Performing Arts
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Things to do Aug. 29 to Sept. 4: Buffalo Grove Days, Last Fling, Septemberfest and moreAug 28, 2025 11:10 am - Mark your calendar for Buffalo Grove Days, Naperville Jaycees’ Last Fling, Lake in the Hills Summer Sunset Festival, Chicago Jazz Festival, Schaumburg Septemberfest, Long Grove Irish Days and more happening this week.
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Musicals and dramas add up to a well-rounded career for St. Charles actor/musician making Drury Lane debutAug 27, 2025 10:47 am - St. Charles native and musical theater veteran Ian Paul Custer makes his Drury Lane Theatre debut as the sketchy Captain Lesgate in the Oakbrook Terrace theater’s revival of the suspense thriller “Dial M for Murder.”
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Schaumburg’s Septemberfest returns to a municipal campus in transition this weekendAug 27, 2025 10:03 am - Having already seen Septemberfest compromised twice by the pandemic at the beginning of the decade, Schaumburg officials are determined it won’t be by the more deliberate decision to replace the village hall on the same municipal grounds.
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Spotlight: World premieres at American Blues, Northlight theatersAug 26, 2025 2:23 pm - American Blues Theater premieres the new play by artistic associate and Pulitzer Prize finalist Kristoffer Diaz, Drury Lane Theatre revives the 1950s suspense thriller “Dial M for Murder,” and Northlight Theatre premieres “The First Lady of Television.”
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A seasoned conductor agreed to conduct the Wheaton Municipal Band when he turned 100. He just kept his word.
Aug 26, 2025 2:05 pm - Arnald Gabriel, who conducted the U.S. Air Force Band for many years, told the leader of the Wheaton Municipal Band that he would conduct the suburban band when he was 100. Bruce Moss made it happen.
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Best Bets: Elmhurst History Museum opens exhibition on Chicago’s World’s FairAug 26, 2025 1:37 pm - “World of Tomorrow” opens at the Elmhurst History Museum, Rosemont’s Rockin’ in the Park hosts its last concert of the summer, and Highwood celebrates country music and Southern fare at the Nashwood Music and Food Fest.
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The star of the show is Stephen Sondheim in Oil Lamp’s ‘Side By Side By Sondheim’ revivalAug 21, 2025 5:37 pm - Oil Lamp Theater’s intimate revival of “Side by Side by Sondheim” confirms the star of this musical revue is Stephen Sondheim himself.
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‘School for Lies’ well-revived: David Ives’ satire gets first-rate production courtesy of Janus TheatreAug 20, 2025 5:04 pm - Elgin’s Janus Theatre deftly revives David Ives’ delightfully caustic “The School for Lies,” inspired by Moliere’s 17th-century satire “The Misanthrope.”
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Things to do Aug. 22-28: Buffalo Grove Days, Palatine Street Fest, Port Clinton Art Festival and moreAug 19, 2025 2:21 pm - Mark your calendar for Buffalo Grove Days, Anime Magic! 2025, Chicago International Boat Show, Palatine Street Fest, Port Clinton Art Festival, Geneva Concours d’Elegance, Wayback Wheels Car Show and more happening this week.
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Spotlight: Teenage con man eludes the feds in Marriott’s ‘Catch Me If You Can’Aug 19, 2025 11:07 am - Marriott Theatre revives the real-life-inspired musical “Catch Me If You Can,” while Chicago theaters American Blues and Strawdog stage two world premieres.