theater

The Theatre of Western Springs launches its next Cattell Lecture Series with “A Conversation with Joseph Drummond.” He is the recipient of the Jeff Award for Lifetime Achievement after 25 years of stage management at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. The free lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23, in the Cattell Wing of TWS, 4384 Hampton Ave., Western Springs.
 
Most recently serving as production stage manager for the Goodman Theatre’s production of “Animal Crackers,” Drummond is in his 36th season with Goodman Theatre, having stage managed numerous shows at Goodman, as well as the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. He also teaches stage management at Roosevelt University and has been a guest speaker at several area universities.
 
Named for the founder and first artistic director of the Theatre of Western Springs, Mary Cattell, the lecture series is an ongoing program featuring Chicago-area theater professionals in a conversational exchange about the craft of theater.
 
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call TWS at (708) 246-4043 or visit www.theatrewesternsprings.com.

To help guide you to the myriad entertainment options ready to be unwrapped this holiday season, we’ve collected a sampling of some of the best shows, festivals and activities around.

Symphony sparkles

WHAT Returning to its regular venue by popular demand, Elgin Symphony Orchestra performs “Home for the Holidays,” featuring the Elgin Choral Union, Elgin Children’s Chorus and vocal soloist Nathaniel Stampley. He was featured on the orchestra’s Copland recording and was one of three actors who played the patriarch lion Mufasa in the Broadway production of “The Lion King.” Robert Hanson will conduct the rousing holiday arrangements for which the award-winning orchestra is known.
WHERE The Hemmens Theatre, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin
WHEN 3:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12; and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13
COST $28 to $62
CONTACT (847) 888-4000; www.ElginSymphony.org

Robert Hanson will conduct the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s “Home for the Holidays” performances with guest choirs and soloist Nathaniel Stampley of Broadway’s “The Lion King.” SUBMITTED PHOTO

Expect the unexpected when "New Moon" opens in theaters nationwide this Friday.

Movie theaters in the suburbs are preparing for this much anticipated movie by offering special events in honor of its release this weekend.

The Oak Brook Academy of Music & Art will be raising funds and awareness of a disease that has nearly crippled one of their own.

Three years ago, Julia Moberly was a vibrant 11-year-old student of acting and voice at the Academy when she was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease. The group of related metabolic diseases causes cell injury to its victims and sometimes death. In the past three years, Julia has suffered innumerable localized seizures, been hospitalized several times and lost much of her ability to move her limbs and speak.

(From left) Dan Cassin of Clarendon Hills, Ashley Heaney of Villa Park, Chris Anderson of Clarendon Hills and Julia Moberly of Hinsdale rehearse for "Into The Woods." SUBMITTED PHOTO

When Noble Fool Theatricals presents its holiday show, "Plaid Tidings," at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, 100 percent of ticket proceeds will benefit Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley.
 
“The Forever Plaid” four-part harmony group returns thanks to a heavenly phone call from Rosemary Clooney. The heaven-sent boys (Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie) are back to sing songs of the Thirties, Forties and Fifties in a "Plaid-erized" version of Christmas. The show includes a comic tribute to Ed Sullivan’s Christmas spectaculars, featuring such performers as the Rockettes, the Chipmunks and The Vienna Boys Choir.
 
“Donate any amount to Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley and receive ‘free’ tickets as our thanks,” says the agency. It notes regular ticket cost is $29 to $39. The show is presented at Pheasant Run, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles.
 
For more information or to reserve tickets, call (630) 584-4428 or visit www.lvfv.org/events/theaterbenefit.

The talents of 200 students, staff members and parent volunteers are coming together in “The Wizard of Oz,” which opens this weekend at Morton West High School. Janine Delmonico, the show’s director, invites the community to enjoy the entertainment. The production features 50 performers, supported by 25 crew members and a 10-piece pit orchestra. 

The Scarecrow (Justin Wych, front left), Dorothy (Izis Mollinedo) and fellow Morton West High School cast members, including The Tin Man (Rafael Gutierrez), rehearse a dance number for “The Wizard of Oz.”  STAFF PHOTOS BY BILL  ACKERMAN

It's dramatic. It's funny. And it's delicious.

"Murder at the Hawaiian Luau" is a comedic murder mystery dinner theater that will be performed at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at the Ruffled Feathers Golf Club, 1 Pete Dye Drive, Lemont.

This farcical show, presented in a dinner theatre format is tailored for audiences 18 and older but appropriate for audiences of all ages, and involves the attendees in an interactive “whodunit” extravaganza with a hawaiian theme. Top professional actors from the Chicago area have been recruited for the show, as the audience joins in the fun by helping to solve the “crime.”

Tickets are $50 per person and includes the live show, dinner and DJ. A cash bar is available. Reservations are suggested, as seating is limited.

For tickets or for more information, call Myles Above Productions, Inc. at (630) 728-3813.

Understand what it means to go to war and what it takes to come home with the Elmhurst College Theatre production of "Tracers," just in time for Veterans Day.

"Tracers" is a drama conceived by John DiFusco, "Tracers" was developed, written and originally performed by Vietnam veterans. Performances will be Nov. 12-14 and 19-21 at the Mill Theatre, 253 Walter St., Elmhurst. A post-show discussion follows Thursday, Nov. 19 performance.

Batavia High School presents the updated version of the classic play “Twelve Angry Men,” today known as “Twelve Angry Jurors.” It is directed by Josh Casburn, and features two casts who invite the community to catch the drama.

Twelve jurors deliberate on what is supposed to be an open and shut murder case, until one juror swims against the powerful current of opinion, attempting to convince the other jurors to take a second look at the evidence. Tempers flare as two of them stand off about the murder case. 

In an unusual twist, the two lead actors, the male (played by Griffin Price), and the female (Darcy Coussens), alternate roles each night, emphasizing the complicated struggle for justice in every juror, affected by gender, background and prejudices as they make morally difficult decisions.

Village Theatre Guild will conduct auditions for “Rabbit Hole” by David Lindsay-Abaire. They take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at the theater at Park Boulevard and Butterfield Road, Glen Ellyn.

The show will be performed weekends from Jan. 15 to Feb. 6, directed by Bill Burghardt.