Sunday picks: Laugh with Owen Benjamin at Improv
Standup guy
Comedian Owen Benjamin, famed for his stints on TV shows like MTV's “Punk'd,” E's “Chelsea Lately” and more, performs at the Improv Comedy Showcase in Woodfield Mall, 5 Woodfield Road, Schaumburg. $17-$19. (847) 240-2001 orimprov.com. 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8
Art galore in Mundelein
The third annual Mundelein Arts Festival in Kracklauer Park, 100 N. Seymour Ave., Mundelein, features a wide variety of artwork, live entertainment, food and family activities. Free. mundeleinartsfestival.com. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8
Renegade crafters
The Renegade Craft Fair offers a curated selection of more than 300 indie crafters, a pop-up vintage market, workshops by the Lill Street Art Center, Chicago School of Shoemaking and RX Made, along with music and a photo booth to document your day. Also on hand will be some of the city's most innovative food along 2000 W. Division St., Chicago. Free admission. renegadecraft.com/chicago. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8
Fashionable ladies
See a variety of evening gowns, daytime ensembles and sportswear relating to famed Chicago fashion importer Martha Weathered at “The Ladies of Cuneo: The Martha Weathered Fashion Collection” at the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens, 1350 N. Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills. Weathered's Michigan Avenue boutique catered to the wealthy ladies of the Chicago area and was open from 1922 to 1971. The self-guided exhibition features clothing displayed throughout the mansion. $10 adults; $9 students and seniors. (847) 362-3042 or luc.edu/cuneo. Tours at 11:30 a.m. and 1 and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 27
Salute to Mark Twain
Theatre-Hikes invites nature-loving theater fans to "A Walk with Mark Twain." The double-bill includes Joseph McDonough's adaptation of Twain's 1865 story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” and David Birney's “The Diaries of Adam and Eve,” adapted from two short stories Twain wrote toward the end of his career. Frank Sjodin stars as Mark Twain. See it at 4100 Ill. Route 53, Lisle. $18, $19. (630) 725-2066 or theatre-hikes.org or mortonarb.org. 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8
Musical remembrance
Chicago Folks Operetta commemorates the European composers, librettists and performers from the 1930s who faced persecution by the Third Reich in the special concert “Operetta in Exile: Their Words, Their Music, Their Story” at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie. $30. (847) 967-4800 or chicagofolksoperetta.org. 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8
'Corn 101'
Garfield Farm Museum volunteer and farm lobbyist Chuck Bauer will talk about the history of corn in the “Corn 101” program at the Garfield Farm Museum on Garfield Road, off Route 38, in Campton Hills. Learn why corn was considered a staple in many diets in the 19th century and how it was dried, cooked and distilled into alcohol. Bauer will also discuss modern uses for corn, including food additives, plastics and more. $6. Refreshments are included. (630) 584-8485 or visit garfieldfarm.org. 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8
'Singin' in the Rain'
The Fox Valley Theatre Company brings the classic MGM film “Singin' in the Rain” to life onstage in the Blizzard Theatre at the Elgin Community College Arts Center, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. The story focuses on 1920s Hollywood when silent films were becoming “talkies.” Tickets cost $10-$12. (847) 622-0300. 3 p.m. Sunday Sept. 8
Dance tangents
Choreographer Victor Alexander shows off his premiere work “Line of Sighs” at Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. $20 general admission; $15 students/seniors. $50 Saturday show and benefit for the American Cancer Society. (312) 337-6543 or ruthpage.org. 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8
'Ladies' first
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble opens its season with “Leading Ladies” by Ken Ludwig, the playwright who penned the backstage farces “Lend Me a Tenor” and “Moon Over Buffalo.” BTE's production stars Bryan Burke and Robert Jordan Bailey as a pair of unemployed Shakespearean actors who pretend to be who they are not, in order to fool an elderly woman into leaving them her fortune. See it at Building K Theatre, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. $28-$36. (630) 942-4000 or atthemac.org. 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8
Sing along with Macaroni Soup!
Families can dance and sing along with Miss Carole and Clarence from the children's performance group Macaroni Soup! at a Family Sing at the Arlington Heights Historical Museum, 110 W. Fremont St., Arlington Heights. The event is part of the closing reception for the museum's “A Kid at Heart: Looking at Childhood Play” exhibit. Refreshments will be served. The museum's Heritage Gallery will be open for viewing. Free; reservations required. (847) 255-1225. 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8
'Killer Angels'
In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, Lifeline Theatre remounts its 2004 commission of “The Killer Angels,” adapted by Karen Tarjan from Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel chronicling not just the battles that took place from July 1-3, 1863, but the thoughts, fears and hopes of them men who fought them. The production marks director Matt Miller's Lifeline debut. See it at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 15. $20-$40. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com. Preview at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8