Great entertainment in our own backyard

We all know that the economy is hurting people locally. We all wish we could escape the negativity of the news day after day after day. A night out on the town in the big city has become too expensive for most to enjoy.

BUT there is great entertainment right in our own neighborhood that most people know nothing about! Music on Stage is based in the Northwest suburbs and has been staging excellent musical theater productions in the area for 52 years. (This group won the Illinois Theatre Association Award for Community Theatre in 2006).

Their season opened Oct. 25 with "Forever Plaid" - a great show with great music. Ticket sales are slower than they have ever been and although the show must go on, it would be a shame to see this suburban institution forced to jeopardize its artistic excellence due to budget cuts.

Think you can't make a difference? You can! It doesn't take a giant to have an impact - if lots of people do little things, the results can be astounding!

As a Palatine resident, I am asking you to help Music On Stage keep the bar high by buying tickets to see "Forever Plaid." You will not only get the satisfaction of helping out a great group, but you'll get to escape your own troubles for awhile, go back in time to the 1950s and enjoy a great show! To learn how to buy tickets, go to musiconstage.org.

Kathy Zimmermann

Palatine