Weekend picks: Marlena Rodriguez plays Midwest Comedy Showcase

Midwestern mirth

Standup comedians like Deanna Ortiz, Jack Baker, Marlena Rodriguez and more are all featured in the monthly Midwest Comedy Showcase this weekend at the Comedy Shrine, 4034 Fox Valley Center Drive, Aurora. $20; $15 students. (630) 585-0300 or comedyshrine.com. 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

Craving campers?

See more than 400 new vehicles on display and meet with dealers at the 47th Annual Chicago RV & Camping Show starting Wednesday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont. $11 one-day admission; $19 multiday admission. Discounts available for kids. (847) 692-2220, rosemont.com or chicagorvshow.com 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

Step right up

See daredevil cyclists, exotic animal tricks, clowns and a whole lot more at the Circus Spectacular, which returns this weekend to the Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates. $20-$45. (847) 649-2270 or searscentre.com. 10:30 a.m., 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21; 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

Winter Carnival

Do you wanna build a snowman? Hawthorn Woods celebrates the season with a snowman-building contest, sledding, old-fashioned wagon rides, music, games, entertainment, refreshments and more at its annual Winter Carnival in Community Park, 5 Park View Lane. Free. vhw.org. 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

Play ball!

Sports historian Bruce Allerdice presents “Before the Chicago Cubs: Baseball Comes to the Windy City,” about baseball in Chicago in the 1850s and 1860s, during a Glen Ellyn Historical Society-sponsored program at the Glen Ellyn History Center, 800 N. Main St., Glen Ellyn. Allerdice looks at how the Civil War affected the spread of baseball, how the Cubs were formed and more. Tickets cost $5 for adults; students younger than 18 admitted free. (630) 469-1867 or glenellynhistory.org. 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

Community Dance Party

Have you ever wanted to play life-size Jenga and Kerplunk? Now's your chance when the Villa Park Recreation Department hosts its Community Dance Party in the Iowa Community Center, 338 N. Iowa Ave. Also, enjoy performances by the All Star Sports Boys Hip Hop group, music and dancing. Pizza, popcorn and soda will be served. Free. (630) 834-8970. 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

He's a scream

Multitalented actor-comedian-producer Jamie Kennedy (“Scream”) shows off his standup skills at the Improv Comedy Showcase at Woodfield Mall, 5 Woodfield Road, Schaumburg. $24 plus a two menu-item purchase. (847) 240-2001 or improv.com. 7 and 9:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21; and 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

'Dancing at Lughnasa'

See “Dancing at Lughnasa,” about five sisters in rural Donegal, Ireland, who are trying to adapt to a rapidly changing world, at Wheaton College's Arena Theater, 433 Howard St., Wheaton. $9-$10. (630) 752-5800 or wheaton.edu. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

The Oscar went to ...

Get in the spirit of the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday when the Elgin Symphony Orchestra performs extracts from Oscar-nominated and winning films like “Schindler's List,” “The Red Violin” and more in the concert “A Night at the Oscars” at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. $25-$60. (847) 888-4000 or elginsymphony.org. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

Croonin' Cronin

Cali indie rocker/singer/songwriter Mikal Cronin comes to Schaumburg's Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Court, Schaumburg, bearing gifts from his collection of soulful garage-rock tunes, including a preview of his upcoming album “MCIII,” due to drop in May. $35; $33 for students and seniors. Visit prairiecenter.org. 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

Get outta my dreams ...

Billy Ocean was one of the most iconic R&B singer/songwriters of the late '70s and '80s, with a string of hits from 1984 to 1988 and a Grammy under his belt for “Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run).” The legendary artist brings his soul-influenced pop to the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St., St. Charles. Tickets start at $29. Visit oshows.com. 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

Virtuoso banjos

Grammy Award-winner Béla Fleck teams up with Abigail Washburn to perform a virtuosic banjo and folk concert on Saturday at North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville. $50-$65. (630) 637-7469 or finearts.northcentralcollege.edu. 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

Infinity

Head back to the '70s and '80s when rock cover band Infinity, which specializes in hits from Journey, Boston, Bon Jovi, Led Zeppelin, Styx, Queen, REO Speedwagon and others, plays Austin's Fuel Room, 481 Peterson Road, Libertyville. $8. (847) 549-1972 or fuelroom.com. 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

Musical murder?

An adulterous couple conspires to bump off the husband in Tobias Picker's opera “Thérèse Raquin.” Chicago Opera Theater presents the Windy City debut of this adaptation of Emile Zola's novel for four performances only starting Friday at Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Chicago. $35-$125. (312) 334-7777 or chicagooperatheater.org or harristheaterchicago.org. 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

King of Rock

See impersonators depicting the late singer Elvis Presley through the many stage of his showbiz career in the touring show “Elvis Lives,” which plays today at the Rosemont Theatre, 5400 N. River Road, Rosemont. $34.50-$99. (800) 745-3000 or rosemonttheatre.com. 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

Cold hands, warm hearts

Teatro Lirico d'Europa performs a touring production of Puccini's beloved 1896 romantic opera “La bohème” on Sunday at the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St., St. Charles. $29-$69. (630) 962-7000 or oshows.com. 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

The Oscar goes to ...

Help benefit Variety, the Children's Charity of Illinois by attending its 10th annual Oscar Party which features dinner, a red-carpet reception, a silent auction, take-home swag bags and more tonight at the Hollywood Blvd Cinema, 1001 W. 75th St., Woodridge. $35. (312) 822-0660 or varietyofillinois.org. 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

Fit for SnoCore

The SnoCore Winter Music Tour is blowing into town this weekend, with a show at Mojoe's, 22 W. Cas St., Joliet, Sunday night. The show, which will be kicked off by alternative rockers Fit For Rivals and Chasing Skylines, features post-hardcore band Framing Hanley, hard-rocking Adelitas Way and metal band Flyleaf. Tickets start at $20; visit Mojoesofjoliet.com for more details. 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

Country and comedy

Get ready for some painful insights and observations when comic country music songwriter Rodney Carrington brings his Here Comes the Truth tour tonight to the Genesee Theatre, 203 N. Genesee St., Waukegan. $38-$48. For more mature audiences only. (800) 982-2787 or geneseetheatre.com. 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

Going for baroque

Nicholas Kraemer conducts pieces by Telemann, Bach, Vivaldi and Purcell with The Music of the Baroque for the concert “Baroque Invention” at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie. $38-$75. (312) 551-1414 or baroque.org. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22