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Arts & Entertainment

SouthScene Arts Roundup: 1960s Flashbacks, Brass with Class, a Faux Hamster and More!

Freebies and affordable fun fills the Southland arts scene from Chicago Heights to Orland Park as artists, authors, musicians showcase their diverse talents.

Beverly - Footloose on Stage

What happens when a city kid who loves rock 'n' roll and dancing moves to a small town where the village fathers have outlawed such wild, rambunctious music and movement? Who changes—the teen or the village elders?

Follow this charming musical as the 99th Street Summer Theatre Festival returns with a full theater production of the 1984 hit film, Footloose. The show runs for three nights only and promises great music and loads of fun for all.

When: 8 p.m., July 8 and 9
Where: Baer Theatre, 2153 W. 111th St., Chicago
Cost: $16, $14 seniors and children 10 and younger
Tickets and information: 773-881-6512 

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Chicago Heights - iPads as Artist Pads

Imagine an iPad in the world of visual arts.

Award-winning nationally recognized artist Sergio Gomez explores man's voyage through life, including elements of his own story, in an exhibit at Union Street Gallery.

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With bold acrylics, mysterious and dramatic charcoals and metal etchings from works designed on and transferred from his iPad, Gomez explores in his works the concepts of good and evil, absence and presence and his longtime search for his own identity in his one-man exhibit, Voyages.

Galleries and museums throughout the country have exhibited Gomez's works, including Chicago's own Museum of Science and Industry and the National Museum of Mexican Art. Gomez will demonstrate his talents and create a visual work of art in the gallery while his exhibit continues on display.

When: July 6-Aug. 6. Artist's reception is 6-9 p.m., July 8, and gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday; noon to 6 p.m., Friday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday.
WhereUnion Street Gallery, 1527 Otto Blvd., Chicago Heights
Cost: Free
Information: 708-754-2601 and the gallery website

Chicago Heights - Free Play Reading

He's laughing on the outside, struggling with every word on the inside. Jackie Dwayne takes the audience back to the mid-20th century comedy era when every kid working the Catskills resorts prayed for that big break, that chance to perform on a late night talk show seen by millions.

The Drama Group presents a free informal script-in-hand reading of playwright Jim Geoghan's Only Kidding. The script follows the fictional Dwayne's angst and agony, hopes and fears as he works his one-liners to to audiences that just might include a talent agent dazzled by his work.

When: 7:30-10 p.m., July 9

Where: Drama Group Studio Theatre, 330 202nd St., Chicago Heights
Cost: Free
Information: 708-755-3444 and the Drama Group online

Frankfort - Italian Songfest 

Frankfort's free Concerts on the Green series presents acclaimed soprano Marie Michuda as guest soloist. Michuda, accompanied by pianist, drummer and bass player, will sing a variety of Italian music, from classical to contemporary, including motion picture favorites. Anyone have three coins for the fountain?

When: 6:30 p.m., July 10
Where: Breidert Green Community Park, White and Kansas streets, downtown historic Frankfort. In case of rain, the concert moves to the Park District Founders Center, 140 Oak St., Frankfort.
Cost: Free
Information: Frankfort Chamber of Commerce online and 815-469-3356 

Frankfort - CD & ME Fest

Four days of music, featuring the sounds of the 1980s, plus other decades of rock, R&B, soul and more! A standup comic takes the stage as well during CD & ME Fest at popular area concert venue CD & ME. The lineup: July 14, Hairbangers Ball; July 15, Arra and Hey Jimmy; July 16, Lounge Puppets and Five Guys Named Moe; July 17, TNT and comic Bob Jay.

When: Doors open at 6 p.m. every night from July 14-17.
Where: CD & ME, 23320 S. LaGrange Rd., Frankfort
Cost: $7 July 14, 15, 16; $15 July 17
Tickets and information: 815-469-7315, CD & ME online and at the door

Homewood - Anne Frank's Life

The Diary of a Young Girl, heroine and Holocaust murder victim Anne Frank's vivid depiction of life in hiding during Hitler's Third Reich, has been read worldwide by millions, perhaps billions of people in countless languages since it was first published in Anne's native Dutch in 1947. The 1952 English translation brought this extraordinary diary to the United States.

Erin Schmidt brings her one-woman exploration of the short, brilliant and tragic life of Anne Frank to the Homewood Public Library. The performance is free to the public.

When: 7 p.m., July 13
Where: Homewood Public Library, 17917 Dixie Hwy.
Cost: Free
Information: 708-647-2237, 708-798-4006 and the Homewood Public Library online.

Homewood - Brass with Class

It's an all-brass night of music. The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Quintet takes the audience along for Brass Through the Ages. Brass music from the 1600s, the Baroque and Romantic periods, all the way to Debussy and Motown will fill the night, either indoors or outdoors (depending on weather).

When: 7:30 p.m., July 13
Where: Ravisloe Country Club, 18231 Park Ave., Homewood
Cost: $25
Tickets and information: 708-481-7774 and the IPO online 

Oak Forest - 'Hamster' from 'America's Got Talent'

Aerialist, acrobat, juggler and faux hamster Laura Ernst does it all. She dazzled millions with her America's Got Talent aerobatics and more, and now Ernst travels the country with her hamster ball, silks and much more from her warehouse of fun. This stop brings her to Oak Forest's Acorn Public Library for a free performance.

When: 6:30 p.m., July 14
Where: Acorn Public Library, 15624 S. Central Ave., Oak Forest
Cost: Free
Information: Acorn Public Library online and 708-687-3700

Oak Forest - Attention Parrotheads!

Grab your Parrothead gear and look for Jimmy Buffett Night at Oak Forest Bowl. Well no, the real Jimmy will not be in Oak Forest, but Daryl Durano and the Caribbean Soul Band will play the Margaritaville sound starting late Saturday afternoon. 

When: 4 p.m., July 9
Where: Oak Forest Bowl, 15240 S. Cicero Ave., Oak Forest
Cost: $5 cover, includes two chances to win Buffett show tickets.
Information: Oak Forest Bowl online and 708-687-2000 

Oak Lawn - 1960s Flashback

They're coming! The New Invaders invade Oak Lawn with the Ultimate 60s Flashback sounds. The free summer concert at the Oak Lawn Park District Village Green will fill the air with vocal covers of legendary sounds from the 1960s — from the British Invasion to the music of Peace and Flower Power, Haight Ashbury and the historic Woodstock, the 1969 music festival every rock fan knows.

Bring blankets, chairs, refreshments or even complete picnics for a night of classic rock and for those who remember the 1960s, a night of memories as well.

When: 7-9:30 p.m., July 10
Where: Oak Lawn Village Green, 95th Street and Cook Avenue, Oak Lawn
Cost: Free
Information: 708-499-7837 and Oak Lawn village website  

Orland Park - Hair Grows on Local Stage

It was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius and "long, beautiful hair" on both men and women. It was the era of Vietnam, the Peace logo, the foundation of Earth Day and definitely a time of social upheaval.

Opening Night Arts Group hits the time warp and revives the now legendary musical of the 1960s, Hair. The show, the songs, the messages gripped the youth of this country and beyond. More than four decades later, the musical has become a classic and, in many ways, a social snapshot of the mid-to-late 1960s.

When: 8 p.m., July 15, 16 and 3 p.m., July 17
Where: Carl Sandburg High School Performing Arts Center, 13300 S. La Grange Rd., Orland Park
Cost: $20, $18 ONAG members, seniors, students, military with ID
Tickets and information: Opening Nights Art Group online and 708-570-1630 

Orland Park - Jewish Songwriters of American Songbook

Legendary American songwriters Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen and Irving Berlin shared more than talent. All were Jewish. With their families, most had fled persecution and pogroms in Europe and Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and many arrived in America penniless.

A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, a traveling exhibit, will stop at the Orland Park Public Library from July 13 to Aug. 26. The legendary Jewish composers gave America and the world such musicals as The Wizard of Oz, Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and many more. Single classics by Jewish songwriters include Berlin's Easter Parade, White Christmas, God Bless America and so many more.

The Great American Songbook would have many empty pages if not for the giant talents of so many Jewish composers. The library will kick off the exhibit about these legends with a free reception open to the public at 7 p.m., July 15. Local singer Peter Oprisko will share many songs by Jewish composers during the library reception.

When: Exhibit — July 12-Aug. 26; free reception with entertainment by songster Peter Oprisko and refreshments; reception — 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., July 15
Where: Orland Park Public Library, 14921 Ravinia Dr.
Cost: Free
Information: 708-428-5100 and Orland Park Public Library online 

Palos Hills - Juried Art Show

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 W. College Parkway, Palos Hills
Cost: Free
Informationwww.morainevalley.edu/fpac and 708-974-5500 

Park Forest - Photo Exhibit

Shouts and Whispers, a lifetime in photography retrospective exhibition by Donald W. Kouba, continues 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: Exhibit runs 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
Informationwww.tallgrassarts.org and 708-748-3377 

Tinley Park - King Arthur, Fact or Fiction?

Did he really live or is King Arthur mere fiction? Did Arthur seek the Holy Grail, wield a powerful sword Excalibur and create the Knights of the Round Table? Hear tales about King Arthur and the rich tradition of the early Brits as national award-winning professional storyteller Megan Wells weaves colorful tales of Arthur, fair maidens, mystical wizards, brave knights and more in Legends from the Round Table. This all-ages special event at the Tinley Park Public Library will dazzle everyone who loves a great tale and wants to know more about the era of Arthur.

When: 1 p.m., July 10
Where: Tinley Park Public Library, 7851 Timber Dr.
Cost: Free (but registration required)
Information: Tinley Park Library online and 708-532-0160 

Tinley Park - Concert in the Park

Swing, jazz, pops and a repertoire of music for all ages will fill theTinley Park Concert in the Park with the Peter Oprisko Quintet at the Gazebo at Bettenhausen Recreation Center. Bring blankets, chairs and plan to relax and enjoy the sounds of summer.

When: 7-8:30 p.m., July 10
WhereBettenhausen Recreation Center Gazebo Stage, 8125 W. 121st St., Tinley Park
Cost: Free
Information: 708-342-4212 

Tinley Park - 4 Cast's Decades of Covers 

From AC/DC to ZZ Top, from the 1980s to the 2010s, 4 Cast covers them all at the Music in the Plaza Concert. It's another free night of great entertainment in Tinley Park.

When: 7-10 p.m., July 9
Where: Oak Park Avenue at 173rd Street Metra station plaza, Tinley Park
Cost: Free
Information: 708-444-5678 and Tinley Park village website

University Park - Social Ills as Comic Book Covers

Don't Shoot the Messenger, graduate student Wayon Collins' thesis exhibit, opens July 7 and continues through July 12 at the Governors State University Visual Arts Gallery. A  July 12 reception for the artist is open to the public.

Collins' distinctive artworks view modern day problems as comic book covers and via iconic posters of activists who have taken vocal stands against social injustices. Collins has exhibited works at various galleries in the Chicagoland area.

When: July 7-12; reception 7-9 p.m. July 12. Gallery hours are 2-4:30 p.m., Monday and Wednesday; 5-9 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday; 12-5 p.m., Saturday.
Where: Governors State UniversityVisual Arts Gallery, 1 University Parkway, University Park.
Cost: Free
Information: 708-534-4021 and  Visual Arts Gallery

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