motet is a rather obscure form of vocal music.

Amenta takes the concert program away from authentic motet form with Shakespeare songs by Matthew Harris, madrigals and choir pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

When: 4 .m., June 4

Where: Trinity Lutheran Church, 2901 Western Ave., Park Forest

Cost: $5 in advance, $7 at the door

Tickets and information: 708-206-0380, Midwest Motet Society, P.O. Box 706, Flossmoor, IL 60422 

Tinley Park

Tinley Park native Bill Renje will discuss his book, A Chosen Bullet, which chronicles his struggle with issues that took him to the edge. A bullet changed his life, and he went on to win Paralympic gold, begin a wonderful marriage and launch a successful business career.

"My book is a cautionary tale because it illustrates the disastrous consequences of bad decision making," he says in a news release. "But it's also a story of hope because ultimately, I'm extremely thankful for that bullet."

When: 7 p.m., June 1

Where: , 7851 Timber Drive, Tinley Park; meeting rooms A and B.
Cost: Free, but registration requested at www.tplibrary.org
Information: Website above and 708-532-0160, ext. 3

Tinley Park

Who Killed the Godfather? Fans of CSI, NCIS and of course, The Godfather book and film series, will have the chance to help solve a murder mystery in this interactive death investigation dinner theater event at . Tickets to "the murder" include not only the opportunity to check out your detective skills but a buffet dinner as well.

When:  6:30 p.m., June 6

Where: , 17332 Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park
Cost: $30, reservations required

Information: 708-532-3051