7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20
The Nerd at Village Players
A comedy from Independent Stars Playhouse. Also showing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and at 6 p.m. Sunday. $20, www.village-players.org. In the Blackbox Theater at Village Players Performing Arts Center, 1010 W. Madison. 524-1892
7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20
Play audition for The Analytical Engine
You get to be the critic as Circle Theatre hosts stage readings of new plays to find one for its next season. Gene Baldwin’s Ratkillers is about a restaurant crew’s original approach to pest control. Suggested donation $5. At 7300 W. Madison, Forest Park. www.circle-theatre.org, 770-0700
8 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21
Live music at Buzz Cafe
In the morning, it’s the Oak Park Farmers Market Band and in the evening, expect acoustic rock from The Rev. At 905 S. Lombard in the Oak Park Arts District. 660-0894, www.thebuzzcafe.com
6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21
Live music at Eastgate Café
Bluegrass, blues and country folk music from Comfort Food, the husband-and-wife duo of Rich and Vicki Ingle. 102 Harrison, in the Oak Park Arts District. 660-9091
6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21
Gala for Oak Park Festival Theatre
Richard Christiansen, dean of theater critics, gets an award and Suzanne Petri entertains during Oak Park Festival Theatre’s annual celebration. This year’s gala is called Panache, a nod to Cyrano de Bergerac, who is the hero of the Edmond Rostand play that Oak Park Festival Theatre will be producing this summer. Panache tickets are $70-$75. Call 445-4440 or go to www.oakparkfestival.com.
6:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21
19th Century Club’s Mardi Gras celebration
Jazz by the New Orleans Mudcats alongside a Louisiana-style buffet with such Southern treats as jambalaya, red beans and rice. and collard greens with bacon. $50; $15 for a child younger than 10. No tickets sold at the door. Reservations required. Costumes optional. Call 386-2729 or go to www.19thcenturyclub.com. 178 Forest, Oak Park.
7:30 p.m. Saturday
Play audition for The Analytical Engine
You get to be the critic as Circle Theatre hosts stage readings of new plays to find one for its next season. Jon Steinhagen’s The Analytical Engine is an 1850s incarnation of computer dating. Suggested donation $5. At 7300 W. Madison, Forest Park. www.circle-theatre.org, 770-0700
9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21
Al DeGenova and Jared Smith at Unity Temple
For this month’s 3rd Saturday Coffee House at Unity Temple, Charlie Rossiter hosts poetry readings by a blues saxophonist and a two-time Pulitzer nominee who was one of the mainstays of poetry in Chicago. An open mic session will precede the appearances of DeGenova and Smith, starting at 7:30. The featured poets will take the stage at 9 p.m. Suggested donation: $5. At 875 Lake, Oak Park. 660-9376
3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22
Hugo Wolf Quartett at Dominican University
A prize-winning Viennese ensemble that fuses jazz with chamber music will be at In Lund Auditorium. $17, www.dom.edu/pac. Dominican University Performing Arts Center, 7900 W. Division, River Forest. 488-5000
4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22
Ella Jenkins at Wonder Works
The Grammy winner and Chicago native known as the first lady of children’s music will bring her call-and-response show to the children’s museum of Oak Park. Lots of fun in English, but expect songs, chants, poems, recitations and games in Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew, Korean and Swahili, too. $10-$14; call 383-4815 to charge. 6445 W. North Ave., Oak Park. 383-4815
