Datebook

FESTIVALS

Cinco de Mayo

The third annual Cinco de Mayo Festival will continue through Sunday in downtown Elgin. Along with a carnival by Windy City Amusements, the festival will offer a variety of activities and entertainment, including live music, food vendors, dance performances, workshops, information booths, a parade on Saturday and more. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.downtownelgin.org or call (847) 488-1449.

EXPOS

Home-based businesses wanted

Local home-based business owners are invited to market their products and services at the annual Small Business Expo Saturday, June 28, and Sunday, June 29, at Spring Hill Mall, Illinois 72 and Illinois 31, West Dundee. For space allocations and fees, call Neil Lopez at (847) 428-2200.

AUDITIONS

'Hair'

Open auditions for Hemmens Cultural Center's Elgin Summer Theatre production of Hair will be from 7-9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, May 13-14, in the lower level of the Hemmens, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. The director is looking for singers, dancers and actors 18 and older who should bring a prepared song or be ready to dance or cold read from the script. For more information, visit www.hemmens.org.

'Pirates of Penzance'

The Kane Community Opera group has announced auditions for its inaugural production, The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. Auditions will be open for all roles and chorus members from 7-9 p.m. Friday, May 16, and 4:30-9 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at State Street Dance Studio, 9 N. Fourth St., Geneva. For information, call Steve Hanson at (630) 346-1842 or visit www.kanecommunityopera.org.

'Cabaret'

Elgin Community College Musical Theatre will hold auditions for the summer production of Cabaret, a musical made famous in the 1996 Broadway production and 1972 film. Auditions will be held from 7-10 p.m. Thursday, May 8, and noon-3 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at Elgin Community College's Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. Callbacks will be at 7 p.m. Monday, May 12. To schedule an appointment, call (847) 214-7188.

ARTS & CRAFTS

Vendors wanted

King of Glory Lutheran Church, 36W720 Hopps Road (corner of Hopps and Randall), Elgin, is accepting applications for its outdoor flea market, collectibles and craft show slated for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, June 14. Call Donna Peddy at (847) 742-8699.

SOUNDCHECK

Pavarotti tribute

Onesti Entertainment will honor beloved Italian tenor, the late Luciano Pavarotti, in a tribute show at 8 p.m. today at The Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St., St. Charles. The show will star the Chicago Lyric Opera's Franco Martorano, Simon Kyung Lee and Warren Moulton. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased online at www.o-shows.com or by calling (630) 587-8400.

American Songbook

The Elgin Community College Concert Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the ECC Visual and Performing Arts Center's Blizzard Theatre, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. Led by James Kull, the band will perform a number of selections, including Invictus, That Newport Rag, Marcho Stereo, A Salute to New York City and The Pride of the Wolverines. Tickets are $8 general admission and $6 for students and seniors. Call (847) 622-0300.

Elgin Symphony Orchestra

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra will finish its 2007-08 season with the American Icon Festival, May 2, 3 and 4 at Hemmens Cultural Center in downtown Elgin; and Mozart & Mahler, June 13, 14 and 15 at the Hemmens. Single tickets start at $15 for most events. For information, call (847) 888-4000 or visit www.elginsymphony.org.

ON STAGE

'I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change'

A comical celebration of the modern-day mating game, Noble Fool Theatricals will present off-Broadway's musical comedy revue, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change through July 19 at Pheasant Run Resort Mainstage Theater, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. Tickets are $27 on Thursdays and Fridays and $38 on Saturdays and Sundays. Dinner-show and overnight packages are available, too. Call (630) 584-6342 or visit www.noblefool.org.

Janus Theatre

Janus Theatre will present The Greatest Story eBertolt: A Brecht Review through May 18 at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., Elgin. For this project, Sarafina Vecchio of Elgin adapted the material from Bertolt Brecht's writings. She will direct the show. In a collage of music, theater and poetry, six actors find themselves together in a rundown German cafe. With only their will and charisma, they tell the story of Brecht, a poet who found fame in Germany as a playwright, but because of his strong opposition to Hitler's ideas, he was forced to flee Germany only to find a new enemy. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 for students and seniors, and $10 for groups of eight or more. Call (847) 931-0637 or visit www.janustheatre.org.

Traveling Theatre Troupe

Elgin Community College's Traveling Theatre Troupe, also known as Triple T, will bring a popular children's book to life during a free performance at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Visual and Performing Arts Center, Room 284D, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. The Adventures of Captain Underpants follows two children who transform their elementary school principal, without his knowledge, into Captain Underpants. Call (847) 622-0300.

Noble Fool Theatricals

Part catechism class, part stand-up comedy routine, Late Nite Catechism, already the longest-running one-person show in Chicago's theater history, will run through May 31 at Pheasant Run Resort's Preservation Hall, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. Show times are at 6 p.m. Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $27 with dinner packages available from $49. Call (630) 584-6342 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

'Spring's Awakening'

Elgin Community College Theatre will perform Frank Wedekind's Spring's Awakening in SecondSpace Theatre in the Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. Spring's Awakening follows Melchior, Moritz and Wendla as they struggle to understand their raging hormones and changing bodies. Performances will be held at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through May 4. Tickets are $10 general admission and $8 for students and seniors. Call (847) 622-0300.

Albright Theatre

The Albright Theatre Co. continues to push the envelope with its spring production of an adaptation of the literary classic, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton. For the first time in Albright's 34 years, young adults will lead the cast in this love story. The cast of about 30 actors range in age from 4 to 40-something. Show times are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through May 3. Tickets are $13 general admission and $10 for students and seniors. Reservations are recommended. The theater is at 100 N. Island Ave., Batavia. Call (630) 406-8838.

'The Last Five Years'

Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., downtown St. Charles, will stage The Last Five Years through May 18. This contemporary musical, written and composed by Jason Robert Brown, chronicles five years in the lives of Jamie, a writer, and Cathy, an actress, who find love but ultimately go their separate ways. Tickets are $25 for adults and $23 for seniors and students. Call (630) 587-8521 or visit www.steelbeamtheatre.com.

'Robin Hood, the Musical'

Steel Beam Children's Theatre will present Robin Hood, the Musical on Saturdays at the theater, 111 W. Main St., downtown St. Charles. Directed by Amy Steele of Chicago, the show features Marc Barrowclift of St. Charles in the title role along with Emma Perry of Elgin as Maid Marian and Ryan Bieber of St. Charles as Little John. Performances are at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. through May 24. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.steelbeamtheatre.com or (630) 587-8521.

Elgin Theatre Company

The 2007-08 season concludes with Nunsense II, May 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17. All performances take place at Theatre 355, 355 E. Chicago St., Elgin. Single tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for youth and seniors. Season tickets are available. (847) 741-0532.

THAT'S FUNNY

The Improv

5 Woodfield Road, Schaumburg. Lineup includes: Ralphie May, May 1-4; Gabriel Iglesias, May 8-11; Steve Trevino, May 22-25; and Greg Behrendt, May 29-June 1. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays; 8 and 10:15 p.m. Fridays; 7 and 9:15 p.m. Saturdays; and 7 p.m. Sundays. To make reservations, call (847) 240-2001 or visit www.improv.com.

ART EXHIBITS

Art for All

Art for All, with 36 members from Elgin and the greater Fox Valley, will host its spring show through June 1 at the Campbell House in the Kane County Events Center on Cherry Lane off Kirk Road in Geneva. The show will include water colors, oil paintings, photography, sculpture, pen and ink, and jewelry. Call (847) 741-7375 or visit www.artforall-elgin.com.

Arts in Bartlett

The public is invited to view Arts in Bartlett's spring exhibit through May 9 in the second-floor gallery in Bartlett Village Hall, 228 S. Main St., Bartlett. View works of pencil, acrylic, photography, watercolor, ceramic, oil and mixed media. The gallery is open to the public from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. Call (630) 372-4152 or visit www.artsinbartlett.org.

Call for Artists

The village of Algonquin and Algonquin Public Arts Commission are organizing a fine art show slated for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 31. The show will be held along the Fox River in Riverfront Park and is open to artists who create original pieces in a variety of media. There is a $15 entry fee, and interested artists must complete and submit an application packet by Monday. To request an application or for more information, call Ben Mason at (847) 658-4148.