Comedian Richard Lewis, regarded by peers as a ”comic`s comic,” will share his twisted psychological perceptions of life at 8 p.m. Friday at the Rialto Square Theatre, 102 N. Chicago St., Joliet.
Lewis` HBO special, ”Richard Lewis: I`m Exhausted,” was nominated for a cable excellence award. He was also one of the featured performers on ”Comic Relief III” and ”A Salute to the Improv.” On ABC-TV, he co-stars with Jamie Lee Curtis in ”Anything But Love,” playing a senior writer for a Chicago magazine.
Tickets are $26 and $20.50, available at the Rialto ticket office
(815-726-6600) or through Ticketmaster (312-902-1500).
At 3 p.m. Sunday at the Rialto, Don Williams, who has been called ”the Gary Cooper of American music,” will perform country ballads. Tickets are $23.50 and $19.50 at the same telephone numbers.
– The girls meet the boys in a battle of comedic harmonies at the Paramount Arts Centre in Aurora at 8 p.m. Saturday.
The girls are the Chenille Sisters; the boys are the Other Guys from the University of Illinois.
”Sisters who simply have different sets of parents,” Cheryl Dawdy, Connie Huber and Grace Morand became the Chenille Sisters in 1985 for the Ann Arbor Art Fair in Michigan. Their popularity grew throughout the Midwest, including performances with Garrison Keillor and Studs Terkel.
They incorporate blues, folk, swing and jazz into a show filled with humorous anecdotes and songs, including the audience pleaser ”Regretting What I Said.”
For 21 years, the Other Guys have been an octet drawn from the University of Illinois` Men`s Glee Club. They have developed their farcical style by creating original arrangements of traditional songs.
From their spoof of the university`s underground library to a hip version of the Illini Alma Mater, the Other Guys perform a cappella and with choreography.
Tickets are $11.50 and $9.50 at the box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora (708-896-6666), and at Ticketron outlets (312-902-1919).
Two-for-one tickets are offered on a space-available basis three hours before the performance. Phone the box office the day of the show for availability. Senior citizen and student discounts are also available. For group discounts, call 896-7676.
– Ralph Votapek, winner of the first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1968, is the featured soloist as the New Philharmonic opens its 14th season at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the College of Du Page Arts Center, 22nd Street and Park Boulevard, Glen Ellyn.
”Beethoven Five” is the theme of the concerts, which feature Beethoven`s Fifth Symphony and Fifth Piano Concerto (”Emperor”). Harold Bauer, music director since the New Philharmonic was formed in 1977, will conduct.
Three Friday concerts in the orchestra`s 1990-91 season will be repeated on Saturday nights. Season subscriptions are available.
Individual tickets to this first season concert are $11, or $9 for students and senior citizens. Call the arts center ticket office at 858-3110. – ”Barnum,” the story of the great showman P.T. Barnum, will be performed by the NCA Theatre Company at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Dellora A. Norris Cultural Arts Center, 1040 Dunham Rd., St. Charles.
Cast in this musical are Tony Thomann as Barnum; Diane Carmody as Charity, his wife; Joe Billquist in three roles, including the Ringmaster;
Candy Thomas as Jenny Lind; and David Hunt as Tom Thumb. Other cast members include Bill Croft, Terry Christianson, Suzanne Falconer, Carol Jeunette and Melinda Oswalt.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and children under 12. The box office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets may also be bought through Ticketmaster.
– The Downers Grove Oratorio Society will open its 1990-91 season at 2 p.m. Oct. 21 with ”Gregory Sullivan Isaacs in Recital.”
Isaacs, a lyric tenor, pianist and composer, promises an afternoon of music, guest artists and surprises. The concert, to benefit the Westrate Memorial Fund, will be at Union Church, 137 S. Garfield St., Hinsdale. General admission is $10.
– The Downers Grove Oratorio Society will present its first concert of the season, ”Haydn: The Creation,” at 2 p.m. Nov. 18. Soloists will include soprano Diane Ragains, tenor Scott McCoy and baritone Andrew Schultze.
The society`s concerts are staged at the Tivoli Theater, Warren Avenue at Highland, in Downers Grove. Tickets are $9, or $7.50 for senior citizens.
Two other concerts will complete the season. The Midwest premiere of Hovhaness` Symphony No. 24 (”Majnun”), a Buddhist meditation based on a sanscrit legend about Majnun, the great wise man, will be paired with the more familiar ”Mass in G” by Schubert at the Feb. 17 concert. On May 12, the society will perform Menotti`s ”Landscapes and Remembrances,” another Midwest premiere, and Mozart`s ”Vesperae Solennes de Confessore.`
Season tickets, which include all three concerts, are $25 for adults, $20 for students and senior citizens. Tax-deductible gifts by society donors may include season tickets as well. Call 515-0030 for details.
– Harper College strikes a blow for global harmony Saturday with its Festival of Nations. The gala, which runs from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Building M, 1200 W. Algonquin Rd. in Palatine, features food, music and dance from around the world. Entertainment includes Hasha Musha & the Kieve Klezmers performing Russian, Yiddish and Gypsy songs; Cruiscin Irish Band, playing the jigs and reels of Eire; Mexican Folkloric Dance Company of Chicago, showcasing 50 dancers and a mariachi band; and traditional Japanese dances performed by the Japanese Classical Dance Company. Area restaurants will be handing out free samples of their ethnic cuisine. Tickets are $4, or $3 for senior citizens and high school students; children under 12 free. Call 397-3000, ext. 2547.
