Fine & Performing Arts

This week ranks as one of the highlights of the 2009-2010 Fine & Performing Arts Season at North Central College with performances by Michael Feinstein and ABBA Mania.

Michael Feinstein

Feinstein is one of the premier interpreters of American popular song and has been a household name since the success of his 1988 one-man Broadway show “Isn’t It Romantic?” He maintains a busy touring schedule and is nationally recognized for his commitment to the American popular song, both celebrating its art and preserving its legacy for the next generation.

He performs at 8 p.m. Sat., Nov. 14 in Pfeiffer Hall. Get information about tickets at http://finearts.northcentralcollege.edu/x48322.xml.

ABBA Mania performs at 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15 in Pfeiffer Hall. The world’s No. 1 touring ABBA tribute concert, ABBA Mania has been delighting audiences of all ages since 1999, selling out theaters and concert halls internationally. ABBA Mania is not only for life-long, diehard ABBA fans of the Swedish supergroup, but for the new generation of fans who never had the opportunity to see ABBA live. Hit after hit includes “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo,” “Mamma Mia,” “Take A Chance On Me” and many more.

Information about tickets is available at http://finearts.northcentralcollege.edu/x48323.xml.

“Cats” is the second-longest-running musical in Broadway history, and Naperville-area audiences can enjoy this popular Andrew Llloyd Webber play this weekend at North Central College.

Based on the poems of T.S. Elliot’s “Old Possums Book of Practical Cats,” “Cats” is a story of the tribe of Jellicle cats who gather in a junkyard the night of the Jellicle Ball to celebrate who they are.

“Cats” will be staged in Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave., at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5; 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7; and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8. Tickets are only $15/adults and $10/students and senior citizens.

A special performance for school groups will be held 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 6. Tickets are $5; chaperones and teachers are free. “Cats” is perfect entertainment for the entire family.

Call the Box Office at 630-637-SHOW (7469) or buy tickets online.

Cats

The critically acclaimed entertainer and Tony Award-winner Patti LuPone will showcase her one-woman show “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda,” which she recently debuted at Carnegie Hall. Her not-to-miss show is set for Saturday, April 25, at 8 p.m. in Pfeiffer Hall. Her concert act “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda” was conceived and directed by “Hairspray’s” Scott Wittman and features songs LuPone “could have played, should have played, did play and will play.” Audiences on April 25 can expect to hear tunes from “Hair,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Funny Girl,” “West Side Story,” “Anything Goes” and more, performed in a way that is uniquely LuPone. She won her Tony Award for work in “Evita” and an Olivier Award for her performances in the West End productions of “Les Misérables” and “The Cradle Will Rock.” Her other theatrical credits include “Sunset Boulevard,” “Anything Goes,” “Oliver!,” “Working,” “The Old Neighborhood,” “Master Class” and “Pal Joey.”

LuPone also headlined two solo Broadway concerts, “Patti LuPone On Broadway” and “Matters of the Heart,” and received glowing notices for her performance as Mrs. Lovett in the Lincoln Center concert version of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” and a Tony nomination for her performance in the recent revival of that Sondheim work. LuPone has appeared in opera productions, including San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Weill-Brecht’s “The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” for the Los Angeles Opera and Marc Blitzstein’s “Regina” at The Kennedy Center. LuPone is also known for her many film roles, such as “Driving Miss Daisy,” and television appearances in the Emmy-winning telecasts of “Passion” and “Sweeney Todd,” “Will & Grace,” “Ugly Betty,” “Monday Night Mayhem,” “Evening At the Pops” with John Williams, and many more.