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Arts & Entertainment

Music of ABBA, Logan, Celts, Cowboys Join '39 Steps' for Southland Carnival of Arts

This week featuring events from South Side Chicago, Chicago Heights, Frankfort, Homewood, Joliet, Mokena, New Lenox, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Palos Hills, Park Forest and University Park.

Chicago (South Side)

Aurora-based artist John Stanicek’s graphic design and sculpture exhibit continues at Saint Xavier University. Stanicek’s exhibit depicts his interpretation of human exposure to the machines and their components.

When: Through April 5. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Saint Xavier University Warde Academic Center, 3700 W. 103rd St.
Cost: Free
Information: 773-298-3081

Chicago Heights

Union Street Gallery continues its national juried exhibit, Word and Numbers, billed as “a fun, clever and animated show.” Union Street Gallery exhibits are free.

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When: Through April 2. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 6 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Union Street Gallery, 1527 Otto Blvd.
Cost: Free
Information: 708-754-2601

Frankfort

unveils an all-new exhibit, Persona, by local artist Eve Jensen. The exhibit features primarily graphite drawings, but Jensen includes pastels and oils as well. The images, all of trees, are explained in Jensen's artist's statement: "My current work is a grouping of graphite drawings of trees, with deep appreciation for their beauty and strength."

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When: Artist reception 6 to 9 p.m. March 18; gallery hours, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Where 3 W. Nebraska St., Frankfort
Cost: Free
Information: 815-464-8818 

Homewood

Under the direction of Albert M. Jackson, the South Suburban College Evening Chorale will perform in concert at in Homewood.

When: 4 p.m., March 20
Where: St. Joseph Catholic Church, 17951 S. Dixie Highway
Cost: Free
Information: 708-596-2000, ext. 2349

Joliet

Dancing Queen and other classic 1970s blockbuster hits from the legendary ABBA will dazzle the Joliet stage audience with an exclusive ABBA-sanctioned tribute production, Music of ABBA, direct from Sweden. Several members of the original ABBA backup band bring even more authenticity to this show that has received rave reviews. Songs, arrangements and exact copies of ABBA’s original costumes will no doubt have audience members forget they are not watching the original hit makers. This is a one-show-only performance in the region.

When: 7:30 p.m., March 24
Where: Rialto Square Theatre, 102 N. Chicago St., Joliet
Cost: $28 to $65
Information: www.rialtosquare.com, 815-726-6600 and all Ticketmaster outlets.

Mokena

Country a Western artist Cal Star, with Lori Williams, David Molinari and Jeff Weishaer, take the audience back to the Old West and the wild range with a concert of traditional cowboy classics as well as Silver Screen gems from legendary heroes Roy Rogers and Gene Autry and more.

When: 1 to 2:30 p.m., March 19
Where: Mokena Community Public Library District, 11227 W. 195th St.
Cost: Free
Information: 708-479-9663 and www.mokena.lib.il.us

New Lenox

Curtain Call Community Theatre’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee already boasts several sell-out performances and tickets continue to move quickly. The hilarious and popular musical comedy finds several adolescents vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. A bunch of quirky outsiders add to the fun and the show is pure delight.

Curtain Call is recognized locally as one of several outstanding community theater groups. If you have not seen this show, take the time and grab some laughs. If you have seen it, well, spring is a great time to see it once more.

When: Tickets remain for 2 p.m. March 26; 7:30 p.m. March 31 and April 1; 2 p.m. April 3. All other shows sold out.
Where: Curtain Call’s Warehouse Theatre, 12535 Old Plank Road
Cost: $15 general admission
Information: 708-699-2228

New Lenox

An extraordinary guitar festival will bring performers and their instruments from around the country as well as from Austria to next week.

The Mid-American Guitar Ensemble Festival weekend will feature William Kanengiser, the Austrian Guitar Duo, 15 collegiate guitar ensembles and guitar students from all four Lincoln-Way District 210 high schools.

The March 25 evening will feature the 15 college performance groups.

The Austrian Guitar Duo will perform on March 26, and the March 27 concert will include Kanengiser and the Mid-American Guitar Festival Orchestra with the collegiate groups and students from the Lincoln-Way District schools.

Kanengiser will solo during the performance with the guitar orchestra directed by Lincoln-Way’s Nate Jackson.

When: 7:30 p.m. March 25, 7:30 p.m. March 26 and 1:30 p.m. March 27.
Where: Lincoln-Way Central Performing Arts Center, 1801 E. Lincoln Highway
Cost: $5 for the March 25 and 27 events; $10 for March 26; $17 for the entire festival package of three concerts
Information: 815-462-2100 

Oak Lawn

Imagine finding yourself in the middle of a musical of an earlier era. Which one would it be?

The Oak Lawn Park District takes that theme to the max in its first production of 2011, The Drowsy Chaperone. The year is 1928, and a somewhat reclusive character is about to play a recording of his favorite show, yes, The Drowsy Chaperone. The characters magically appear and the recluse's dingy apartment is transformed into a musical stage setting.

The 1998 fantasy play-within-a-play opened in 1998 in Toronto and went on to win several Tony Awards when it arrived in New York.

Oak Lawn’s community theater productions in the past have been stellar, and this one no doubt will follow suit and delight audiences. Oak Lawn shows often sell out quickly, so anyone who is thinking about seeing this one should act quickly.

When: March 18 to 20 and March 25 to 27; show times 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday performances.
Where: , 4625 W. 110th St.
Cost: $21, $20 seniors, students and children under 12
Information: 708-857-2200 

Orland Park

It’s almost laugh-it-up time again in Orland Park as the Comedy Improv Group prepares for its next performance. These shows are not geared to children but rather to mid-teens and older.

When: 8 p.m., March 25
Where: , 14413 Beacon Ave.
Cost: $6 at the door
Information: 708-403-7275

Palos Hills

Celtic Crossroads, a fresh new show from Ireland, will light up the Moraine Valley stage with a fusion of traditional Irish music, bluegrass, gypsy and jazz “while pulsating with the rhythms of Irish dance percussion,” the release states.

Traditional Irish instruments will be featured, including uillean pipes, whistles, low whistles, the Celtic harp, fiddles, flutes and the bodhran, an Irish drum long associated with Celtic music.

When: 7:30 p.m., March 26
Where: Dorothy Menker Theater, , 9000 W. College Parkway
Cost: $30, $25 seniors and $20 students
Information: 708-974-5500 and www.morainevalley.edu/FPAC 

Park Forest

Illinois Theatre Center continues its flight with Marc Camoletti’s Boeing Boeing, a fast-paced comedy. This humorous script premiered in 1960 Paris and has soared since then with numerous stage productions as well a 1965 U.S. feature film version starring Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis. Other adaptations have hit the big screen in India, Netherlands, Norway and Germany as well.

Set in the early years of passenger jet flight, the nutty plot revolves around a Parisian architect who manages three simultaneous affairs with “air hostesses” who, of course, work for three different airlines and have no clue the others exist.

No surprise, faster jet engines eventually trigger a major problem when the three women wind up in town at the same time.

Ross Lehman stars in the ITC production directed by David Boettcher.

When: Through March 20; show times 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Illinois Theatre Center, 371 Artists Walk, Downtown Park Forest
Cost: $22 Friday and Saturday; $20 all other performances, $1 discount for students and seniors.
Information: 708-481-3510 

Park Forest

Tall Grass Arts Association Gallery continues its new exhibit, Half the Sky, in celebration of Women’s History Month. The exhibit title is based on a Chinese proverb, “Women hold up half the sky,” Tall Grass show details state.

A walk through this show reveals surprise after glorious surprise. The various media, colors and the bold spirit in this potpourri of artworks reflect the strength of women as rendered by the talented artists.

When: Show runs through May 8. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Where: Tall Grass Arts Association Gallery, 367 Artists Walk, Downtown Park Forest
Cost: Exhibits are always free.
Information: 708-748-3377 

University Park

Veterinarian Ava Logan of Orland Park switches to her sultry jazz artist self this weekend for a cabaret show at Center for Performing Arts stage at Governors State University.

Yes, you read that right. Logan is an animal physician, medical researcher and jazz artist with a worldwide resume having toured Russia last year.

“When I was in college, my father found letters he wrote to my grandfather when I was about three,” Logan said.

“She (Ava) sings to commercials on the radio,” her father wrote. 

"I did a lot of acting in high school but really wanted to do musical theater,” Logan said.

She continued her musical pursuits at Yale University while majoring in biology.

“You’ve heard of the all-male a cappella Whiffenpoofs at Yale, haven’t you?” she asked. “I was one of seven co-founders of Whim 'n Rhythm, the women’s a cappella group at Yale. We started it 30 years ago.”

Logan’s passion for singing jazz grew … but like many young people focused on show business, she was advised to “get a real job.”

“I had majored in biology, and veterinary medicine seemed like the right choice," she said.

Logan continues to work, now part-time, in medical research making certain the animals “are healthy and treated humanely.” She also substitutes when needed at a feline clinic in the city.

But her passion remains jazz, and her music career continues to steam forward.

“I love this music and love to have fun with it, share it with audiences and get them involved,” she said.

Logan will do just that Saturday when she stars in the Center’s final Cabaret production of the season.

The extraordinarily creative Cabaret concept brings the audience on stage with the artists in the style of 1940s nightclubs. With room for 200 guests seated at tables, and a menu of snacks, soft drinks and cocktails, the cabaret evening creates a distinctly retro setting for 21st-century entertainment.

When: 8 p.m., March 19
Where: Center for Performing Arts, Governors State University, 1 University Parkway, University Park
Cost: $37
Information: 708-235-2222 and www.centertickets.net 

University Park

Attention Alfred Hitchcock fans: Wow, you are in for a total weekend centered on the classic mystery, The 39 Steps, a 1935 Hitchcock film starring Robert Donat that is a must for all espionage and thriller aficionados.

An immersion weekend of 39 Steps awaits those who dare.

On March 25, the original Hollywood thriller will be screened, popcorn included, as a prelude to the next night’s entertainment, all at Center for Performing Arts.

Admission to the screening is free, and for those who want to stay, a panel discussion, featuring arts professionals from Governors State University, will follow.

While avid Hitchcock enthusiasts no doubt will savor the big screen viewing of this 76-year-old treasure, all will need a genuine sense of levity to appreciate the March 26 stage version.

The comic adaptation, Alfred Hitchcock’s 39 Steps, “is full of laughs and thrills as a wrongly accused hero crosses England to clear his name, only to encounter murderous spies, an icy blond and other unforgettable characters,” the press release explains. “The action never stops as four actors perform 150 parts.”

When: 7 p.m., March 25 for the film; 8 p.m., March 26 for the stage production.
Where: Film screening at Engbretson Hall at Governors State University; stage version at Center for Performing Arts, GSU, 1 University Parkway, University Park
Cost: Film, free; play tickets $31 to $46
Information: 708-235-2222 and www.centertickets.net 

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