APT stage as evening falls. Photo Pete Olsen

Hillary Clemens, Matt Schwader, Tiffany Scott, "As You Like It." Photo by Carissa Dixon.

Nestled amid the bucolic hills of Wisconsin that inspired Frank Lloyd Wright is a specular gem of a theater that for more than three decades has produced classic works garnering  incredible acclaim from the Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune, among others… American Players Theatre. Folks from Chicago and the great state of Illinois have played a significant role in helping APT to thrive and so APT and Spring Green are happy to extend a special “thank you”   with two Chicago Open House Weekends, Friday-Sunday, Aug. 20 – 22 and Sept. 10 – 12. Illinoisans taking advantage of these weekends will have eight plays to choose from for receive exclusive ticket discounts ranging from 20%-25% off regular single ticket prices. Other benefits include free admission to APT’s Bard Talks discussion series, the chance to attend a welcome event with APT artists and a special Passport card good for discounts at area establishments, including House on the Rock and Taliesin. A mere 3 1/2 hours from Chicago, these Chicago Open House Weekends make for a great late summer getaway! For reservations and more information visit AmericanPlayers.org.

Kids watch baby chicks hatch before their very eyes at "Eggs to Chicks" exhibit!

It’s back! An exhibit favorite amongst the young “peep-le,” Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago has opened its annual seasonal “eggs-hibit” Eggs to Chicks! (Okay okay, I’ll stop the puns, but it’s so hard to resist!)

Featuring a special child-height egg incubator, hatchery unit and a pen for newborn chicks, Eggs to Chicks provides a very memorable educational opportunity for children to experience the cycle of life. With more than 200 eggs being hatched at the Museum, the delivery and incubation times of the eggs ensure they are always hatching!

This year the exhibit features the rare Black Java and White Java strains of chicken, which were endangered species earlier this decade.  Kohl Children’s Museum partners with Garfield Farm Museum in suburban La Fox in their endeavor to help repopulate the species.  All chicks hatched will be delivered to a farm in Wisconsin where they will continue to be used for egg production and species repopulation. Sponsored by Feldco, the exhibit is open through May 10, 2010.

President Obama just marked his one year anniversary in the White House and, in a very timely turn of events, Center East presents acclaimed investigative journalist Bob Woodward and “From Nixon To Bush: What President Obama Can Learn From Past Presidencies” as part of its “In The Headlines” speaker series sponsored by WBBM NewsRadio 780 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd. Saturday, Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. This Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and co-author/author of best-selling nonfiction books including “All the President’s Men” (1974), “The Commanders” (1991), “Bush at War” (2002) and “Plan of Attack” (2004) has been hailed by The New York Times  as “the most famous investigative reporter in America. 

Woodward was recently quoted on ABC News as saying, “The new administration is taking a very aggressive stance on these matters and perhaps even more than the Bush administration, doing more about the al Qaeda sanctuaries in places like Yemen.” Word is that Woodward has a new book in process scheduled to come out later this year, and that he is getting access to senior officials and will likely sit down with the president.It hasn’t been announced  but it would seem possible that Woodward could provide a bit of a glimpse into what he’s found out when he addresses the Centre East audience on the 30th. 

This evening may not be your traditional date-night type of entertainment, but it’s virtually guaranteed to be fascinating, thought-provoking and one evening you won’t forget soon. Tickets are $45-$75 plus Woodward is scheduled to be signing books in the lobby immediately after.

The PIZZA is here!

Today, Kohl Children’s Museum opened its newest exhibition – “Pizza: Any Way you Slice It!”

This interactive exhibit, created by Omaha Children’s Museum, will be open through Sunday, May 24, 2010. “Pizza: Any Way You Slice It!” teaches the basics of math by encouraging playful, open-ended exploration based on one of America’s favorite foods.

Using the activities of making pizza, delivering pizza and pretending to eat pizza, children are learning. Hands-on exhibit areas encourage counting, sorting, measuring, gathering, matching, patterning, sequencing, role-playing and sharing.

Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago is located at 2100 Patriot Blvd. in Glenview, IL

Admission to Kohl Children’s Museum is $7.50 for children and adults and $6.50 for senior citizens. Children under 1 year old and members are free. www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org or call (847) 832-6600.

Say cheese!  

The masters of musical political satire, the Capitol Steps, return to the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in  Skokie Jan. 21 -24. This coincides with President Obama’s one year anniversary in office so the timing could not be more perfect!

The Capitol Steps have been a long standing Centre East audience favorite and their take on last  year’s Blogo- gate shenanigans was a major spotlight in their January 2009 North Shore  engagement. Back then, the Steps were just beginning to get a  sense of  the President Elect  and one of their biggest challenges in doing so was that he was almost too perfect. But its a year later  and with all the issues  from health care to the recent  Holiday airline security snafu to the  escalation in Afghanistan in the news, I can’t wait to see what they’ll feature in their North Shore performances this time ( I’m personally hoping they’ll treat us to a line or two of “O Rahm O Rahm Emanuel”).  If you’ve never enjoyed a Capitol Steps show before you can get a taste of their humor by visiting their website and snagging a listen from their  recent New Year’s Eve Radio Special …but, better yet, catch one of their shows!  The Saturday and Sunday shows are almost sold out but the Thursday and Friday shows still have seats AND some seats are as low as $25. For more info, visit www.northshorecenter.org.

Award winning jazz vocalist performs live Jan. 12

A 22 year-old New York-based vocalist and Downbeat Student Music Award winner in the category of Best Jazz Vocalist, releases her debut recording “Certain Surprise”  tomorrow night!

Described as a crossover artist with roots in jazz, Arlen is a classification-defying singer who embraces songs in a way that belies her relative youth.   Her interpretations both honor the composer’s style and intent and adds a very personal and contemporary relevance.

Evanston Space, 1245 Chicago Ave., Tuesday, Jan. 12 @ 8 p.m. Tickets range in price from $10 – 20 and can be obtained through the Evanston SPACE website, evanstonspace.com.

Listen to CD sampling at http://www.myspace.com/jessiearlen. The debut recording can be purchased beginning Tuesday, Jan. 12 on Jessiearlen.com.

Centre East presents the Grammy Award-winning group, The Klezmatics, in “Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah!”   the last day of the Jewish holiday Saturday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. The show intermingles Klezmer music with American folk and bluegrass and is perfect for all ages.

Klezmatics are globally renowned world music superstars and the only klezmer band to win a Grammy Award and you’ve probably seen and/or heard them on HBO’s “Sex and the City,” NPR’s “Prairie Home Companion” and a whole lot of other places. They include:

• Frank London who Paul Wieder/JUF Interactive hails as “Arguably the most important Jewish horn player since Joshua picked up a shofar;”
• Matt Darriau (clarinets, sax, kaval) who has recorded and performed with David Byrne, Marc Ribot, Roberto Rodriguez, Ben Folds Five and many others in the New York scene;
• Lisa Gutkin’s (fiddler/composer) who has appeared with The Roches, Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega to name a few;
• Paul Morrissett (bass, tsimbl) is a collector and player of Eastern European and Scandinavian folk instruments and records and performs on an impressive array of ethnic strings, winds and reeds;
• Lorin Sklamberg (lead vocals, accordion, guitar, piano) a founding member of The Klezmatics, has been heard on numerous recordings and live shows, solo and in collaboration with such artists as Itzhak Perlman, Paradox Trio, Hip Hop Hoodios Emmylou Harris, Tracy Grammer and Neil Sedaka;
• and Richie Barshay (drums), who has been a member of the Herbie Hancock Quartet since 2003 and was recently singled out as “a player to watch” by JazzTimes magazine.

So how did Woody Guthrie get inspired to write for Hanukkah?  In 1942, Woody Guthrie, through his mother-in-law, Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt, became involved with the Coney Island Jewish community and decided to write some songs about Hanukkah, Jewish history and spiritual life. After his death in 1967, the songs sat forgotten in archives for decades. But in 1998 the songs were discovered by Woody’s daughter, Nora Guthrie, and she asked the Klezmatics exclusively to write new music for the lyrics. The result, “Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah!,”

Tickets are $48.  Free parking available. For more info, call 847-673-6300 or visit northshorecenter.org.

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North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie
9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, IL 60077 Map | More Info…

Sesame Street Live returns to the Rosemont Theatre with Elmo’s Green Thumb!  Discounted tickets available for group of 10 or more.  May 6-9, 2010, $10-35.  Call GroupTix today for reservations and information: 877-447-7849 www.grouptix.net