Southland's Summer Shines on 'Biloxi Blues,' Big Bands, Jazz Bands, Rock Bands and More.

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 Allied battlefields of World War II. 

Set at the mid-1940s Biloxi Army base, Biloxi Blues is the second in Simon's semi-autobiographical trilogy that also includes Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound.

Eugene Jerome, Simon's protagonist, heads to boot camp in Biloxi and along with the other recruits, serves under a brutal drill sergeant. The play follows Jerome and his bunkmates through the days of basic training with all its trials and tribulations.

And yes, Simon, now 83, did enlist in the Army in 1945 at 18. The war ended shortly after he joined the military and while he did not see combat, Simon did serve his nation.

More about the production next week, after SouthScene sees it this weekend.

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, 330 W. 202nd St., Chicago Heights

Cost: $18, $17 seniors and students

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

Country Club Hills

The legendary Isley Brothers' White Night concert tour opens the Stars in the Hills summer concert season at the dramatic 3,000-seat Country Club Hills Theater, an outdoor venue with several seating options including a covered pavilion.

The R&B superstars began as a gospel group in the mid-20th century. Twist and Shout, later covered by the Beatles, was the Isley Brothers' first big hit in 1962 followed by another blockbuster in 1966, the Motown track This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You). A string of R&B classics and popular concerts have kept the Isley Brothers on the radar screen for decades. In short, the Isley Brothers are here to stay. 

When:  7 p.m., June 11
Where: Country Club Hills Theater, 4108 W. 183rd St., Country Club Hills
Cost: $15-$80 for Country Club Hills residents, $20-$95 for non-resident
Tickets and information: Box office, 4108 W. 183rd St. and www.countryclubhillstheater.org 

Homewood

At 25 years and counting, the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District's Starry Nights Summer Concert Series kicks off with the Stanley Paul Orchestra. A Chicagoland favorite, this orchestra boasts a repertoire of just about every kind of music. Well, probably not metal. However, swing dance lessons will give anyone who wants to get up and move the chance to learn some authentic steps and then strut their stuff!

Singer Phallon Antoinette opens the show.

When: 7 p.m., June 10
Where: Irwin Park Bandshell 18120 S. Highland Ave. (at Ridge Road), Homewood
Cost: $8, $5 for children
Tickets and information: Homewood-Flossmoor Park District and 708-957-0300. In case of rain, ticket-holders are asked to call 708-957-8152, ext. 19 for an alternate location. Be sure to bring lawn chairs and blankets.

Homewood

All that jazz will fill the air at Ravisloe Country Club when the launches its second Summer Music at Ravisloe series of intimate, chamber concerts next week. 

Roosevelt Griffin, a dynamo onstage, will lead the Prairie State College Southland Jazz Band of 18 professional musicians in a program of jazz classics that span the ages of the distinctly American music genre.

When: 7:30 p.m., June 15
Where: Ravisloe Country Club, 18231 Park Ave., Homewood
Cost: $30 per ticket
Tickets and information: 708-481-7774 and www.ipomusic.org 

Homewood

The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District presents its summer series of Community Band Concerts each covering a broad repertoire of music including classical masterworks, show-stoppers from Broadway to Hollywood and pop favorites. The series opens next week.

When: 8 p.m., June 16, 23, July 14 and 21
Where: Irwin Community Center Bandshell, 18120 S. Highland Ave. (at Ridge Road), Homewood.
Cost: Free
Information: 708-957-7275 

New Lenox

Spotlight Theatre debuts its all-new home in New Lenox with Eric Bogosian's dark comedy, Talk Radio, a play focused on Barry Champion, described as a "wild card, a maverick" talk radio host. Barry's often outrageous commentary triggers the gamut of reactions from callers, all the way from supportive to genuinely threatening.

The night before his program is picked up by stations across the continental U.S., Barry's boss cautions him to go easy on the air so sponsors do not drop the show before it's national debut. 

Spotlight's Jeff Gamlin directs. "It's a well-written script that rings even truer now than it did when first written (1987)," Gamlin says. "Barry tells listeners, 'Your own lives have become your entertainment.' This is exponentially more true now when you consider the tidal wave of reality shows television currently is awash in..."

"Barry's exchanges with with callers are dramatic, moving, sometimes frightening and often hilarious," Gamlin adds. "The play has everything you could want from a night at the theater."

When: 7:30 p.m., June 17,18, 24 and 25; matinees at 3 p.m., June 19 and 26
Where: 22032 Howell Drive, New Lenox
Cost: $14 adults, $12 students and seniors, $10 for New Lenox residents with ID.
Tickets and information: 708-941-8294 and www.spotlight-theater.com 

Oak Lawn

How sweet it is. The Oak Lawn Park District Theatre production of Sugar, the musical version of the riotous 1959 Billy Wilder classic Some Like It Hot continues through the weekend and closes on Sunday.

Joe and Jerry, two unemployed musicians, unfortunately happen to witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Now mob targets themselves, Joe and Jerry need to get out of town before Spats Palazzo and his thugs find them. How do they solve their problem? Check it out and see.

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

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

Tickets and information: 708-857-2200 

Oak Lawn

Out of Control, a Chicagoland band with a repertoire as large as the metro area, opens the Oak Lawn Sunday Night Concert Series, music for the entire family. One of the more popular showbands in the region, Out of Control boasts an ongoing schedule of private events and municipal concerts throughout the summer.

When: 7 p.m., June 12
Where: Oak Lawn Village Green, 95th Street and Cook Avenue
Cost: Free
Information: 708-857-2200 and www.olparks.com 

Orland Park

Orland Park Public Library kicks off the summer with Limited Edition Big Band, an 18-piece orchestra with a repertoire spanning early jazz to swing, big band and dance music. The free afternoon all-ages concert is open to the public.

When: 2-3:30 p.m., June 19
Where: Orland Park Public Library, 14921 S. Ravinia Drive, Orland Park
Cost: Free
Information: Orland Park Public Library and 708-428-5100 

Palos Hills

Original watercolors, oils, prints, sculptures, photographs, mixed media and more fill the Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery as artists from throughout the region display works in this juried show. This free summer show spotlights the broad spectrum and striking talents of community artists.

When: Through Aug. 3; gallery hours 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Thursdays
Where: Robert F. DeCaprio Gallery, Moraine Valley Fine and Performing Arts Center, 9000 S. College Parkway, Palos Hills
Cost: Free
Information: www.morainevalley.edu/fpac and 708-974-5500 

Park Forest

"Years after my climb from poverty and teenage parenthood, from food stamps and fatherlessness, from ketchup sandwiches and mice and roaches and the shame of poverty, I am still 'down' for the cause, the elevation of my people. So I  write about trifling brothers and sisters, about the black church, about black life and death." 

From out of the ghetto into the realm of award-winning writer, nationally recognized south suburban-based columnist and author John W. Fountain visits the Park Forest Public Library to share stories of life with and without fathers.

With Father's Day just ahead, Fountain talks about his memories and those of many acclaimed writers who reveal stories of their fathers with readers in Fountain's newest book, Dear Dad: Reflections on Fatherhood.

The author will have copies of the book available for sale following the program.

When: 10 a.m., June 11
Where: Park Forest Public Library, 400 Lakewood Blvd., Park Forest
Cost: Free

Information: Park Forest Public Library and 708-748-3731

Tinley Park

AC*Rock, billed as "one of America's greatest a cappella quartets," launches the Summer Reading Program with an all ages rocking and rolling music concert. AC*Rocks brings songs from the 1950s through '80s to the stage with their distinct vocals and amazing harmony.

When: 7:30 p.m., June 10
Where: Tinley Park Public Library's west lawn (weather permitting), 7851 Timber Drive, Tinley Park. In case of rain, the concert moves inside.
Cost: Free, registration not required.
Information:  and 708-532-0160 

Tinley Park

OK. So the village appears to have dueling bands on June 10 as the Nuclear Jazz Quarktet performs jazz standards, Latin music and up-tempo big band bebop tunes at Vogt Visual Arts Center.

No, Quarktet is not a typo. Rather, band members include nuclear physicists and an electrical engineer from not-too-distant Argonne National Laboratory, so indeed the band name fits quite well.

When: 7 p.m., June 10

Where: Vogt Visual Arts Center, 17420 S. 67th Court, Tinley Park
Cost: Free
Information: Tinley Park Park District, 708-342-4200

University Park

Brainstorm 2011, a national juried art competition at Governors State University, Visual Arts Gallery, features 46 works from the 167 submissions. The exhibit represents 28 artists from across the country. An artists reception later this month will include the award presentation.

When: Brainstorm 2011 runs through June 25; reception 4:3o-7 p.m., June 25. Gallery hours are 2-4:30 p.m., Monday and Wednesday; 5-9 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday; noon-5 p.m., Saturday.
Where: Governors State University (gallery adjacent to E Lounge), 1 University Parkway, University Park
Cost: Free
Information: 708-534-4021 and www.gsuvisualartsgallery.blogspot.com