Were Walt Disney alive today, he would turn 114 years old on December 5, and there’s no better place to celebrate than the venerable cartoonist’s home town of Chicago. Join the majestic Logan Theater for a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception, with proceeds benefitting restoration of the Walt Disney Birthplace. Former Disney animator Floyd Norman will be on hand to share tales of working on Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book and other classics. VIP ticket holders will receive a special keepsake signed by Norman, and all ticket holders will receive a celebratory glass of champagne with which to toast Disney. Additionally, tasty appetizers will circulate throughout this magical evening of storytelling and history.  Tickets through Goldstar start at comp and go up to $50 for this Saturday, December 5th, 4:30 Event. 

We toured the Disney exhibit at Science and Industry – fascinating!  Did not know he was born in Chicago!

PITA and I saw this on Broadway (natch!) and I can honestly say that it was even ruder than the YouTube videos and songs (which we knew by heart) led us to believe.  Extremely clever, one of the best shows we’ve ever seen.  Get your The Book of Mormon tickets for June and July performances starting at $38.50.  

Hailed by The New York Times as “the best musical of this century” and the winner of nine Tony Awards, The Book of Mormon returns to Chicago. This outrageous musical comedy follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. Now, with standing room-only productions in London, on Broadway and across North America, the international sensation that is The Book of Mormon returns for a strictly limited engagement to Bank of America Theatre. Get your tickets first with this Goldstar pre-sale.

If you can’t afford exotic locales after the Holiday bills appear, how about comp (plus service fee) tickets to the January 23rd and 24th Chicago Travel & Aventure Show in Rosemont.  Get the latest tips and tricks from experts like Rick Steves (Rick Steves’ Europe), Emmy-winning travel reporter Peter Greenberg and guidebook author Pauline Frommer. You’ll not only learn from those savvy speakers, you’ll also find advice on top local, national and international destinations, as well as access to show-only specials and giveaways. And with hands-on adventure activities, exotic culinary demonstrations and live cultural performances, a visit to the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont will definitely feel like its own little getaway.

Now’s your chance to meet the people who make your favorite toys — and play with some of their latest inventions! The Chicago Game & Toy Fair is North America’s largest to be open to kids of all ages, drawing over 150 toy and game exhibitors to the Festival Hall at Navy Pier for two days of hands-on discovery and fun. Enjoy an R2-D2 Dog with some Stormtroopers at the Star Wars Luncheon, try your luck in a qualifier for the Settlers of Catan National Championship, meet Chase and Marshall from Paw Patrol with the Paw Patroller and a life-size Tonka truck, and see the toymakers of the future showcase their ideas at the Young Inventor Challenge. This is two days of play that no kid — or kid at heart — will want to miss and you get the November 21st and 22nd tickets for Comp to $5 (plus service fee).

Join everybody’s favorite holiday humbug, Ebenezer Scrooge, on his fantastical journey of redemption when Drury Lane Theatre brings Charles Dickens’ beloved story A Christmas Carol to Oakbrook Terrace. Surly miser Scrooge, whose cold heart has isolated him from his community and the spirit of Christmas, is visited by Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Slowly, Scrooge discovers what it means to be fully human and begins to find the joy in rejoining the world. Treat the whole family to Drury Lane’s annual tradition.  These Oak Brook Drury Lane tickets are selling for the same prices as two years ago – now that’s a good deal!  Performances are over the next two weeks.

It’s no great surprise that Noël Coward saved his zestiest zingers and sharpest one-liners for Private Lives— he always intended to star in the comedic masterpiece himself. His greed is your gain as Private Livesranks as one of the most savagely funny plays ever written. Elyot and his ex-wife Amanda can’t live with or without each other, which makes things a bit sticky when they find themselves honeymooning in the same hotel — each with a new, younger spouse. While their puzzled new partners try to cope, the two fall in love (and come to blows) all over again. Using their classic concert reading format, ShawChicago Theater Company presents a new production of this Art Deco-era comedy about the pleasures — and pitfalls — of romance at Ruth Page Center for the Arts.  Goldstar has comp tickets to performances in November and December.

Rudolph and his friends light up the stage in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical, an exciting new musical adaptation of the classic holiday TV special that celebrates the misfit in all of us. From Rudolph, the reindeer who tries to conceal his very shiny nose before he realizes it can help save Christmas, to his pals Clarice, Hermey the Elf, Yukon Cornelius, Santa and Mrs. Claus and even the Abominable Snowman, this song-filled extravaganza brings their memorable adventures to life. In addition to the classic title song by Johnny Marks, the original soundtrack features great tunes like “There’s Always Tomorrow,” “We’re a Couple of Misfits,” “Silver and Gold,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas” and more. Share the fun at the Rosemont Theatre with discount tickets on Goldstar for 7 pm performances on December 18th and 19th.

Consider yourself invited to Oliver!, Lionel Bart’s three-time Tony Award-winning musical that’s set to steal your heart the minute it hits Chicagoland’s Citadel Theatre stage. Charles Dickens’ unforgettable characters burst to life in this lively, heel-kicking classic about an innocent orphan thrown into the dark world of double-dealing thieves and con men of 19th-century London. Overflowing with jubilant songs, including “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,” “Consider Yourself,” “Where is Love?” and the scrumptious “Food, Glorious Food,” Oliver! serves up a musical feast for the eyes and ears that’ll have you calling out for “More!”

“I’m odd, but thankfully so is he,” replied David Arquette when asked about adding his name to the long list of distinguished actors who’ve played the world’s greatest detective. In this exciting new stage adaptation, the game is afoot when Sherlock Holmes is enlisted by the newly formed Scotland Yard to investigate the sudden appearance of a drowned body and the disappearance of a member of the House of Lords. It’s elementary that Holmes’ nemesis Professor James Moriarty may be involved, as the adventure unfolds through the backstreets of turn-of-the-century London. Sherlock Holmes was the winner of five prestigious Montreal Theatre Awards, including Outstanding Production and Outstanding Director. Andrew Shaver (Stratford Festival) remounts the show for the North American tour, which also features designs by Cirque du Soleil’s James Lavoie and co-stars James Maslow (Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush) and Renee Olstead (Still Standing, The Secret Life of the American Teenager). Watch the super sleuth in action at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre.  Get tickets for four late-November performances starting at $36.99

Based on the perennial holiday film favorite starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney, this stage adaptation of White Christmas tells the story of two successful song-and-dance men who fall in love with a pair of beautiful sisters while struggling to save the fading Vermont inn owned by their former commanding general. Like a gorgeous Christmas card come to life on stage, this beloved musical features the songs “Blue Skies,” “Sisters,” “I Love a Piano” and the best-selling single of all time, “White Christmas.” This song-and-dance extravaganza is bound to brighten anyone’s holiday — unwrap all the musical magic at Drury Lane Theatre.  Get tickets starting at $26.50 (half price!) for performances over the next couple of weeks on Goldstar.  Enjoy this Holiday Favorite while it’s only cold, not frozen out – tickets through November 8th.