Shaara discusses and reads excerpts from his new novel A Chain of Thunder: A Novel of the Siege of Vicksburg.
The drive-in theater is open seven nights a week in the summer, with first-run double features on weekends. Pets and children under 5 are free, and there is a deal of $14 per carload on Tuesdays. See website for showings. $5-$9, $14/carload on Tuesday
Jennings signs copies of On the Ladder of Humanity and On the Edge of Greed, the two newest editions to his "Jolene Harley" series.
One of the top suburban showcases, featuring local and national acts.
Lionel Bart's musical version of the Dickens novel opened on Broadway 50 years ago, but it feels even older. That's not the fault of Rachel Rockwell, who directed this spirited revival for Drury Lane Oakbrook, nor of her energetic cast, led by John Reeger as the lovable rogue Fagin and Heidi Kettenring as Nancy, the golden-hearted whore. It's just that Bart's show is so conservative and unadventurous—a melodrama packed with tunes written in the style of an earlier generation—that the whole thing smells of mothballs. Still, it's entertaining, and just try to get Bart's earworm-filled score out of your head. —Jack Helbig $35-$49