For your consideration

A quartet of activities for the coming week

Songs for the broken-hearted on V Day

Valentine’s Day means love, and that’s rotten for single folk who’d rather spend the day with someone special. Even if they don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day because it’s cheesy and sappy and triggers the gag reflex, it’s nice to have the option. Nobody likes feeling left …

New this week on video

Shakespeare turns out to have been a bit of a poser in the historical drama “Anonymous” and Santa Claus turns out to be a bit of a stoner in “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.”

Dan Chaon’s stories help you Stay Awake

Before publishing his critically acclaimed novels You Remind Me of Me and Await Your Reply, Dan Chaon (a 1986 Northwestern grad) made his literary reputation as a writer of dark, mysterious and disturbing short stories that packed a powerful metaphysical punch, not unlike the pulp …

Actors add extra zest to comedy’s debut

In “Sirens,” Deborah Zoe Laufer’s romantic comedy making its Midwest premiere at Citadel Theatre, a couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary bumps head-on into a midlife crisis as they take stock on the state of their marriage. The 90-minute play, directed by Will Casey, is …

Cook Park Library hosts guitar concert

Award-winning fingerstyle guitarist Edgar Cruz will perform flamenco, pop and jazz at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Cook Park Library, 413 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. For more information, call (847) 362-2330 or see www.cooklib.org.

Burning dialogue doesn’t warm up ‘Hesperia’s’ plot

Do a quick Google on “born again porn stars” and you’ll find there’s a surprising number of Evangelicals who gave up so-called sins of the flesh upon finding Jesus. Yet despite its grounding in an apparently not uncommon phenomenon, Randall Colburn’s “Hesperia” strains credulity. The …

Arts and entertainment calendar for Feb. 9

Stage

“Clutter: The True Story of the Collyer Brothers Who Never Threw Anything Out,” directed by Deerfield resident Wayne Mell, through March 12 at the Greenhouse Theatre, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The cast includes Edward Kuffert of Glencoe. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; …

Today’s ‘Sirens’ enthrall with laughs

Maybe, if you’re a romantically inclined guy deep in the throes of a mid-life crisis, it’s not a good idea to stand near the rail of a cruise ship in waters known to harbor mystical aquatic seductresses. It’s pretty likely that Sam Abrams, the long-married …

Dads, daughters trip the light fantastic in Mundelein

Family Friendly: Fathers and their girls can cut a rug at a Dad & Daughter Dance in Mundelein. Also: “Are You My Mother?” comes to life in Lincolnshire, Jim Gill entertains in Lincolnshire and “Dolphin Tale” is screened in Mundelein.

For your consideration

A quartet of activities for the coming week

Ron Hawking performs in Libertyville

Ron Hawking stars in “A Romantic Evening with the Stars” at 7:30 p.m. Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, at Austin’s Saloon & Eatery, 481 Peterson Road, Libertyville. Tickets are $50; $60 VIP seating. Call (847) 549-1972 ore see www.austinssaloon.com.

Montgomery Gentry runnin’ with the bulls on new tour

Montgomery Gentry’s Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry have long been known for their down-and-dirty country music and rebel attitude. Yet, when recalling the night one of them came face to face with a bull ... well, let’s just say their tune changes just a bit. …

New play considers finders, keepers and losers of the faith

When Chicago playwright Randall Colburn was in college, his world changed completely when he fell in love with a preacher’s daughter.

He went from a “little hedonist” to a born-again Christian, he said. A few years later when his relationship collapsed, his religious identity faltered …

Blondes have all the fun in ‘Legally’

Suspend disbelief and enjoy the wonderful antics of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, playing at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire through March 25. Chelsea Packard, who can sing, dance and act, embodies Miss Elle Woods, the ultimate California girl, pretty in …