Donley’s Wild West Town a return to yesteryear

Go West, young Chicagoans. Go West.

Direct your parents to load up the family car and head on Interstate 90 past Barrington, past Elgin and through Hampshire. Go west to Union, Ill., the small-town (population: 579) home of Donley’s Wild West Town, a museum and …

Beverly Theatre Guild celebrates with ‘Fabulous @ Fifty’

Southland theater fans are spoiled — in a good way.

Not only can they travel to downtown Chicago for a number of Broadway shows, but they also have a bevy of close-by community theater.

Case in point is the Beverly Theatre Guild, which is billed …

Crowd Pleasers for May 17, 2013

Here is a look at some crowd pleasers. Events include Gaelic Park Players hosting the 20th annual Acting Irish International Theatre Festival in Oak Forest, Grande Prairie Singers' concert in Park Forest, and Suburban Youth Symphony Orchestra’s concert in Orland Park.

‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ turns out to be quite the Enterprise

RICHARD ROEPER: Director J.J. Abrams is a true talent, and he’s also a pop-culture savant who has great respect for the legacy of this franchise as well as a keen understanding of the mega-importance of box-office figures. There’s no better choice to make the best, the purest AND the most accessible big-budget “Star Trek” movie possible. Yet with all the futuristic splendor and the fine performances, “Into Darkness” only occasionally soars, mostly settling for being a solid but unspectacular effort that sets the stage for the next chapter(s).

New on DVD for May 17, 2013

Here is a look at what’s new on DVD this week. Many of these titles were released on May 14.

Marc Maron attempts ‘Normal’ with new book

NEW YORK — Soon after taking the stage, Marc Maron decides to skip the act.

He’s got a packed room at a downtown New York club, all eager to see the 49-year-old comic tape what will be a comedy special for Netflix. Normally, such tapings …

First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre’s 2013 concert season

The 2013 summer concert season is a live music fan’s dream.

A ton of great gigs are on the way, and many of them will be at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, 19100 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park.

“It’s a busy summer and there’s just a …

‘Miss Neo Pageant’ explores what it means to be feminine, successful

Women studies scholars will tell you that there are three feminist movements. The first began with the suffragettes and the right to vote; the second, of course, was the women’s liberation movement of the ’60s and ’70s and the third rallied the young women of …

First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre’s 2013 schedule

Here are the shows so far for the 2013 season at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, 19100 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park, (708) 614-1616.

Tickets are or will be available soon at LiveNation.com , all Ticketmaster outlets, the box office and at (800) 745-3000. Lawn and …

Crowd Pleasers for May 10, 2013

Here is a look at some crowd pleasers. Events include St. Andrew Players’ “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” in Homewood.

Field Museum, with an extensive but costly collection, faces millions of dollars in cuts

With more than 25 million specimens, the Field Museum has one of the world’s largest and most renowned collections. Maintaining this massive collection comes with a price, though, one the Field Museum can’t sustain. Museum leaders now are grappling with what the museum of the future will look like and what role the collection and research will play in it.

New on DVD for May 10, 2013

Here is a look at what’s new on DVD this week. Many of these titles were released on May 7.

‘Mockingbird’ author Lee sues over copyright in NY

NEW YORK (AP) — The author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” has filed a New York lawsuit to re-secure the copyright to it.

Ben Kingsley finds great depth in ‘Iron Man’ villain

LOS ANGELES — Iron Man is the first one to admit that even he has his, uh, Kryptonite.

“These superheroes are only ever as good as their bad guys,” Robert Downey Jr. said “If you have a lame bad guy then you’re done.”

There is …

Faith fuels former Bulls GM’s fight vs. cancer

When he was diagnosed with cancer, Pat Williams had two choices.

The one-time Bulls general manager could sit around feeling sorry for himself and spend every waking moment thinking about having multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Or he could continue …