Free State thespians to stage ‘Our Town’

Free State High School’s production of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Performances continue Friday and Saturday nights at the Free State auditorium.

Tickets are $4 for the public, $3 for students, and are available at Hy-Vee stores or at the door.

SWJH to perform Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’

Southwest Junior High School students this week will stage J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic, “The Hobbit.”

The 30-plus-member cast has been rehearsing since late September for the production that will play at 7 p.m. Thursday-Nov. 17 at the school’s auditorium. Tickets are $3 for adults, $1 for students.

Famed comedy theater coming to Kansas Union

The Second City, Chicago’s legendary comedy theater, will appear at 10 p.m. Tuesday at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

The performance will feature sketches, songs and improvisations from the theater’s 40-plus-year history.

The show, which has a reputation for its satire and cutting-edge improvisation, will be a staging ground for some up-and-coming comedians.

The Second City’s alumni list includes many famed American comedians: Elaine May, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, Peter Boyle, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Martin Short, John Candy, Chris Farley and Mike Meyers.

Tickets are $7 for students, $10 for the public, and they may be purchased at the Student Union Activities Box Office on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union. For more information, call 864-SHOW or visit www.suaevents.com.

KU Wind Ensemble revisits roaring ’20s

The Kansas University Wind Ensemble will perform a swinging concert of 1920s music at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Lied Center.

The concert, under the direction of John Lynch, will begin with a series of small ensemble configurations, including the cabaret-like Kurt Weill piece “A Little Threepenny Music.” Igor Stravinsky’s “Symphonies of Wind Instruments” and “Rainbow Ripples,” a xylophone-driven piece by George Green that highlights the percussion section, will conclude the first half of the concert.

Guest conductor Tom Stidham, associate director of bands, will bring out the entire Wind Ensemble after intermission and direct “Irish Tune from County Derry” by Percy Grainger. Associate professor Christopher Moore will be the featured trumpet soloist in “Concerto for Trumpet” by Alexander Arutunian.

The finale will be the march “They Are There!” by Charles Ives.

Admission is $7 for the general public, $5 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at all KU Ticket Outlets: The Lied Center Ticket Office, 864-ARTS; Murphy Hall Ticket Office, 785-864-3982; and SUA Ticket Office, 785-864-3477.