"The Little Mermaid" Ballet Comes to Lake Zurich Performing Arts Center

The show is put on by the Illinois Youth Dance Theatre and the Center for Ballroom Dance.

  The Illinois Youth Dance Theatre presents “The Little Mermaid” at the Lake Zurich Performing Arts Center May 10-11. The theatre is working in partnership with the Center for Ballroom Dance to put on the full-length ballet show. The May 10 performance takes place at 7 p.m., while the May 11 shows are scheduled for 1 and 5 p.m. Tickets are between $15-$25 and can be purchased online, and at the Illinois Youth Dance Theatre’s box office phone, (847) 902-9757. 

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Stevenson High School Student Makes Illinois Musical Theatre Award Finals

Alex Levy of Stevenson High School is a finalist in the Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards.

  A Stevenson High School student is among 24 finalists in the 2013 Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Daily Herald reports. Alex Levy of Buffalo Grove will audition today at Broadway Playhouse in Chicago. One actor and one actress will then be selected to had to the national finals in New York this summer, the newspaper reports.  The Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards (IHSMTA) began in 2012 to recognize outstanding student achievement in musical theater. 

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Richard Marx to Headline National Piano Conference at Raue Center

Second annual piano conference scheduled for June 27-30 draws young pianists from throughout the country.

The Raue Center for the Arts has announced Richard Marx will headline the 2nd Annual National Piano Conference in June. The conference runs from June 27 - 30, at the Raue Center, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Marx will perform at 8 p.m. on June 29, according to Alexandra McMillin, marketing and development manager for the Raue. A songwriter, producer and performer, Marx has sold more than 30 million albums, scored 14 chart-topping singles and earned a Grammy for song of the year, McMillin said in a release. The Chicago native's chart-topping hits include “Hold on to the Nights,” “Don’t Mean Nothing,” “Satisfied” and “Right Here Waiting.” Marx achieved a seven-year string of triumphs that rivaled any in pop-rock music history. To this …

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Ravinia Tickets Go on Sale Today

See who's performing this summer at the North Shore's biggest music festival. Tickets go on sale at 5 a.m. April 25.

Tickets will go on sale this Thursday for all shows at Ravinia in Highland Park this summer.  From classical to pop to '90s rock, this season is overflowing with the acts you expected to see again at Ravinia and ones you never saw coming. Below is a list of the bands playing at Ravinia Festival during the 2013 season. Tickets will be available for purchase on April 25 on the Ravinia Festival website.  June  Thursday, June 6, 7:30 p.m.—Bennett Gordon Hall $10 BGH Series  Ruth Page Festival of Dance  Concert Dance, Inc.  Tickets: $10/No Lawn Sales/Park opens at 5 p.m.  Thursday, June 6, 7:30 p.m.—Pavilion  Judy Collins and Don McLean  Tickets: $55-$45/Lawn $22**/Park opens at 5 p.m.  Friday, June 7, 7:30 p.m.—Bennett Gordon Hall  $10 BGH …

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'The Drowsy Chaperone' Starts Wednesday at LZHS

Get tickets online for Lake Zurich High School Drama presentation of hit musical.

  Lake Zurich High School Fine Arts presents "The Drowsy Chaperone." Winner of 5 Tony Awards, including "Best Musical", "The Drowsy Chaperone" promises to delight audiences with its glamorous spectacle and audacious wit.  The show begins when a die-hard musical enthusiast presents his favorite production, a 1920's musical called "The Drowsy Chaperone."  The album bursts to life onstage and we are introduced to a pampered Broadway star, about to give up the limelight for her fiancée. Her producer, desperate to keep her onstage, sets out to sabotage the wedding and hilarity ensues! Caught in the cross-fire is a colorful cast of characters including a "drowsy" chaperone, a groom on skates, a Spanish prima donna, a bumbling old woman, her un-…

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Peter Yarrow Show at the Raue Center is Canceled

Singer from "Peter, Paul & Mary" cancels Saturday evening show due to illness.

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MSS Students to Experience Bluegrass, Tap Performances

Lake Zurich Middle School South holds annual Fine and Applied Arts Day.

Lake Zurich Middle School South will be presenting their annual Fine and Applied Arts Day on Friday, April 19. Featured performers this year are the critically acclaimed Chicago Tap Theatre’s production of Liaison with special guest tap companies from France and Spain, and Chicagoland’s award-winning Bluegrass band, Henhouse Prowlers. Students will attend shows from each ensemble throughout the day. Shows are not open to the public. The goal of the Fine & Applied Arts Day is to give students at Lake Zurich Middle School South an opportunity to see and learn about different careers in the Arts. The day provides students with a variety of real world exposures with student/artist interaction. More information about Chicago Tap Theatre can be …

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Renown Guitarist Fareed Haque to Perform at Listening Room on Sunday

Tickets are still available for Sunday show featuring Haque, former guitarist for Sting.

Fareed Haque, regarded as one of the finest guitar virtuosos, will perform at the Listening Room on Sunday at Lakeside Legacy Arts Park/ Dole Mansion. Haque, who played with Sting, will perform with guest flutist Zachary Weiss from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at the Listening Room, located in the lower level of the Lakeside Legacy Arts Park, 401 Country Club Rd., Crystal Lake. The concert, held in the Listening Room's intimate setting, showcases "Music from Brazil and Beyond." It is part of the 2nd Sunday Series at 'the Listening Room.' Haque also is scheduled to appear on May 12 - Mother's Day - for a concert of "Lullabies and Love" songs with vocalists Orna Oriana and Jill Sanderson. He will return on June 9, to perform "Math Games." …

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Wauconda Blues Band Fires Up Memphis in International Challenge

“That’s the first time you’ll ever hear it, a harmonica talking to his master,” legendary blues radio man Sonny Payne, after listening to Kevin Purcell, of the Nightburners.

  Kevin Purcell & the Nightburners have been playing at clubs and venues in the northwest suburbs for more than two decades, but a recent trip to Memphis to compete in the International Blues Challenge has catapulted the Wauconda band to a new level.  “Memphis was a turning point of huge proportions,” said Kevin, a blues harp player. “One of the things I was proud of is there was a whirlwind everywhere we were going. People were coming up to us on the streets and asking ‘Are you the Nightburners? We heard about you.’ “ Kevin recalled. The Nightburners, sponsored by the Windy City Blues Society, made it to the final top nine bands of 226 bands chosen from around the world to compete on Beale Street, Jan 29-Feb. 2. Success in Memphis led to …

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