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Best bets: 'Dare to Dream' skates into Allstate

Ice maidens

Rapunzel from “Tangled” joins the pantheon of Disney princesses like Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog” and Cinderella who each don ice skates for the latest Disney on Ice show “Dare to Dream” starting Wednesday at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont, and then moving to the United Center, 1901 W. Madison St., Chicago. $15-$75. (800) 745-3000 or disneyonice.com. Jan. 25-29 in Rosemont and Feb. 1-12 in Chicago

Oh Kathy!

Find out which celebrities will be spared or cut down to size when Emmy award-winning comedian and Oak Park native Kathy Griffin returns this weekend for two shows at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago. $49.50-$69.50. (312) 462-6300 or thechicagotheatre.com. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 20 and 21

Not that into you

Comedian Greg Behrendt may be best known for his best-selling book “He's Just Not That Into You” (later turned into a 2009 film comedy), but you can see another side of this funnyman through standup comedy this weekend at The Improv Comedy Showcase, 5 Woodfield Road, Schaumburg. $22. (847) 240-2001 or improv.com. 8 and 10:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20; 7 and 9:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21; and 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22

Baroque pastiche

Baroque composers like Handel, Vivaldi and Rameau get the “Mamma Mia!” treatment when The Metropolitan Opera screens a live HD simulcast of its new pastiche work “The Enchanted Island” starring such opera greats as Plácido Domingo, Joyce di Donato and more Saturday at participating movie theaters ranging from Gurnee to Naperville. Tickets vary by theater, but are typically $22, $20 for seniors or $18 for kids. See metopera.org/hdlive or fathomevents.com. 11:55 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21

Singing praises

Choirs from Naperville, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Lisle and other communities gather together for the 24th Annual Gospel Extravaganza this Saturday at North Central College's Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave., Naperville. $15; $8 students/seniors. (630) 637-7469 or northcentralcollege.edu/showtix. 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21

Lunar New Year

Color My World Children's Art Studio teams with Arts in Bartlett for A Chinese New Year Celebration to celebrate the incoming Year of the Dragon this Sunday at the Bartlett Center for the Arts, 118 W. Bartlett Road, Bartlett. Families with small kids can drop in to listen to Chinese folk tales and music, try Chinese calligraphy and sample some treats. Free admission. (224) 208-5707 or colormyworldarts.com. 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22

Ballet drag dance

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo famously feature classically trained male ballet dancers in drag doing comedy en pointe. Catch their antics this Tuesday when the company returns to Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Chicago. $45-$75. (312) 334-7777 or harristheaterchicago.org. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24

Duck & cover

Take a glance at early Atomic Age artifacts when the national touring exhibition “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965” launches this Tuesday at the Elmhurst Historical Museum, 120 E. Park Ave., Elmhurst. Free admission. (630) 833-1457 or elmhursthistory.org. 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday from Jan. 24 to March 18

Sail away

Start dreaming now about spending summers boating on Lake Michigan when the 2012 Progressive Insurance Strictly Sail Chicago Show comes to Navy Pier's Festival Halls A & B, 600 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. $12-$15; kids ages 15 and younger admitted free. (312) 595-7437 or strictlysailchicago.com. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 26 and 27; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29

Comedian and Oak Park native Kathy Griffin returns to the Chicago Theatre for two shows on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 20 and 21. Associated Press
Comedian Greg Behrendt is set to perform at the Improv Comedy Showcase in Schaumburg. COURTESY OF COMEDY CENTRAL
Soprano Danielle di Niese stars as the magical sprite Ariel in “The Enchanted Island,” which will broadcast live in HD to area movie theaters on Saturday, Jan. 21. COURTESY OF KEN HOWARD/METROPOLITAN OPERA
The famed male drag ballet troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo returns to Millennium Park’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 24. courtesy of Sascha Vaughn
An Atomic Bombing Care box from 1951 is part of the exhibit “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living With the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965” at the Elmhurst Historical Museum from Jan. 24 to March 18. courtesy of E.G. Schempf
Strictly Sail Chicago 2012 at Navy Pier features demonstrations like remote-control sail boats.