A national touring show featuring Broadway stars and an all-star band, Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway recreates the greatest moments from classic musicals. These singers have starred in Broadway and touring productions of shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Aida, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jekyll & Hyde and many more. They’ll be singing classic tunes by the likes of Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander and Ebb, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Tickets are available on Goldstar for the one performance on September 28th at 3 pm at COD’s MAC Arts Center.

Few writers have gathered so many accolades as quickly as Noah Haidle. The New Yorker describes him as “precocious and formidably talented.” That might explain why a man just over 30 has opened plays in New York, Boston and London, while still having time to write a big Hollywood movie, Stand Up Guys. Now, his newest and most intriguing play, Smokefall, returns to the Goodman with its original cast. This endearing fantasia tells the story of three generations of an eccentric Midwestern family. Time blurs as family members await the arrival of twin babies. Magical and tragic, funny and forlorn, Haidle’s tale offers a lyrical meditation on the mystery and fragility of life.  Get your tickets for less through Goldstar; performances through the first week of October.

Get discount tickets on Goldstar starting at $25 (plus service fee) for Avenue Q.  It’s playing at the Mercury Theater on Southport, so no commute/parking horror tales.  Full of humor and hummable tunes, Avenue Q is a hilarious look at life in New York, featuring a fantastic cast of people and puppets. In its Broadway debut, Avenue Q scored the “Triple Crown” of Tony wins, grabbing honors for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. The lovable cast of characters, both flesh and felt, includes recent college grad Princeton, who moves to Avenue Q full of hope for the future, Kate (the girl/monster next door), and the colorful collection of neighbors who help Princeton discover his true purpose in life.

PITA and I have seen Avenue Q at least three times on Broadway and once in Milwaukee – she’s been making noises about going back to NYC to see the latest off-Broadway incarnation, so this is perfect timing!

Escape into the romance and splendor of the Italian countryside in Theatre-Hikes’ production of Matthew Barber’s Tony-nominated drama at The Morton Arboretum. The theater company’s innovative approach marries stage favorites and nature walks, with scenes held in various locations in parks and along hiking trails. Bring a blanket, water and comfortable shoes so you can enjoy the surrounding natural beauty during jaunts between scenes on the arboretum grounds. You’ll be following the story of two frustrated London housewives who dream of a temporary escape from their bleak marriages after reading an ad for Italian villas to rent. They reluctantly recruit the elderly, ill-tempered Mrs. Graves and the gorgeous-but-chilly Lady Caroline Bramble to help defray the cost. Together in a lush Mediterranean setting, these four very different women experience an unexpected reawakening of their hopes and desires.  Tickets for Enchanted April through Goldstar are for the next couple of weekends and start at $5 plus service fee.

Goldstar has tickets starting at $5 (for kids) for Morton Arboretum’s production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown with dates on weekends through the end of August.  Spend the afternoon outdoors with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Sally, Lucy and all your favorite Peanuts characters with this fun-filled, musical adventure from Theatre-Hikes. The theater company’s innovative approach marries stage favorites and nature walks, with scenes held in various locations in parks and along hiking trails. Bring a blanket, water and comfortable shoes so you can enjoy the surrounding natural beauty during jaunts between scenes. Based on the timeless comics by Charles M. Schulz, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a comedic musical that brings the Peanuts gang’s most memorable situations from both the comic strip and TV specials to life, with appearances from the Kite-Eating Tree, the Little Red-Haired Girl and Snoopy’s battles with the Red Baron.

PITA and I saw this play at Drury Lane – it’s charming, whimsical and just plain fun for all ages.

Hospitality Suite, like David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, is a great American drama about the obsessed adherents of the country’s most revered religion: business. Written by Chicago playwright Roger Rueff, this moving and comic tale brings together two seen-it-all salesmen and a youngster from the company’s research department for a trade show. Their goal is to net the business of the “Big Kahuna,” a big-time potential client who could potentially save their troubled employer. But when the younger man hooks the client, his reaction is something neither of the two older, more cynical reps could ever have imagined. Adapted into a celebrated film starring Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito,Hospitality Suite comes to the Citadel Theatre in a dynamic stage production directed by Cody Estle.  Tickets to Hospitality Suite at the Citadel Theatre are both comp and discounted, depending on performance date.