The Du Page Opera Theatre will present a fully staged production of Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” at 8 p.m. Thursday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the College of Du Page Arts Center Mainstage, 22nd Street and Park Boulevard, Glen Ellyn.
The work, a spoof of love’s complications, premiered 150 years ago. It will be sung in English.
Bass Alvaro Ramirez will sing the title role. Other soloists include soprano Gabriella Santinelli as Norina, baritone Paul Koch as Dr. Malatesta and tenor Raymon Cunha as Ernesto. Geoffrey Edwards directs and Harold Bauer conducts the opera.
Tickets are $16, $14 for students and senior citizens. Call the Arts Center ticket office at 708-858-3110.
– The production of “A Chorus Line,” playing at Pheasant Run’s Dinner Theatre, has been updated by director Diana L. Martinez, to have a more contemporary feel.
Performing such memorable tunes from the show as “One,” “I Can Do That” and “What I Did For Love” is a cast of Chicago-based talent, including Angela Beutel as Cassie, Emmy Blume as Connie, Lara Filip as Maggie, Stacey Harris as Diana, Kevin Paul as Zach, Matthew Orlando as Mike, Brian Kawasaki as Paul, Bob Kiser as Mark, Ed Kross as Bobby, and Darren-James Moos as Greg.
“A Chorus Line” is scheduled to run through June 26. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4:45 and 9 p.m. Saturdays and 1:45 and 6 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $37 to $44, which include show, dinner, tax and gratuity.
Pheasant Run Dinner Theatre is located on North Avenue, three miles west of Illinois Highway 59, in St. Charles. Call 708-584-6342 or Ticketmaster at 312-902-1500.
– Also in St. Charles this weekend, the Norris Cultural Arts Center presents the third offering in its Sunshine Series. The Children’s Storybook Theatre touring production of “Beauty and the Beast” will be presented at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Tickets are $6. The Norris Cultural Arts Center is at 1040 Dunham Rd., St. Charles. Call 708-584-7200.
– Illinois Benedictine College in Lisle continues its “Spirit of the Arts” series this month. Jazz Bass Night with Jim Cox is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; Black Comedy Jam, featuring the rhythm and blues band F.L.O.W. and comedian Godfrey, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday; and “Fences,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning play about racial discrimination in baseball before integration, Feb. 17-20. Feb. 19 is Jazz Saxophone Day; there’s a six-hour master class at 9 a.m., followed by a Jazz Saxophone Evening Concert at 8 p.m. The Chicago Brass Quintet performs in concert at 3 p.m. Feb. 27.
Illinois Benedictine College is located at 5700 College Rd., Lisle. For tickets, call 708-960-1500, ext. 2900.
– The Sunday chamber concert at the Morton Arboretum, “I Hear It in the Deep Heart’s Core,” featuring songs from the poetry of W. B. Yeats, is sold out.
– The Elgin Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Margaret Hillis, founder of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus, will present a program of favorite works from past seasons at 8 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Hemmens Auditorium, 150 Dexter Ct., Elgin.
The repertoire will include Beethoven’s “Leonore Overture No. 3” and Rachmaninoff’s “Symphony No. 3 in A Minor.” Also on the program is the premiere of Louise Talma’s “Full Circle.”
A pre-concert talk will be hosted by Elgin music professor Daniel Maki 45 minutes prior to each concert in the south lobby of the auditorium. Tickets range from $8 to $22, with senior citizen and student discounts. Call the ticket office at 708-622-0300.
– For the fifth year in a row, and in memory of Gilda Radner, Second City will give a benefit performance for Hinsdale’s Wellness House at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Inland Meeting & Exposition Center, 400 E. Ogden Ave., Westmont.
The benefit performance will be preceded by a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m. Seating is limited; tickets are $60. Call 708-655-0721.
– Calling all pianists: all skill levels, from intermediate students to performer/teachers, are needed for “A Grand Time With Gershwin,” a multi-piano extravaganza that will feature between 70 and 150 local pianists. The event is scheduled for 8 p.m. April 16 at the Paramount Arts Center, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora.
The program will feature such Gershwin favorites as “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Embraceable You,” “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” and “Fantasia.” Pianist and conductor John Kozar will arrive early to coach all pianists.
Pianists must be available for rehearsals April 14-16. Musicians should send a letter with a description of their musical background to Lorelei Capell, Concert Mistress, 1100 N. Dearborn Parkway, Suite 301, Chicago, Ill. 60610. Applications must be received by Tuesday.
Call 312-587-0159 or 708-896-7676 for more information.
– Pianist Silvia Roederer will present a free recital at 8 p.m. Thursday in Elmhurst College’s Buik Recital Hall, Irion Hall, 190 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst. The program will include Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Chopin and Bartok. For more information, call 708-617-3033.
– If you can’t sleep Saturday night, head out to the Riverfront Playhouse in Aurora for “Insomniac Theatre,” an experimental theater project.
The show is never the same twice and anyone wishing to perform will probably get a chance. The show begins at midnight Saturday at the Riverfront Playhouse, 11-13 S. Water Street Mall, Aurora. Tickets-$3 per person, $5 per couple-are available at the door. Call 708-896-7144 for more information.
