I went to watch Les Miserables by Schaumburg On Stage as I'd recently missed the national tour in…read moredowntown Chicago. Realizing that Drury Lane and Paramount had done their version a few years back and Marriott Theatre had done it a bit before that, I wanted to watch a live version in case I can't make the next big stop in Milwaukee. I watch quite a bit of theatre, both professional and amateur. Not sure why, but until this show -- I wasn't aware of Schaumburg on Stage which has been around since 2016. To my surprise, the quality of the production was similar in quality to other highly acclaimed groups like the District 214 all-district group (which recently did The Wedding Singer). Here were my thoughts on various aspects of the show: Staging: It really surprised me how many sets were used in the show and how they were fully functional. They were designed and painted well and items were hardly reused. They also did a very good job of quickly changing sets to make sure the showtime was kept to a reasonable length. Vocals: Two things I like about this. One is how they kept the complex harmonies -- which worked great in group songs. The overall balance lacked baritone and bass voices, but that's expected with younger actors. I also liked how they did not shy away from the challenge of the very high notes for male or female leads. They could have easily changed the key, but it's great to see them embrace the challenge. Orchestra: A bit smaller, not sure if it's due to space limitations or that's the way the school version is written. A bit more reliant on piano and common woodwind/string instruments than the full version. I did like how they played at a level not to overpower the vocals. Lighting and fog: I liked all the varieties of lights used. Not just in general stage lighting from the top, but also from lights on the side and spotlights. There were quite a bit of variations on lighting, which helped to tell the story. I did not like the excessive use of stage fog though, which tended to linger for more than a single scene. Overall, a great group to watch a show from. It's much better than the typical amateur group and prices are very reasonable. It's also great how they incorporate actors and actresses from all different ages and help them to build interest in theatre. Based on the quality of this performance, I can't wait to watch another show when they get a new digital microphone system.

The experienced people at SOS really see the value and potential in each kid. They are like family…read morein that they really connect and care, but they also hold the kids to a high standard and help them achieve it. This is definitely a step up from park district community theater in both production quality and experience.

I love this place! The prices are reasonable so that you can see all season…read more The theater is not very big. Even if you are in the last row you can see well. The plays are family friendly. They usually do 1 "children's" play such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang each season. The theater is non profit. The cast is all volunteer. Do not let that affect what you think. The plays are wonderful. I just saw Tuesdays with Morrie last night. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. If you have not been to one of the plays before...well, you are missing a good show.

This venue is a hidden gem . Local theatre company with exceptional talent, costumes, set design…read more Family affordable and clean and friendly and just a joy ! Don't pass up if you have a chance to see a show here ! No regrets ever !

Another year, another Itasca Fest…read more We live minutes from the Itasca border, so getting here is a breeze. And so is parking -- though you do have to be willing to walk a block or two. But downtown Itasca is lovely. I think most people, if they drove through this little village of 8,300 people, would not expect very big happenings. But Itasca Fest is pretty impressive for the size of the town. Free admission, and there's a huge carnival, a big tent set up with plenty of tables for noshing at and a stage with live entertainment, bingo, a rummage sale, educational events for the kids (including interacting with wild animals) and of course plenty of greasy food to go around. Last year, there was a super-cool NASA trailer set up where you could play with various gadgets and learn about life in a spaceship. Honestly, I enjoyed it as much as the kid with us did. Unfortunately, no NASA trailer this year. Still, four stars for a solidly good time nearby and on the cheap.

Considering the majority of my big fat Italian family lives in Itasca, it's shocking that this was…read moremy first time here. And let's be honest, I came for the Bingo. We started here on Sunday night, the last night of the fest. Bingo is run by the Lyons Club and they do a great job of keeping the natives restless while having some personality. The guy working our row was awesome, was so friendly. Cards are 3 for a dollar and my dreams were crushed when I saw they were the sliders and not the stamp kind of cards. I was really looking forward to having a big purple stamper to dot up my cards. Each round of Bingo could win somewhere between $50-$70 but alas, I didn't have any luck. The final round was a cover-all game and cards were $1 each. The jackpot for that final round was above the $200 mark. In order to entertain us before the final round (and possibly because it was the last night of the fest, we were able to get as many free drinks as we wanted before the last game). I spent about $13 total on an hour of Bingo, which I don't consider to be too much of a loss. Did I really just write about Bingo for a full paragraph? Back to the fest. They have about 8-10 vendors for food including local restaurants. Rides are plentiful here, I couldn't even guess how many. Upwards of a dozen? Games were also not scarce, and they had all the classic games. I ended up winning myself a stuffed monkey. It's what every 29 year old adult female needs. I can only compare Itasca fest to Bartlett fest or Naperville's Rib Fest. I would probably prefer Itasca fest over both because it has WAY more games and rides than Bartlett, and isn't as crowded as Rib Fest. It's a new summer tradition.

It's been years since I've attended a circus and we were so impressed to see such amazing talent in…read morethese performers. We laughed so hard with the comedian and then sat in awe to see some of the impossible yet possible acts. Best of all there's no animal cruelty! This event was taken place in Huntington but is now in Citifield until Dec 15. Totally worth the visit. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

We had the chance to visit the circus!!! Our son loved the show, it wasn't super long. Animal free,…read moreplenty of acrobatics and stunts. Great fun for all. A bit pricey for concessions and extras, but such a neat little show!!!

Never did anything like this before but it wasn't what I had expected. I was expecting more of a…read moretheatrical atmosphere rather than 2 people in plain street clothes in a plain banquet room. No props, scenery, etc. The skit was good though but there was a lot of improv that was hit or miss. Seemed like something you would find at Second City. A few audience participation scenes too. Though I wouldn't do it again, they had some good plot twists and tricky scenarios to figure out.

Update: I received an email from the organizer regarding my experience (I had reached out via their…read morewebsite after the show) with an apology for the food experience and an offer to refund the tickets, which was accepted and appreciated. The star rating was updated due to the fact that they made it right and because of the two main performers, who are what made the show enjoyable. They were fun to watch.

School of Rock has been a fantastic place for my kids to learn music. All of the instructors are…read moresupportive, enthusiastic, and great with kids with a variety of educational needs and challenges. The program has exposed my kids to a variety of music they might never have listened to otherwise and helped them learn about the history and foundations of rock, jazz, metal, and pop. I think the focus on performance has helped to keep them from plateauing and given them something concrete to work toward. They're also able to work on personal projects and goals with instructors. Eric, Cyndi, Brandy, and Kyle are very warm and welcoming. I've talked the most to Eric and Cyndi--you can tell they really care about the families of School of Rock. They've also been very understanding of the fact that our family had a really rough winter/spring and sometimes practice fell by the wayside. Mathieu has been an absolute inspiration to my daughter. He's helped her lean into her strengths while nudging her into improving her weaknesses. Ian has the patience and good humor of a saint because my son is not an easy kid to teach. Somehow Ian has figured out a good approach that has encouraged my son to try difficult things without the kind of pressure that makes him dig in his heels. Every performance director they've had has been super encouraging, even when the going gets tough. Johnny, their most recent director, was just the nicest guy even when the kids were struggling. I'm really glad we gave School of Rock a try. It's been a meaningful and positive addition to our lives and I'm grateful for the kids' experiences there.

I couldn't be happier with the service and staff. My student can read music, play music and perform…read moremusic. If your child is dedicated to music, this is the place for them, because they are dedicated to their students. Staff is fun, intelligent, kind and nurturing. The other kids are very accepting of each other. They're all friends. Super enthusiastic and proud to be a part of this community. The music is so much fun and their shows are phenomenal. So much better than a little recital here or there.

I had the pleasure of viewing a Mystery Shop Murder Mystery performance and was extremely…read moreimpressed. The owner, Mary, instantly put the guests at ease with her welcoming and disarming ways. I did not know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to find how cleverly orchestrated the entire event was. The actors were professional and played their characters wonderfully well. The audience was encouraged to engage with the actors (in character, of course) to try and sleuth out the killer and The Mystery Shop staff was expert at laying out the clues for us to find and deduce who the killer was and why. The whole thing was done with such poise and taste that it could easily have been enjoyed by the whole family and in fact, I think the show we saw was suitable for children of junior high age and above. I will be searching for an occasion and excuse to have a party just so I can hire the Mystery Shop and have this enjoyable experience again... Perhaps a child's birthday party or maybe an adult New Year's Eve?

Very good program. Hired the Mystery Shop for a cub scout event and they put on a great show. Age…read moreappropriate, engaging, relevant, and family friendly! Mary was great to work with. Everyone was very nice and very professional. Started on time and ended on time. Tons of fun for the whole family!

This art festival takes place in Schaumburg on the grounds of the Al Larson Prairie Center for the…read moreArts. It's a festival that has vendors ranging from the more arts and crafts end of the spectrum to fine art. There were lots of different categories of art represented, including photography, painting, jewelry, and then of course different forms within each category of art such as oil, paintings, watercolor, etc. There were crafts, including handmade hats, knit and felted items and other textiles and fiber art. There were folks selling soaps, a booth was selling plants and moss art, and a couple booths selling fudge and another selling cookies and baked goods. They had quite a few food trucks as well, at least half a dozen of different types, so a little bit of something for everybody. It was pretty extensive. At first glance when you come through the main entrance, it seems it's just a few booths that they have use their parking lot to host, but it goes all the way towards the back of the building down by the little pond and the grassy area. There were well over 100 artists showcasing their works here. They had a local blacksmith here with an outdoor forge both selling and demoing, and per their booth they also host classes if you are interested in learning how to forge metal here in the suburbs. Inside the art center building, they had cocktails and wine and alcoholic beverages. I believe they also had children's activities, but I'm not sure where those may have been. They had at least two spots with musicians, as we passed by someone playing a steel drum and then in another area saw someone playing the hammered dulcimer as well. Parking--at least this year--was directly across the street at the school district building, though it's possible that's not typical (I thought I saw some reference to construction changing the parking situation). There were Schaumburg police officers directing traffic to allow people to safely cross the road at various intervals. We went early to avoid crowds and to have the easiest time with parking and were successful on both counts, and were here about an hour. I really liked that this art fair is a bit more of a home grown fair and not one of the ones from local production company, since I see some of the same artists at those ones and I like that none of the artists I saw today were familiar.

There's always a lot going on here at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts. I've been there…read morefor a couple of musical productions. The quality of the performances was always very high. The stage can be rented out by local theater companies to be used for their production. Outside of the building is a bandshell where concerts are help during the summer. One the day that my husband and I were there, there were people taking wedding pictures and quincenera pictures on the grounds in front of the pond that is there. There are also sculptures and art on the ground to be seen and take pictures of. I highly recommend the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts.

rough...food not great...drinks so so...took forever. kids EVERYWHERE screaming. MoRE across the…read morestreet has better vibe, food and beer. bartenders and servers were rarely present and taking shots behind bar. hard pass.

The sound was awful. It was almost painful to sit there . And I'm pretty sure it was not the band's…read moreproblem since both bands had the same problem. I thought I paid enough where I shouldn't have to listen to audio feedback for 3 hours. Every 5 seconds there is another screech. For this alone, I'll probably never come here again. Food was great. The service was good. The bands were talented. We just couldn't hear them.

I've been here a few times over the years. They have a lot of big names that come through. The…read moreparking sucks because it's part of the mall and there are restaurants nearby. I think if they were a stand alone building, the parking would not be as awful. After you park, they have two lines going into the building. One is general admission and the other is VIP. General admission was on the left and VIP was on the right. They are not labeled. VIP just means that you sit closer to the stage. Seats are like first come first serve. Btw when it is busier, they have people sitting in front of you at each table. They fill each table to the max. In general, I would recommend lining up at least 30-40 mins before the show begins, for better seating. After you sit down, you have to order two items per person. We just ordered two drinks each. It's kind of an asinine rule but I guess that's how they make their money. We ordered food in the past. Ever since then, we just grab food nearby before coming. Food was okay here. The drinks are not bad, the glasses are a good size so you can sip on it throughout the show. Service was good, although it could be better. It took awhile to receive our drinks. Depending on the comedian, you can get a free picture or you have to pay for one. Overall, it's like a 3.5 experience but 5 stars for the comedian. Meh, I'll give it 4 stars.

First Time In This Place watching a comedy show. We watched Jr De Guzman and he was so funny I…read moredidn't expect that very thankful that my friend invited me to go to the show we were in the second row table and the ticket was $53 which is super worth it. Parking was in an issue the place is small their stairs but there's also an elevator which I like the fact that it is small because it's more intimate that way and the comedian can actually interact with the audience. We didn't really try the food but there is a two drink minimum or an order of food so we just did two drinks it's a bit pricey so just need to expect that. The service was great the our server was always there checking up on us and asking what we needed so that's also a good thing. Will definitely come back and see more shows here. Happy watching!