Area schools to take part in Chicagoland Showcase

Nearly 40 middle and high school show choirs from six states will be performing Friday and Saturday, March 4-5, at the 23rd annual Chicagoland Showcase at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.

Show choirs from the Chicago area, downstate Illinois, and Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio and Virginia will compete in mixed, festival and unisex categories at the two-day event. There also will be a solo singing competition.

Chicagoland Showcase begins at 5 p.m. Friday with performances from 10 middle school show choirs, along with an exhibition from Hersey's Centerstage middle school show choir. There also will be performances from three traditional high school choirs.

Friday evening will culminate with a headline performance by the Indiana University Singing Hoosiers, a legendary group that mixes lively choreography with songs from the Great American Songbook, jazz, show tunes and contemporary pop hits.

The excitement continues at 8 a.m. Saturday with 21 high school show choirs competing in mixed, festival and unisex divisions. Hersey's Onstage mixed show choir will perform in exhibition, as will Ladies First, the school's unisex show choir.

Six show choirs selected by judges for the finals will compete Saturday evening for the title of Chicagoland Showcase Grand Champion. Meanwhile, a daylong competition among more than 50 soloists will be narrowed to the winning male and female soloists, who also will perform Saturday evening.

The Chicagoland Showcase will take place from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday at the school, 1900 E. Thomas St.

Tickets for Friday are $10, $8 for students and seniors, free for children younger than 5. Tickets for other days are $15, $10 for students and seniors, and free for kids younger than 5. An all-weekend pass is $20 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.

For information, contact Sara Michael or Joann Langley at (847) 718-4942, or sara.michael@d214.org or joann.langley@d214.org.