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1. Escape winter with “Native Gardens”: Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, the professional Equity theater company in residence at the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn, caps its season with a timely comedy Thursdays through Sundays from Jan. 30 to March 2. Two yards. One fence. Pablo, a high-powered lawyer, and his very pregnant wife, doctoral candidate Tania, have bought their first home next door to community stalwarts Virginia and Frank. Soon a disagreement over a long-standing fence line derails Pablo and Tania’s plans for the American Dream and erupts into an outrageous clash of taste, class, privilege and entitlement. The MAC is on the campus of College of DuPage at 425 Fawell Blvd. For details on all events, go to AtTheMAC.org.
2. Chocolate Weekend expo: The Morton Arboretum sweetens its attraction from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 1 and 2 in its Visitor Center, 4100 Route 53, Lisle. Sample chocolate confections and unique items with a chocolate twist made by local artisans and chocolatiers. The expo is included with Arboretum admission. To buy tickets in advance, visit mortonarb.org.
3. Wheaton Drama presents “Still Alice”: The heartbreaking and hopeful adaptation of the award-winning book by Lisa Genova tells the story of a university professor at the height of her career who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Fiercely independent, with a husband and two children, Alice strives to make sense of her changing world as her memory begins to falter. The inventive adaptation puts Alice onstage with “Herself.” The character is represented by two actors, providing a wider window into Alice’s world. A talkback event is planned Feb. 9 with playwright Christine Mary Dunford and a representative of the Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Chapter. wheatondrama.org
4. Downers Grove Ice Festival: Ice sculptures and live carving highlight the three-day event from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, presented by Downtown Downers Grove Management Corporation. Sixty pre-carved creations will line the sidewalks. Carving demonstrations are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at the corner of Main and Curtiss streets and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Main Street train station. Businesses will offer events tied to the Ice Festival, from complimentary hot chocolate to visits by Olaf and Scuba Yeti, balloon art, live music and a Sparkling Ice Wine flight paired with an artfully iced cookie. To check out all the offerings, visit downtowndg.org.
5. “Outside Mullingar” staged by Theatre of Western Springs: From the writer of “Moonstruck,” the play is described as a compassionate, delightful work about how it’s never too late to take a chance on love. Anthony and Rosemary’s romantic catastrophe is heartbreaking, funny and ultimately deeply moving. The five remaining performances run Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 in the Theatre of Western Springs’ Mary Cattell Theatre, 4384 Hampton Ave. Coming up on the main stage is “Misery” from Feb. 13 to 23, based on the Stephen King novel. theatreofwesternsprings.com
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