Weekend picks: Catch Steve Trevino at the Improv
Amigo de Mencia
Steve Trevino got his start in standup comedy alongside Carlos Mencia (famed for Comedy Central's “Mind of Mencia”) before branching out on his own. Catch Trevino this weekend at the Improv Comedy Showcase, 5 Woodfield Road, Schaumburg. $17-$19. (847) 240-2001 or improv.com. 8 and 10:15 p.m. Friday, April 22, and 7 and 9:15 p.m. Saturday, April 23
Choo! Choo!
Thomas the Tank Engine rolls back into town with a new adventure titled “Thomas Saves the Day” as part of the tour Thomas & Friends Live! On Stage. See Thomas, Percy, Diesel and other favorites this weekend at the Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates. $17-$50. (888) 732-7784 or searscentre.com. 7 p.m. Friday, April 22, and 11 a.m., 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday, April 23
Egg will roll
The Jaycees team up with the city of Elgin for a Bunny Day celebration featuring a pancake breakfast, an Easter egg hunt and free children's theater performances of “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” this Saturday outside and inside the grounds of the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. Free egg hunt and general admission to the shows, but $7 admission for the pancake breakfast and $1 for photos with the Easter Bunny. See elginjaycees.org/. Saturday, April 23: 8 a.m. “Breakfast With the Bunny”; 10 and 11:30 a.m. kids theater performances; 11:15 a.m. egg hunt
Music vs. words
A poet and a composer vie for the attentions of a beautiful countess in Richard Strauss' final opera “Capriccio.” American soprano Renée Fleming, right, stars in a Metropolitan Opera revival that is to be screened Saturday to local and worldwide movie theaters via a Live in HD simulcast. Ticket prices vary, but largely $24, $22 for seniors and $18 for kids. Visit fathomevents.com for participating theaters. Noon Saturday, April 23
Crazy ‘Quixote'
The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg presents the Chicago premiere of Boris Eifman's re-imagined take on the classical Russian ballet “Don Quixote, or Fantasies of a Madman” for two Saturday performances at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago. $30-$87. (800) 982-2787 or auditoriumtheatre.org. 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 23
Scorned sorceress
Jason makes the tragic mistake of dumping his wife for another woman in “Medea” (“Médée”), a 1693 French opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier just now receiving its Windy City debut courtesy of Chicago Opera Theater starting this weekend at Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Chicago. $30-$120. (312) 334-7777 or chicagooperatheater.org. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 23
A walk in the garden
Spend Easter Sunday exploring the 24 display gardens and four natural habitats at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake-Cook Road, Glencoe. April daffodils and spring flowers are now in bloom all over the garden, from the Aquatic Garden to the English Walled Garden. Admission is free. Parking is $20 per car. (847) 835-5440 or chicagobotanic.org. 8 a.m. to sunset Sunday, April 24
Easter with the animals
Pay a visit to the animal residents of Brookfield Zoo — a venue that's open every day of the year. Watch primates play in the zoo's Tropic World exhibit, and get an up-close look at penguins in The Living Coast. The zoo's newest naturalistic habitat area, Great Bear Wilderness, offers a peek at the lives of bison, polar bears, grizzly bears, bald eagles and more. Brookfield Zoo is located at First Avenue, between Ogden Avenue and 31st Street, Brookfield. Admission is $9.50-$13.50. Parking is $9 per car. (708) 688-8000 or CZS.org. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 24