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'Hairspray' and hairballs: 5 Super Bowl alternatives

Much of America comes to a standstill during the Super Bowl, though not everyone gets swept up in the football phenomenon. If you're not a fan, here are five alternatives to watching the big game:

1. Change the channel: The easiest way to tune out is to take in some counter programming. "Puppy Bowl XII" on Animal Planet (animalplanet.com) or "Kitten Bowl III" on the Hallmark Channel (hallmarkchannel.com) offer cute and furry alternatives to the big game. Or if Hollywood glitz is more your style, turn to Turner Classic Movies (tcm.com), which screens the Judy Garland films "A Star is Born" and "The Harvey Girls" as part of its "31 Days of Oscar" countdown to the 2016 Academy Awards.

2. Bard right in: If the commercialization of the Super Bowl is a turn off, head out to the Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda (lcfpd.org/museum) to see Shakespeare's First Folio Exhibition during the day. One of the few surviving first editions of William Shakespeare's collected plays from 1623 is truly a cultural cornerstone of western civilization. Then, you can curl up with a good book when you get home.

3. Have a mall: With so many eyes fixed on TV screens, let yours roam instead across rows of merchandise by going out to shop when stores are relatively uncrowded.

4. Drive through: Extra elbow room should also be available at the Volo Auto Museum (volocars.com). See vintage automobiles, cars with pop cultural connections and even a temporary antique snowmobile exhibit. It's open until 5 p.m., and you can stop for dinner on the way home.

5. Get Broadway bound: The Super Bowl debuted in the 1960s, so see one of three big Broadway musicals playing around town that originated in - or were inspired by - that tumultuous decade. There's a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee of the national tour of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago (broadwayinchicago.com), while the 1960 musical "Bye Bye Birdie," spoofing an Elvis Presley-like crooner, plays at 2 p.m. at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace (drurylanetheatre.com). The quirky 2012 Broadway musical "Hairspray," based upon John Waters' 1988 film of the same name, can also be seen Sunday at 1 and 5:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora (paramountaurora.com).

Not interested in the Super Bowl? Check out the Kitten Bowl on Hallmark Channel instead. Associated Press
Evanston native Abby Mueller stars in the national tour of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago. Courtesy of Joan Marcus
Teenagers gossip in the song "The Telephone Hour" in "Bye Bye Birdie" at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. Courtesy of Brett Beiner/Drury Lane Theatre
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