5 things to do: Joliet Slammers

Joliet Slammers Baseball: The first home game is May 17. Silver Cross Field, 1 Mayor Art Shultz Drive. Visit Jolietslammers.com. How much: $5-$12 Civil War Days: The encampment is May 18-19 at Naper Settlement. At 523 S. Webster St., Naperville. Call (630) 420-6010. How much: …

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy salutes Cab Calloway

Twenty years later, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is still swinging just as hard as they were back in the day. The nine-piece jazz- and swing-influenced ensemble performs an 8 p.m. show May 18 at Pfeiffer Hall at North Central College in Naperville. 2013 marks the …

Wheaton Drama presents ‘Into the Woods’

When performers appear in a play with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, they know they are in a challenging production, according to Craig Gustafson, who is directing “Into the Woods,” a musical comedy by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, at the Wheaton Drama Playhouse …

Theater actor/singer comes to NCC

A Broadway veteran explores the evolution of the modern male characters in musical theater Sunday at North Central College. Singer and actor Jason Forbach performs his one-man cabaret show, “A New Leading Man,” at 6 p.m. May 19 in North Central College’s Madden Theatre at …

Herman’s Hermits, Ides of March hit Paramount stage

When Peter Noone takes the stage to sing the hits of the 1960s British rock band Herman’s Hermits, of which he is a founder and original member, he has hundreds of people assisting him as his back-up chorus. “Fans always sing along,” Noone said. “When …

May 16-19: Civil War Days, Taste of Glen Ellyn

For more than 30 years, Naper Settlement in Naperville has been educating people about the Civil War with hands-on learning opportunities. This weekend marks the annual Civil War Days event, held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Naper Settlement. More …

‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ turns out to be quite the Enterprise

RICHARD ROEPER: Director J.J. Abrams is a true talent, and he’s also a pop-culture savant who has great respect for the legacy of this franchise as well as a keen understanding of the mega-importance of box-office figures. There’s no better choice to make the best, the purest AND the most accessible big-budget “Star Trek” movie possible. Yet with all the futuristic splendor and the fine performances, “Into Darkness” only occasionally soars, mostly settling for being a solid but unspectacular effort that sets the stage for the next chapter(s).

New on DVD for May 17, 2013

Here is a look at what’s new on DVD this week. Many of these titles were released on May 14.

Angelina Jolie says she had double mastectomy to try to prevent cancer

LOS ANGELES — Angelina Jolie says she had a preventive double mastectomy after learning that she carried a gene that makes it extremely likely she’ll get breast cancer. Jolie authored an op-ed for Tuesday’s New York Times, in which she writes that in April she finished three months of surgical procedures to remove both breasts.

Lucasfilm: New ‘Star Wars’ movie to be shot in UK

LONDON (AP) — The next “Star Wars” movie will be shot in a galaxy far, far away from Hollywood — Britain.

Restaurants up the ante on fare for their youngest patrons

A program to revamp kids’ menus with more nutritionally sound options puts sushi, whitefish and bulgogi on the plates.

Harmonious as ever, James Cotton makes plenty of beautiful music on latest release

Like most of the musicians who launched national careers from the Sun Records studio in Memphis, James Cotton was well seasoned by the time he arrived.

Later a Chicago fixture, Cotton spent his boyhood in the 1940s living and working with bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson. …

Chicago Writers’ Bloc showcases new plays

Members of Chicago Writers’ Bloc will introduce a dozen new plays via the annual Showcase of New Plays, continuing through May 22 at Next Theatre in Evanston. “Our annual showcase is a wonderful chance for our members to present their works before a live audience,” …

‘Miss Neo Pageant’ explores what it means to be feminine, successful

Women studies scholars will tell you that there are three feminist movements. The first began with the suffragettes and the right to vote; the second, of course, was the women’s liberation movement of the ’60s and ’70s and the third rallied the young women of …

‘Falling Man’ tells tales of love and identity

Four men and a teenager deal with their sexuality in “Falling Man,” five monologues by Will Scheffer.

Shane Abbott, who runs Gorilla Tango’s Skokie Theatre, directs the show Friday nights through May at the theater. He also performs the title monologue.

Abbott decided to produce …