These husband-wife hoofers haven’t danced together for 14 years — since they handed the reins of McCardle’s Dance Studio over to their daughter, Colleen Contillo. That was supposed to represent the year of Don McCardle’s retirement, but you can’t keep a dance man from dancing.

Now, the couple will perform for the studio’s huge 50th anniversary dance revue, a marathon that will feature 80 dance numbers and is expected to run for more than four hours. All 150 students from age preschool through adult will perform, and there will be specialty numbers by alumni who will return to dance solos or duets with family members.

The anniversary extravaganza also will feature a slide show showing highlights from dance routines from 50 years of the studio’s dance revues, as each number is re-created live on stage — some with scenery.

The couple started their studio in 1962 in the basement of their Cuyahoga Falls home but moved by 1963 to their facility on Hudson Drive, where the dance center has become an institution.

“She kind of kicked me out when kids started traipsing through the kitchen,” Don said of Carolee.

“If you’re going to have a dance studio, you’ve got to have it in a building,” Carolee recalled saying to her husband.

According to Contillo, Don and Carolee’s return to the dance floor is creating quite a buzz in the studio.

“The students and parents and everyone are excited,” Contillo said.

“I’m whipping her into shape,” Don, 79, joked of his wife, also 79.

They will perform the jazz/ballroom number Let’s Dance by Barry Manilow.

It was love at first sight when Don saw Carolee dancing in a trio at the Hollywood Night Club on North Main Street in Akron in 1953. The 19-year-old had come to see his buddy Hugh Johnson perform. But when he saw the beautiful Carolee, time stood still.

“The minute I saw her I knew I loved her and that was it. I never dated another girl,” Don said.

They were apart from 1956 to 1958, when he was drafted into the Army and served in Germany. During his time there, he choreographed shows for the USO Europe and did movies, TV work and even choreographed ice shows for the Germans. He also bunked with Gary Crosby, son of Bing Crosby, who played in the band while Don danced off the back of an Army truck all over Germany.

Don and Carolee were wed in 1958 and will celebrate their 55th anniversary in September.

Don, a native of Vestaburg, Pa., graduated from East High School in 1951. Carolee, a Stow native, graduated from Stow High School in 1952. He studied dance with the famed Jean Shepard in Akron, she with Charlie Bond in the Falls.

In Don and Carolee’s early dancing days, they were regulars in the Akron nightclub circuit and on Cleveland TV shows such as The Gene Carroll Show and Landmark Jamboree. As a high schooler, Don made good money in those days dancing at the Mayflower with three other guys and four girls.

The McCardles raised Colleen and sons Jeff and Mark in the Falls as Don worked 30 years in administrative engineering and accounting at Goodyear while running the dance studio. Carolee served dinner promptly at 5 each night so Don could go teach by 5:30.

Carolee started teaching again on Saturdays after her boys got older. She gravitated toward the littlest dancers.

“They had three years of dance before they saw Don,” who was known to be tough, Carolee said.

“My kids say tough but fair,” said Georgia Hartswick, mother of teens Delenn and Jonah. “They love him.”

Along the way, Don taught 12 years as an adjunct professor of dance at the University of Akron, and Carolee served on the board of the Ohio Ballet. Don is currently a board member of the Ronald McDonald House, American Heart Association and International Institute and serves on the Children’s Hospital Holiday Tree Festival underwriting and auction committee.

They are members of Holy Family Catholic Church and the proud grandparents of five.

Daughter Colleen started taking tap and ballet from her mom when she was 2. She became a nonactive apprentice with the Ohio Ballet and also worked in New York, did summer stock and performed on cruise ships, where she met her husband, concert pianist Chris.

She and her husband lived one year in Miami before her dad asked them to come back home 17 years ago: Don was preparing to retire in about three years and wanted Colleen to get her foot back in the door so she’d be ready to take over his studio. Colleen had never doubted this would happen, and now her 14-year-old daughter, Mya, an avid dancer, wants to become the studio’s third-generation owner.

The first couple of years after Don’s retirement, the McCardles spent some time in Florida. But he got back into performing in 2006, when he spent a year as a star male dancer in the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies in Palm Springs, Calif., where he performed nine shows a week at age 72.

“I could have stayed till I couldn’t dance anymore,” Don said of the big gig. But the couple missed their daughter and grandchildren back in the Falls too much, so they returned after a year.

That’s when Don started teaching for Colleen, taking on 12 classes that include jazz, lyrical, tap, ballet and private lessons. He also judges dance contests for Ticket to Broadway, which keeps Don and Carolee traveling around the country on weekends.

Don’s popularity continues as a teacher: his reunion tap class for grownup former students has now blossomed into two classes.

Colleen stressed that all of the studio’s teachers are homegrown talent who have grown up in the tightknit studio. That’s true for Vanessa Facemire, who’s now working on her doctorate in counseling psychology but found herself living solo in Northeast Ohio as a graduate student after her sister moved to New York and her parents to Michigan.

“Without McCardle’s Dance Studio, I don’t know where I’d be now,” said Facemire, who called the studio a home away from home. “I can’t say enough about this place. It’s everything to me. Mr. and Mrs. McCardle were my long-lost parents.”

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Bret Michaels, lead singer of ’80s arena metal group Poison and star of the VH1 reality dating show Rock of Love will be performing songs from his solo career as well as favorites from Poison such as Every Rose Has Its Thorn at Marc’s Great American Rib Cook-Off at 6 p.m. Monday at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica in Cleveland.

Tickets are $8 with admission to the Rib Cook-Off and $52 for reserved seating. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 800-745-3000 and online at www.livenation.com.

Memorial Day Flea Market

Looking for some treasures? With more than 1,000 outdoor vendors, the Hartville Marketplace and Flea Market could be just the place to shop.

Wear good walking shoes and try not to bump into the other 30,000 expected customers.

The Hartville Marketplace building will open at 6 a.m. on Monday for early bird breakfast. Indoor shops and outdoor vendors open two hours later, at 8 a.m.

For more information, visit www.hartvillemarketplace.com/memorial-day-flea-market.

Liz and Dick on Big Screen

If you want to get some classic-movie relief from the sun, Cinemark ends its recent replay of the 1963 epic Cleopatra with a showing at 2 p.m. today. The movie is as famous for what was happening off-camera as on, since this was the movie that brought together Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

They shed their respective spouses on their way to a long and stormy romance that included marriage, divorce, remarriage and re-divorce. Burton’s diaries once described a Taylor tirade accusing Burton of, among other things, “drunkenness (true), mendacity (true), being boring (true), infidelity (untrue), killing myself fairly quickly (true), pride envy avarice (all true), being ugly (true) [and] having once been handsome (untrue).” Doesn’t that sound like a fun couple?

Oh, yeah, the movie. Taylor is the title character, Burton is Mark Antony and Rex Harrison is Julius Caesar. Running about four hours, it sprawls, it’s excessive — and in its way it is a Hollywood landmark. A 50th-anniversary Blu-ray set arrives on Tuesday.

Plant for hunger

Memorial Day is the traditional time for putting in a vegetable garden. This year, why not consider planting an extra row for your neighbors in need?

Plant a Row for the Hungry, a program administered by the Garden Writers Association, encourages backyard gardeners to designate a row in their gardens for hunger relief. Locally, the program is coordinated by the Beacon Journal and the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank.

Participating is as easy as planting a little extra. When harvest time comes, you can drop off your bounty at one of several drop-off sites in the area, which will be listed each Saturday in the Beacon Journal’s Home section.

The food bank will distribute the fresh produce to the soup kitchens, food pantries and other hunger-relief organizations it serves.

More information is in the Plant a Row section of www.gardenwriters.org.

Visit a lemonade stand

From now through June 8, Alex’s Lemonade Stands will be cropping up all over the Akron area as part of Lemonade Days.

The stands help to raise money for research into childhood cancer.

Founded by Alex Scott in 2004, the national event grew out of Alex’s front yard lemonade stand, and is held every year in June.

For a complete listing of local stands, visit www.ohio.com/blogs/lisa.

Blu-ray — Airheads, Bedazzled (Brendan Fraser version), Cleopatra (50th-anniversary edition), My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Rolling Thunder.

Titles below with an asterisk are on Blu-ray as well as standard DVD.

Movies — Dark Skies*, Life Is Sweet*, The Magic Christian*, The Numbers Station*.

TV shows — Covert Affairs: Season Three, Doctor Who: Season 7 Part 2*, George Gently Collection: Series 1-4* and George Gently: Series 5*, Longmire: The Complete First Season, Red Widow: The Complete First Season, Suits: Season Two.

Kids/family — Beetlejuice: The Complete Series (animated).

Sources include www.joblo.com and www.tvshowsondvd.com. Consult those sites for more titles and information.

Coming Tuesday to Blu-ray (Shout! Factory, $16.98), the 1977 movie stars William Devane as Charles Rane, a Vietnam War POW who has returned home after years in captivity. He receives a hero’s welcome and awards in his honor, including a box containing one silver dollar for every day he was a POW. But Rane’s adjustment is difficult; his wife has been having an affair, his son is a stranger and Rane himself is emotionally closed, holding in his feelings much the way he did through all those years of imprisonment and torture.

Then things take a horrible turn. Thieves arrive, wanting Rane’s silver dollars. Their efforts include torturing Rane, then killing his wife and son. Rane, though, survives and, with help from another POW (Tommy Lee Jones), sets out for revenge.

In some respects, the movie and its violent climax fit in the revenge genre begun a few years earlier by Death Wish. But the movie is a cut above. The script was co-written by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver). The direction by John Flynn is taut and lean, complementing the tight-lipped performances by Devane and Jones. And this is a chance to see Jones just as he was breaking into stardom, as well as excellent work from a supporting cast including Dabney Coleman, Linda Haynes (a really interesting actress who left Hollywood a few years later) and, in a small role, TV mainstay Cassie Yates.

The movie has some high-profile admirers, including Quentin Tarantino, who named one of his companies Rolling Thunder, but has had only limited availability, including an on-demand DVD. I will not pretend it’s a great movie — since the second half is mostly about setting up the big and bloody revenge scene — but it is an admirable one. I watched it often during its many runs on pay-cable in the ’70s, and have a couple of lines (one by Jones, another by Devane) still in my memory bank.

The Blu-ray has a nice, clean look. And the extras include a 20-minute piece on the making of the movie that has interviews with Devane, Jones, Schrader and co-writer Heywood Gould. It’s a clear-eyed look at the movie, and especially interesting when it discusses the transition from Schrader’s script to Gould’s revisions.

Monday is Memorial Day, and that has had me thinking about good movies to watch for the holiday. My short list of available titles for viewing would include Saving Private Ryan (on DVD and Blu-ray), which says so much about soldiers’ sacrifice and how we should honor it; Sergeant York (DVD only), with a marvelous performance by Gary Cooper; the coming-home-from-war drama The Best Years of Our Lives (DVD only), Civil War epic Glory (DVD and Blu-ray) and M*A*S*H, both the original movie (DVD and Blu-ray) and the TV series (DVD only, in various packages). The Best Years of Our Lives will also be on Turner Classic Movies at 5 p.m. Monday as part of its weekend-long war-movie marathon.

Tuesday also brings the release on Blu-ray of a 50th-anniversary edition of Cleopatra, the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton film. From Fox, it is being offered in an extras-laden two-disc Blu-ray set for $24.99 and a package including a collectible book for $10 more. Besides the many pieces about the making of the film and an audio commentary, there’s the unbelievable high-definition restoration of the movie itself. Yes, it is four hours long and at times ridiculous. But it is a spectacular reminder of what big old Hollywood movies looked like, with eye-popping color. And Taylor is stunning in her beauty, even when her costumes are over the top.

Down video road: The first season of Rectify, the compelling Sundance drama about a man back in the world after years on Death Row, will be on DVD on June 18. Brooklyn Castle, a charming documentary about high-school chess players, will be on DVD on June 4.

Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and for Ohio.com, including in the HeldenFiles Online blog, www.ohio.com/blogs/heldenfiles. He is also on Facebook and Twitter. You can contact him at 330-996-3582 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.

As they sing a line about reaching for each other, Johnny reaches out to take June’s hand. Each had been married before. They had endured tough times, especially as Johnny battled his demons. But they had come through it, they were close — and that little moment of hand-holding gets to me.

It also underscores the appeal of musician biographies, two of which air in the days ahead. Besides the Cash film Ring of Fire, which premieres at 9 p.m. Monday on Lifetime, there is the much-discussed Behind the Candelabra, about the pianist and showman Liberace, which makes its debut at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO. To be sure, these are very different lives in music. But the films show how well one can use the performance art as a counterpoint to personal travails — and that even people on the biggest stage have to figure out the meaning of love and relationships.

Candelabra has a pretty serious set of credentials, with Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh as the director and Michael Douglas playing Liberace opposite Matt Damon as Scott Thorson, Liberace’s lover for five years. But do not underestimate Ring of Fire, which stars Jewel as June and Big Love’s Matt Ross as Johnny; while I wish there was more of the movie, especially in the somewhat sketchy early going, its director is Allison Anders, who has made such impressive films as Grace of My Heart and Things Behind the Sun.

The title of Candelabra comes from Thorson’s 1988 tell-all book detailing his time with Liberace, which began in 1977 when Thorson was 18 and Liberace 57. Thorson is brought into Liberace’s world, and into his bed, and is for the most part comfortable in both places. He certainly accepts all the bling, and goes along with Liberace’s remaking of the younger man, through not only a new wardrobe but plastic surgery and a drug-laced diet plan that led to later problems for Thorson. But this was a complicated emotional relationship, as the movie deftly shows, with Liberace at times a sexual partner for Thorson (and a kinky one at that) and other times wanting to be a father figure for Thorson, even adopting him.

The film continues into Thorson’s growing drug problem, Liberace’s eventually dumping him, Thorson suing for palimony and, five years after their breakup, Liberace’s 1987 death from AIDS; it ends with the funeral Thorson imagined Liberace would have wanted, a far more elaborate affair than he actually got. Judging from the afterword in the reissued edition of Thorson’s Behind the Candelabra book, there’s another, often sordid movie in those years — but they were ones without Liberace, who is the most fascinating figure in the HBO film.

And Douglas plays him remarkably well, comfortable in the crazy clothes and locations (drawn from the real things), warm and engaging at some points and cold-blooded in others, signaling emotional shifts with the slightest changes in his speaking tone. He is also well matched by Damon (who really does look baby-faced here), and they have a fine supporting cast including Debbie Reynolds as Liberace’s domineering mother and Rob Lowe as a terrifyingly funny plastic surgeon. While they all go about their sometimes tormented business, the soundtrack — adapted by the late Marvin Hamlisch — offers in contrast soothing, Liberace-like piano music.

As is common in Soderbergh’s work, melodrama is kept at bay, and the world of Liberace is presented as one that is perfectly normal to its inhabitants — no matter how odd it looked to the outside world. (Also a common Soderbergh touch, and one I am tired of, is the yellowish lighting of some scenes as if they were shot under bad fluorescents.) And, at the end, we are looking at two men who really wanted love — and had very little idea of what that meant.

Ring of Fire, meanwhile, covers some of the same ground as Walk the Line, the big-screen film where Reese Witherspoon gave an Oscar-winning performance as June. But — adapted by Richard Friedenberg from Anchored in Love: An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash, a memoir by Johnny and June’s son John Carter Cash — it is far more about June’s life before Johnny (she was married twice before) and how she handled various crises during their marriage. It begins with June’s childhood as part of the musical Carter family, and looks at her own development as a performer, from a figure who for a time specialized in comedy to a respected musician.

Not only did she co-write Ring of Fire, she brought a spark to Johnny’s performances when they sang together (go back and listen to her tearing into their Jackson duet) — as well as a strong will and a basic elegance. Jewel ably captures much of that, and her gestures indicate a very close study of June’s performing style. And Ross makes a pretty good Johnny.

That said, Jewel does not quite pull off June’s biggest dramatic moment, dealing with Johnny’s going into the Betty Ford clinic. And, as I said, June’s story is so rich that this movie should have been longer; Anchored in Love has enough stories for a miniseries. But Anders gets the griminess of a musical life, and that last scene still pays off; just as Behind the Candelabra shows what happens without real love, so Ring of Fire shows how a strong, passionate commitment can weather many storms.

Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and Ohio.com, including the HeldenFiles Online, www.ohio.com/blogs/heldenfiles. He is also on Facebook and Twitter. You can contact him at 330-996-3582 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.

Since ESB disbanded, although it still sells out annual reunion concerts at the Tangier, Simmons has become one of the more popular performers in Put-in-Bay serenading the drunks and party boat-goers (and drunken party boat-goers) in various venues.

The bearded singer/songwriter is a gregarious performer who also records his original songs and popular covers. He has just released his third solo album, A Pirate’s Life, with help from a few local musician buddies. The album was recorded in Simmons’ “Coal Cellar” and released on ESB International Records.

On his previous release Limestone Cowboy, Simmons hewed closely to the acoustic- driven Celtic theme suggested by the album’s title, but on his latest, he stretches out a bit more stylistically, offering Celtic tunes, a contemporary sea chantey, some pop-rock, Caribbean island flavoring and folk all sung in his big tenor voice, which often seems to be imbued with a smile.

Many of the album’s baker’s dozen tunes seem primed for his bread-and-butter live sets.

The title track is a chantey-style travelogue with Simmons displaying his Ohio pride and is sure to be a popular sing-a-long at the various bars at which he works. The breezy AC pop-rock tune Carry On is an ode to life as a working musician and more universally an ode to enjoying what you have and not wasting time and energy pining for what you don’t.

On Northern Lights, Simmons sings a love song over a pleasant low-key cha-cha groove and some nice Spanish acoustic guitar from Dan Goodman. Simmons goes country for the “sad cowboy” ballad Abilene with help from violinist Sarah Wilfong and continues the country theme with a cover of the traditional hillbilly favorite The Long Black Veil with back porch harmony from frequent live guest Susan Ebert.

Cimarron sports a light So-Cal country-rock sound and catchy melody that would fit in nicely on WAPS (91.3-FM), and album-closing ballad Lullabye sports a light Celtic lilt and finds Simmons in restrained crooner mode backed by a tasteful cello and piano arrangement.

The album’s covers include late Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers’ rather depressing Great Lakes- (an obsession of Simmons) themed White Squall, give the world yet another version of the hoary old blues standard House of the Rising Sun, offer a jaunty arrangement of Gordon Lightfoot’s The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and gives the classic English folk song Scarborough Faire — popularized by Simon & Garfunkel — a jaunty Irish jig groove.

Simmons has built a 25-year solo career and a strong fan base through a combination of knowing what your audience wants and how to pace and mix a long evening of singing, comedy and talent. While his albums may not contain much of Westside Steve Simmons the convivial party boat host, they do allow Westside Steve Simmons the singer/songwriter to shine.

A Pirate’s Life will be available at iTunes and other retail digital download sites later this month as well as at Simmons’ shows. If you want to check out Simmons in his natural habitat (holding court at a bar) he will be appearing at 2 p.m. today and Sunday at Frosty’s Bar, 252 Delaware Ave., Put-in-Bay.

Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758. Read his blog, Sound Check Online, at www.ohio.com/blogs/sound-check, or follow him on Twitter @malcolmxabram.

His paintings inspired passion in art galleries and museums, and in those who surrounded him and tended to his needs as he soldiered on, ravaged by old age, hell-bent on capturing more “beauty” at the expense of all else in his life.

Renoir (Michel Bouquet) spent his last years on the French Riviera, newly widowed, but surrounded by women — ex-models, ex-lovers. One embittered teen son, Claude or “Coco” (Thomas Doret) lives at home, and Renoir mourns the others off fighting World War I. He’s a national treasure, a simple craftsman who learned his art painting porcelain dishes — piece work.

Now, his hands gnarled by arthritis, he spends every waking moment — and some sleeping ones — at the easel, tended to by half a dozen female cooks, maids, nurses and helpers.

That’s the world Andree Heuschling (Christa Theret), a stunning young redhead, discovers when she shows up to model for him. She is poor, but with the haughty arrogance of beauty. She longs to sing, to act in the cinema. She’ll model here to get the money to go to Paris and do that.

Coco dutifully, grumpily whitewashes and mounts fresh canvases, and old Auguste starts studying his latest muse, whose “velvety” skin — all of it — is great inspiration.

Then another son, Jean (Vincent Rottiers), comes home, wounded at the front. And he tries to fight his yearning for Andree even as she’s brazenly sizing him up as her ticket out of there.

Bouquet’s Renoir is old and single-minded about his art, and little else. It’s not a twinkling, grandfatherly interpretation, nor is this an “artist as ogre,” the way Picasso is typically portrayed. He’s just this bland old working-class man in a rush to capture beauty.

The chief interest held by the romance is the knowledge that the smitten Jean Renoir would watch flickering silent movie serials with Andree and the others and go on to become one of the giants of the French cinema. Rottiers delivers a guarded, vulnerable performance, and Theret gives Andree a pouty sullenness that suits someone who expects to get by on beauty and has no notion that it won’t last forever.

Filmmaker Gilles Bourdos gets an absorbing movie out of this by delving into the elder Renoir’s method, his solo sketch studies leading to great paintings, even when he was in pain. The sight of old Auguste carried, in his chair, by four or more women as he ventured to this setting or that one (a creek-side picnic, for instance) is both comical and inspiring. All these people dedicated to helping this old master fulfill his artistic destiny.

Renoir isn’t a great film, robbed as it is of an artist with the bigger-than-life dimensions of a Van Gogh, Picasso or Gauguin. But it holds our interest with the ways Bourdos gets across the vision and mania for capturing all the beauty left to him that Renoir had, and the ways he passed his artistic ambitions and work habits on to those around him, right up to the end.

Movie: Renoir

Cast: Michel Bouquet, Christa Theret, Vincent Rottiers

Directed by: Gilles Bourdos

Studio: Samuel L. Goldwyn

Language: In French and Italian with English subtitles

Running time: 1 hour, 51 minutes

Rating: R for sequences of art-related nudity and brief language

Theater: Cedar Lee

HHH

Anchee Min

In the dedication of her latest book, The Cooked Seed, best-selling Chinese author Anchee Min thanks her daughter for “making [her] write this book.” One cannot help but wonder why — with such a powerful story to tell — Min waited until now to share it. And then, as her rollicking tale takes off and we’ve forgiven her for the delay, we eagerly join her in a second round of heartfelt thanks to Lauryann.

Min, whose first memoir, Red Azalea, told the story of her youth in China growing up under the leadership of Chairman Mao and introduced many to the true horrors of that regime, picks up here where she left off. It’s 1984, she’s 27 and on a plane bound for Chicago with a $500 loan in her pocket, no understanding of English and only a vague plan to study art.

After Mao died and his wife was overthrown, Min was quickly discarded by society, considered “a cooked seed,” one that would never sprout. Like generations of immigrants before her, Min bore her family’s burden of heading to America to save herself and rescue them all from a life of poverty.

With that heavy weight on her shoulders, Min faces unbelievable hardship, financial challenges and just plain rotten luck.

Min’s writing is as beautiful and compelling as always here, and as we learn how she taught herself English — how else, but by watching TV — and later how she finds her literary voice, her talent is even more astounding.

The only time the narrative peters out is when Min goes into too much detail about her American, Vietnam vet husband. I found myself wanting to know less about him and more about her and her feelings for and her relationship with him.

But, overall, The Cooked Seed will hook you and stay with you for a long time.

— Kim Curtis

Associated Press

Annie Up

The Pistol Annies

Annie Up is a good title for the Pistol Annies’ second album. Like the gambling term it playfully puns, the title underscores that this brash trio is raising the stakes, investing more time, effort and artistic nerve into its new 12-song collection.

The gamble pays off: Annie Up builds on the trio’s successful debut Hell on Heels by taking even more risks with bold material and inventive arrangements. Mixing bawdy humor with sensitive insight, the Annies entertainingly take on real-life issues, including how Southern families quell their secrets (Hush Hush), how alcoholics curse themselves while pouring another drink (Dear Sobriety) and how women struggle with what it takes to prepare for an evening (Being Pretty Ain’t Pretty).

The Pistol Annies began as a side lark for country music star Miranda Lambert. Formed with songwriting buddies Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, the trio’s debut initially was available only through the Internet and without the full promotional effort given Lambert’s other albums. But fan support and significant sales lifted these fully armed artists into a significant, ground-breaking act. Rather than play it safe, they roll the dice with another daring collection that should lift their profiles even higher.

— Michael McCall

Associated Press

Volume 3

She & Him

Is there any limit to Zooey Deschanel’s creativity?

With her comical hit show, New Girl, it’s hard to work out when she would have the time to write music. And the new album Volume 3 from her duo, She & Him, with singer-songwriter M. Ward, definitely doesn’t sound like an album that’s been made on the side.

Their third record bursts to life with the bluesy I’ve Got Your Number, Son, and Deschanel’s tone is dulcet. It’s the kind of song you imagine being played on the jukebox in a 1950s diner.

The lyrics throughout the album are dreamy and full of unrequited love, but sung in an almost theatrical way. In Never Wanted Your Love, Deschanel adopts a Texan drawl. The addition of Ward’s voice on Baby creates a beautiful harmony with Deschanel’s tone, and an electric guitar riff adds a rock ’n’ roll spin to the record.

The album’s only weak moment is the cover of Blondie’s Sunday Girl, which comes off flat. Otherwise, She & Him has a winner.

— Sian Watson

Associated Press

Movie: Frances Ha

Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Charlotte d’Amboise, Michael Zegen.

Directed by: Noah Baumbach.

Studio: IFC.

Running time: 1 hour, 26 minutes

Rating: R for sexual references and language.

Theaters: Cedar Lee, Valley View 24.

That would be the Frances of the title (the Ha isn’t explained until the film’s charming final frame), a joint creation of and career high point for both star Greta Gerwig and director Noah Baumbach, who met on the director’s Greenberg and co-wrote the script.

Together they have created an American independent film (shot in luminous black and white by Sam Levy) that feels off the cuff but is in fact exactly made by a filmmaker in total control of his resources. With a soundtrack that makes liberal use of music from Georges Delerue, a frequent Francois Truffaut collaborator, it’s got the energy and verve of the French New Wave but remains unmistakably itself.

Though both Gerwig, a fixture on the New York independent scene who’s moved on to bigger features, and Baumbach, Oscar-nominated for writing the marvelous The Squid and the Whale, are known quantities on their own, they’ve increased their effectiveness by working together.

For the actress, a quicksilver presence with a fluid face who couldn’t be more natural on screen, Frances is an opportunity to build a character of unexpected complexity. For the director, having a gifted collaborator able to be so completely present adds a lightness his films have not always had and has made possible an irresistible command of the moment.

If anyone lives completely in that moment, it is Frances, a 27-year-old apprentice dancer who is so many often contradictory things at once it’s difficult to know where to begin — or end — in describing her.

Feckless and rootless, gawky and graceful, over-analytical and uncertain, always apologizing yet often oblivious, Frances is making a hash out of her own life because she doesn’t know any better. If there is a wrong turn to be made, she will take it; if there is a way to sabotage herself, she will find it. A more or less disposable person for everyone she knows, she is aware that adult life is beyond her capacity at present. “I’m so embarrassed,” she says. “I’m not a real person yet.”

And yet there is something unmistakably endearing about Frances, something winning in her vulnerability and her pluck, the way she bounces back like a Joe Palooka toy from her many misadventures. She is unmistakably good-hearted, and it is impossible not to root for her as she throws herself into life and tries to determine if there can be a place there for her. Frances’ woeful mantra in these struggles, which she brandishes whenever life’s pressures become too great, is the defensive “I’m not messy, I’m busy.”

Because Frances’ life is so peripatetic (Baumbach has aptly characterized the film as “a road movie with apartments”), the screenwriters divide the proceedings into different sections by using title cards listing her various addresses.

The first address is on Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn, where Frances lives with Sophie, her former college roommate and someone so central to her life that Frances turns down the chance to move in with her boyfriend because of a vague promise made to Sophie about sharing the lease. Frances is way invested in a fantasy future they’ve concocted for themselves (“Tell me the story of us,” she importunes Sophie when she’s feeling low) and is pleased that the neighborhood thinks of them as “a lesbian couple that doesn’t have sex anymore.”

Beautifully played by British actress Mickey Sumner (the daughter of Sting and Trudy Styler), Sophie cares but she’s much more calculating, directed and self-absorbed than her roommate, and the ever-shifting sands between these two as the film progresses is one of Frances’ continuing dynamics.

The next address is 22 Center St. in Manhattan’s Chinatown, where Frances occupies the spare room in an apartment rented by two trust-funder types with more money than good sense. Lev (Adam Driver of Girls fame) spends his time hanging with celebrities and chasing women, while Benji seems to be working as a writer while actually spending his time searching for vintage Ray-Bans on eBay. Neither man knows what to make of Frances, with Benji coming as close as he can by pronouncing her “undateable.”

No matter where else she stays, and her addresses include stops in Sacramento, Poughkeepsie, even a brief weekend in Paris, Frances reveals a gift for falling into improbable situations and doing unlikely things.

But because Frances’ feelings are never far from the surface no matter what her address, our heart always goes out to her energy and her spirit. If this film has a signature sequence, it’s a long tracking shot of its namesake running fluidly through the streets of New York with David Bowie’s Modern Love playing on the soundtrack. In that moment, in fact in all of its moments, Frances Ha more than makes you feel hopeful about movies, it allows you to feel that way about life as well.

The idea of movies following other movies is so considerable that this week finds two sequels going head to head: The Hangover Part III and Fast & Furious 6.

Now, the idea of a sequel goes a long way back, almost to the beginning of film. Many sources consider the first sequel to be Fall of a Nation, a 1916 successor to Birth of a Nation, the still-controversial classic directed by D.W. Griffith. Thomas Dixon, whose novel and play The Clansman inspired Birth, made Fall. It was not a success, and no copy exists, but it help set the path that the movies previously mentioned have followed.

But why so many sequels? In the big crowd of entertainment options, a brand name is essential; that’s why you see movies with recognizable labels, whether of people, books, board games, Broadway shows, TV series — or previous movies. Sequels can be especially effective because they reach an audience that has already paid to see one movie and might be nudged into doing so again.

When you look at Box Office Mojo’s list of the biggest box-office draws of all time (unadjusted for inflation), you find sequels like Marvel’s The Avengers (derived from several other movies about Marvel characters), The Dark Knight, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (which hit theaters after three other “episodes”), The Dark Knight Rises, Shrek 2 and the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie in the top 10.

And early returns this summer once again suggest audiences are more than happy to visit some old movie haunts, with Iron Man 3 having passed $1 billion in revenues worldwide, and Star Trek Into Darkness considered a disappointment because it made only about $82 million at the American box office in its first four full days in theaters.

Indeed, some movies, such as the Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games book adaptations, are designed with the sequels assumed. Fast Five, the most recent previous Fast & Furious movie, included a closing scene teasing a sixth movie. While The Hangover Part III is being touted as the end of a trilogy, it opens a door to a fourth movie. Marvel’s The Avengers was repeatedly set up by teaser scenes in preceding Marvel movies — and in turn offered a hint of what would come in the movies to follow The Avengers.

Not that sequels always happen. The Golden Compass, inspired by a series of books, premiered in 2007 with a story line that set up a sequel; but even with good ticket sales around the world, the high cost and somewhat controversial content appear to have kept a second movie from being made.

One of the interesting things about this week’s new offerings is that neither started out with a sequel in mind. The Hangover was meant to be a low-budget comedy making modest amounts of money and, as the Hollywood Reporter noted, did not even have the cast signed for a sequel. (When it proved a big hit, the four stars were able to get $10 million each for the second film and $15 million for the third, the Reporter said.) The original The Fast & The Furious was similarly short-sighted; Vin Diesel did not return for the second film, and Paul Walker skipped the third — although both later came back, and brought audiences with them.

At the same time, if you are going to make a sequel, how do you keep the audience that liked the original — but make it different enough to still be satisfying? You can make it bigger (the Fast & Furious movies have gone for increasingly big — and crazy — stunts). Or grimmer (The Dark Knight, or The Godfather Part II). Or introduce spectacular new characters, especially villains (see The Dark Knight, again, or Star Trek Into Darkness). You can make your characters show the effects of their lives and age (as Daniel Craig’s James Bond did in Skyfall, Craig’s third turn in the role).

Or you can be like the second Hangover and just make the same movie in a different location (Las Vegas the first time, Thailand the second).

While still a hit, The Hangover Part II was justly criticized for a degree of sameness.

Todd Phillips, director of all the Hangover movies, conceded to the Hollywood Reporter that the first two films were similar in structure. But he added: “It was intentional. It’s not like we were unaware going into it. Some people had a problem with [the idea of], how could this happen to the same guys? But to me, that was part of the ridiculousness of it.” Still, the third movie takes a different approach in its storytelling.

Meanwhile, more than one expert has predicted that Fast & Furious 6 will top The Hangover this weekend; Entertainment Weekly put 6 on its cover even as reporter Darren Franich called the series “the most unlikely franchise in Hollywood,” and “a disreputable film series about cars that crash and the humans that crash them.”

The article goes on at length about what makes the movies work (multicultural casts, the previously mentioned big stunts) but it all boils down to the simplest maxim for keeping a movie series going: Know what your audience wants. And through the first five movies, the Fast audience has shown that it wants Diesel, Walker and their supporting cast, cars shown off as lovingly and lustfully as the skimpily clad women, more movement than dialogue, the promise of big moments (Dwayne Johnson vs. Diesel!) and can-you-believe-it stunts. I am still shaking my head over the chase scene in Fast Five involving two cars not only eluding pursuers but doing so while hauling an entire bank vault through Brazilian streets. And thinking: Can 6 top that?

Put it this way: The seventh movie is already announced.

Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and Ohio.com, including the HeldenFiles Online, www.ohio.com/blogs/heldenfiles. He is also on Facebook and Twitter, You can contact him at 330-996-3582 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.

Overall, this was not a wise idea. Part III’s body count (both of humans and animals) gives it a sourness that makes the movie overall a bummer even when laughter is echoing in the theater.

The film claims to be wrapping up a trilogy, and it does go back to the roots of the previous films, with the major characters returning to Las Vegas (where the first movie in 2009 was set) and with an early scene in Thailand (setting for the second film). But the activity is focused on two, Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). Buddies Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) are peripheral to the point that Cooper — so very good in Silver Linings Playbook — reduced his acting commitment to a minimum.

The movie begins with Alan, still such a foul-up that his friends decide it’s time to have an intervention. Stu, Phil and Doug (Justin Bartha) agree to take Alan to treatment in Arizona. But along the way, they are intercepted and taken captive by a bad guy named Marshall (John Goodman). Marshall is looking for the guys’ old acquaintance Chow, who has stolen a fortune in gold bars from him. Marshall takes Doug and vows to kill him if the others do not find Chow and the gold.

The search takes them first to Mexico, and then back to Vegas, and through various crashes, a break-in, an encounter with a pawn-shop owner (Melissa McCarthy) and various gunplay. Chow remains an extreme character. Alan remains stupidly oblivious to the real world. Phil and Stu try to keep things sane, with little success.

There’s really not much more to say. As a comedy, it’s a dud. As an action comedy, it is uneven. If you want to judge it just by the standards of the previous films in the series, it is not on the laugh-hard level of the first one. Part III does improve on The Hangover Part II in its ambition, by trying to come up with a fresh approach to storytelling; II, after all, was pretty much the same as the first Hangover, which was not made with the possibility of a sequel in mind.

But the third Hangover seems to have lost any idea of how to sustain a comedy, its laughs coming only intermittently. A couple of big ones are saved for very late in the movie. But two of the best early ones have been given away in the trailers.

Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and Ohio.com. including the HeldenFiles Online, www.ohio.com/blogs/heldenfiles. He is also on Facebook and Twitter. You can contact him at 330-996-3582 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.

Aurora Farms Premium Outlets — 549 S. Chillicothe Road. Open Memorial Day, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Regular mall hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. 330-562-2000.

Chapel Hill Mall — 2000 Brittain Road, Akron. Open Memorial Day, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Regular mall hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. 330-633-1131. Open 8 a.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 11 a.m. Sundays for walkers.

Summit Mall — 3265 W. Market St., Fairlawn. Open Memorial Day, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Regular mall hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. 330-867-1555. Open 8 a.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 9 a.m. Sundays for walkers.

Westfield Belden Village — Interstate 77 at Everhard Road Northwest, Jackson Township. Open Memorial Day, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Regular mall hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. 330-494-5490. Open 8 a.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 9 a.m. Sundays for walkers.

The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats — Through June 30 at the Akron Art Museum, 1 S. High St. Also, Danny Lyon: The Bikeriders through July 21; and Julian Stanczak: Line, Color, Illusion continues through Oct. 6. 330-376-9185.

23rd Annual Juried Show — Through June 1 at the BOX Gallery, 140 E. Market St., Akron, on the third floor of Summit Artspace. Featuring 70 works by 49 artists.

Melody Mumma Smith Exhibit — Through May at Akron Woman’s City Club Gallery 732, 732 W. Exchange St. 330-762-6261.

The Metro Parks Photography Club 2013 Amateur Photography Exhibit — Through May 30 at F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm, 1828 Smith Road, Akron. 330-865-8065.

The Way We See It! Five Women Photographers — Through May 30 at the Art Gallery of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1361 W. Market St., Akron. Photos by Karen Ciamente, Pamela Z. Daum, Diane Seskes, Sandra Holata and Christine Morrow. 330-836-9327.

Women’s Art League 80th Anniversary Exhibition — Through June 1 at Summit Artspace, 140 E. Market St., Akron. 330-376-8480.

Half-Lifes and Parallel Universes — Through June 1 at the Contemporary Arts Project Gallery, 43 Furnace St., Suite 403, Akron. New work by Michael W. Marras, Sandra Holata and Donald R. Miller. 330-687-4299.

Poetry in Motion by Gary Bagnato — Through May 31 at the Studios of Jack Richard, 2250 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls. Also, AP Photo Senior Show though June 10. 330-929-1575.

Spring Exhibit — Through June 9 at the Log Cabin Gallery, 1671 Main St., Peninsula. 330-657-2670 or www.thelogcabingallery.com.

Fashion Timeline — Through June at Kent State University Museum, 515 Hilltop Drive. 330-672-3450.

Chaotic Love — Through June 1 at the North Water Street Gallery, 257 N. Water St., Kent. 330-673-4970.

Capture: Photographs by Drew Smith — Through June 15 in the Downtown Gallery, 141 E. Main St., Kent. Opening reception 5-7 tonight. For information, go to http://dept.kent.edu/art.

Collage & Assemblage — Through Monday at the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation Gallery, 10 W. Streetsboro St., Hudson. For more information, go to www.mcmfdn.org.

Neo Nouveau Paintings by Cheri Mohn (1936-2005) — Through June 16 in Studio M of the Massillon Museum, 121 Lincoln Way E. Also, Labor and New Deal Art through June 2. 330-833-4061.

Verdant Visions — Through June 21 at Kent State University at Stark in the University Center Dining Room, 6000 Frank Ave. NW, Jackson Township. 330-244-3518.

Joseph O’Sickey: Unifying Art, Life and Love — Through July 21 at the Canton Museum of Art, 1001 Market Ave. N. Also, Lux Botanica: The Photography of Doug McLarty through July 21. 330-453-7666.

Anatomica — Through July 6 at the Heights Arts Gallery, 2175 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights. 216-371-3457.

The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection — Through July 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd. Also, British Drawings From the Cleveland Museum of Art through Sunday; and The Caporali Missal: A Masterpiece of Renaissance Illumination through June 2. 888-262-0033 or www.ClevelandArt.org.

Spring Members’ Show — Through Friday at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve, 1834 E. 123rd St., Cleveland. 216-721-9020.

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller: The Paradise Institute — Through June 9 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, 11400 Euclid Ave. Also, Kate Gillmore Exhibit through June 9; and Dark Skies through July 21. 216-421-8671 or www.mocacleveland.org.

Gary Bukovnik: Forever Spring— Through June 1 at the Bonfoey Gallery, 1710 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. 216-621-0178.

Mark Schatz: UNIVERSE — Through June 1 at the Sculpture Center, 1834 E. 123rd St., Cleveland. 216-229-6527.

Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction — Opens Friday and will continue through March of 2014 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., Cleveland. For more information, call 216-515-1939 or go to www.rockhall.com.

Dana Oldfather: Paintings — Through Sunday at Butler Institute of American Art, 524 Wick Ave., Youngstown. Also, Colleen Browning: A Brush With Magic through June 16; Larry Kagan: Recent Work through June 30; Rhoda Yanow: Pastels through July 14; and Photorealism Revisited: The Louis & Susan Meisel Collection through Sept. 29. 330-743-1107, ext. 123.

Pushing the Surface: Contemporary Quilt Exhibit — Through Aug. 11 at the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, 300 N. Whitewoman St., Coshocton. 740-622-8710 or www.jhmuseum.org.

Seeking Harmony With Nature: Ceramic Sculpture by Denise Romecki — Through June 8 at the Zanesville Museum of Art, 620 Military Road. 740-452-0741.

Great Lake Science Center Steamship William G. Mather Tours — Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sundays in May, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday June-August and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. September and October. Located at the Great Lakes Science Center, 601 Erieside Ave., Cleveland. $8, $7 seniors, $6 ages 5-12 and free under age 5. www.GreatScience.com.

Hale Farm & Village — 2686 Oak Hill Road, Bath Township. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays, June through August. Museum admission is $10, $5/child age 3-12. Western Reserve Historical Society members and children 2 and under are free. 330-666-3711, www.halefarm.org.

Hower House Summer 2013 Exhibit Lady of the House: Life in the Mansion Through the Years — Exhibit will be open noon to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays June 26 through Sept. 14 at Hower House, 60 Fir Hill, University of Akron. $8, $6 seniors, $2 students. 330-972-6909, www.uakron.edu/howerhse.

J.E. Reeves Victorian Home and Carriage House Museum — Open for guided tours noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays from June 1 through Oct. 31 at 325 E. Iron Ave., Dover. $8, $7 seniors, $3 school-age children. 330-343-7040, www.doverhistory.org.

LaDue Reservoir Boathouse and Marina — Open sunrise to sunset May through Labor Day, at 17759 Valley Road, Auburn. Rowboat only: $20 per two hours; $40 all day, add an electric motor for $35 per two hours; $75 all day. The marina will also offer live bait, tackle, snacks and more. 440-834-0045.

Mogadore Boathouse and Marine — Open sunrise to sunset May through Labor Day, at 2578 state Route 43 in Mogadore. Boat rentals available daily. Rowboat only: $20 per two hours; $40 all day, add an electric motor for $35 per two hours; $75 all day. The marina will also offer live bait, tackle, snacks and more. 330-628-3343.

Oldies & Goodies Diner Car and Truck Cruise In — 641 Massillon Road, Akron. 1-5 p.m. Sundays throughout the summer. The cruise-in will offer music from the 50s and 60s with DJ Steve Kyer. 330-733-3878.

Portage Lakes Cruises — Portage Lakes Cruises is a pontoon charter service, designed to give people access to “The Lakes.” Tour departure is from Craftsmen Park unless otherwise arranged. The park is at 4450 Rex Lake Road, Akron. Free parking available inside the park. Golf cart available if needed. Each excursion is customized to suit the passengers, and can accommodate up to eight passengers in a safe and friendly environment. Fees start at $35 per person. 330-760-0270, www.portagelakescruises.com.

Water Works Family Aquatic Center — Opening day is Saturday. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday-Monday. Closed Tuesday-June 5. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. beginning June 6, weather permitting, at 2025 Munroe Falls Ave., Cuyahoga Falls. Zero depth pool for young swimmers; drop slides and water slides for older kids. Inner tubes available for rides down lazy river and cabanas can be rented. Daily rates: $12, $8 for seniors 60 plus and children 3-12; $7, $5 for residents with proof of residency. Free for all children 2 and under. 330-971-8433 or 330-971-8299.

Winery Tours — Noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays through Sept. 28 at Gervasi Vineyard, 1700 55th St. NE, Canton. Tours are approximately 40 minutes long and start on the hour. Free. For more information, call 330-497-1000 or go to www.gervasivineyard.com.

African Safari Wildlife Park — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, Saturday through Sept. 2, 267 Lightner Road, Port Clinton. Today’s admission: $15.95; ages 4-6, $9.95; 3 or younger, free. Admission Friday through Sept. 2: $21.95, $12.95 ages 4-6; 3 or younger free. 800-521-2660. See and feed animals in a drive-through area. www.africansafariwildlifepark.com.

Akron Zoo — Regular hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, 500 Edgewood Ave. Regular admission: $10; $8.50, seniors; $7, ages 2-14. 330-375-2550. www.akronzoo.org.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, 3900 Wildlife Way. Regular admission: $12.25; kids 2-11, $8.25. www.clemetzoo.com.

Rolling Ridge Ranch Animal Park — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 3961 Weaver Ridge Road, between Berlin and Walnut Creek. Feed animals from a guided horse-drawn wagon, $16.95, children and seniors, $11.95; or from your car, $10, $8 seniors, and $7 children 3-12. 330-893-3777 or visit www.visitrollingridge.com.

But even as I say that, the Fast & Furious fan inside me replies: Wait until you see the tank chase. And the airplane-and-cars stunt, And the teaser for the seventh movie. And all that happens in a movie that takes itself far less seriously than some of the previous offerings in the series.

This isn’t just a popcorn movie. This is a popcorn-with-tons-of-fake-butter-and-flavored-salt movie, with a side of Sugar Babies. It’s as close to pure escapism as you are likely to get this summer.

As the title indicates, this is the sixth film in the decade-old series that has also included The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast and Furious and Fast Five. The first movie made stars of Vin Diesel (as criminal Dom Toretto) and Paul Walker (as lawman and later crook Brian O’Conner), but by the third movie — which focused on a new character — the franchise looked dead.

Then Diesel and Walker took center stage again, director Justin Lin (at the helm of every movie since the third) presented a full nothing’s-too-crazy esthetic, and the multiethnic, international acting ensemble became a global phenomenon. Fast Five, the most recent previous movie, made more than $600 million worldwide — about twice as much as the fifth installment in the Die Hard movie series.

Fast Five also momentarily appeared to offer a close to the series; Dom, Brian and their crew had stolen $100 million from a Brazilian drug lord and settled down to peaceful lives in no-extradition locations. But the teaser at the end of the fifth film showed that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), killed in the fourth film, was actually alive, setting the stage for 6.

In Fast & Furious 6, a team of fast-car-driving crooks are staging jobs in Europe. Federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), who chased the gang in Fast Five, concludes that the only way to catch this group is to get Dom and his team to help out — and the way to get Dom is to tell him about Letty.

Soon enough Dom and Brian are reunited with their team, including Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Han (Sung Kang), Gisele (Gal Gadot) and Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), joining forces with Hobbs and his new associate, Riley (Gina Carano). They begin the hunt for criminal mastermind Shaw (Luke Evans) and his team (which is a mirror image of Dom’s) — a task that also brings them into contact with Letty. And into contact with a lot of cars, fists, gunfire and things blowing up.

Much as Diesel in particular tries to bring some gravitas to the proceedings, it’s a movie that is at its weakest when it slows down long enough for the characters to talk seriously. It is far more entertaining during the deliberately humorous moments, most of which are courtesy of Gibson, or when it is offering a long car chase or other action followed soon enough by an even bigger burst of action. (That said, some of the best moments are straight-up fistfights; Carano, a former MMA star, throws down very well.)

The movie not only knows what its fans want, but also that they bring a long relationship to these movies and their characters; while 6 often refers back to the fourth and fifth films, it includes other nods back to the very beginning of the series. It has allowed its characters some growth and change — Brian and his true love, Dom’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) — become parents at the beginning of 6 but not so much that they won’t buckle up one more time.

Even if 6 ends with most of the characters happy, when I saw the movie, the teaser for the seventh movie brought cheers from an audience eager for more adventures.

That it all makes no sense is beside the point. It’s just plain fun — big, loud, pointless, eye-popping fun. Bring on the popcorn.

Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and Ohio.com, including the HeldenFiles Online blog, www.ohio,com/blogs/heldenfiles.

Movie: Fast & Furious 6

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Luke Evans, Tyrese Gibson, Gina Carano, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot.

Directed by: Justin Lin.

Studio: Universal.

Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action and mayhem throughout, some sexuality and language

Theaters: Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Great Oaks Cinema, Highland Theatre, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park 18, Lake 8, Macedonia 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Regal Medina 16, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster 10, Magic City Drive-In.

HHH

Akron Pops Orchestra — Seeking musicians, especially strings and keyboards, for the volunteer orchestra. Rehearsals are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Quirk Cultural Center, 1201 Grant Ave., Cuyahoga Falls. Most concerts are on Thursday evenings, with a few weekend concerts. Contact Kristan Crane at 330-203-1926 or www.akronpops.org.

Canal Fulton Players — Auditions for All in Good Times will be held 7-9 p.m. Wednesday and May 30 at Salt Box Ministries, 408 W. Market St., Canal Fulton. Need seven men and four women ages 20-65. For more information, call 330-494-1022 or 330-854-4387.

City of Flags Chorus — Seeking women who enjoy singing a cappella, four-part harmony. Rehearsals are at 7 p.m. Mondays at Greenwood Christian Church, 44th Street Northwest and Frazer Avenue, Canton. 800-793-3805.

Cuyahoga Falls Community Chorus — Openings for all voice parts for adults of all ages from Cuyahoga Falls and surrounding communities. Rehearsals are at 7 p.m. Mondays at Summit Christian School at Newberry Park, 2800 13th St., Cuyahoga Falls. Email info@cfchorus.com, call Ted Shure at 330-920-8598 or visit www.leonardshure.com.

Derbytown A Cappella Men’s Chorus — Seeking new members to sing four-part harmony. Practices are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the Fellowship Hall of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 50 N. Prospect St., Akron. Enter through Park Street Cloister entrance. 330-849-3372.

First Night Akron 2014 — Applications for performers for First Night Akron 2014 are online. Artist proposals include, but are not limited to: music, dance, theater, puppetry, film, visual art/installation art, interactive/participatory activities, strolling entertainers, literary/storytelling/poetry activities and make and take activities. The deadline for applications is July 26. For an application, go to www.firstnightakron.org/entertainment/artist-proposals.

Forever Harmony Singers of the Akron Area — Seeking women 16 or older to sing a cappella, four-part harmony from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays at the Tallmadge Oaks Club House, 120 North Ave. 330-784-2756 or 330-923-7438.

Friends Community Chorus — Rehearsals are held 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays at the Brewster Friends Church, 139 W. Main St. Contact conductor Steven Tharp Jr. or secretary Brandy Vanegas at 330-418-4006 or email friends
chorale@gmail.com.

Laurel Lake Encore Chorale — Seeking adults age 55 and older to join the 50-member chorale that performs a large range of musical styles. Participation is open to the public. Rehearsals are held on Tuesdays at 3 p.m. at Laurel Lake Retirement Community, 200 Laurel Lake Drive, Hudson. Call director Donna Anderson at 330-655-1436.

Wadsworth Community Band — Seeking new members on all instruments. No audition required. Rehearsals are 7-9:15 p.m. Thursdays in the Wadsworth Middle School band room. http://wadsworthcommunityband.com or 330-336-1290.

Need performers or behind-the-scenes specialists? Send details — two weeks before the date — to Auditions, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640; fax 330-996-3033 or email newsroomemail@thebeaconjournal.com.

Funny Stop Comedy Club — Nathan Timmel, 8:30 tonight; Lou Santini, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Cal Verducci, 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 1757 State Road, Cuyahoga Falls. $5 and up. Cal Verducci, May 30-June 1. Jeff Blanchard, June 4-5. Nick Vatterott, June 6-8. Bill Squire, June 11-15. 330-923-4700.

Hilarities 4th Street Theatre — Colin Kane, 8 tonight, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday; John Knight, 8 p.m. Wednesday, 2035 E. Fourth St., Cleveland. Bobby Collins, May 30-June 1. Dan Grueter, June 5. Nick Thune, June 6-9. $8 and up. All shows 21 or older. www.pickwickandfrolic.com or 216-241-7425.

Improv — Alex Ortiz, 7:30 tonight, 7:30 and 10:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Cortney Gee, 7 p.m. Sunday, Sugar Warehouse, 1148 Main Ave., Cleveland Flats. $8 and up. Rod Paulette, May 30 and June 2. Mo’Nique, May 31-June 1. Chuck Booms, June 6. John Witherspoon, June 7-9. Reservations: 216-696-4677.

Actors’ Summit — (Greystone Hall, 103 S. High St., Akron; 330-374-7568, www.actorssummit.org) Sean Christopher Lewis’ Manning Up continues through June 2. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. this Saturday,2 p.m. Sundays. $28, $25 seniors Thursdays and Sundays; $30 Saturdays; $28 Fridays. Full-time students with ID under the age of 30 can attend any performance for $9.

Coach House Theatre — (732 W. Exchange St., Akron; 330-434-7741, www.coachhousetheatre.com) The Fox on the Fairway continues through June 2. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. $18.

Karamu House — (2355 E. 89th St., Cleveland; 216-795-7077) Crowns opens Friday and continues through June 16. 3 and 8 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. $25, $22 seniors, $21 students on Thursdays and Sundays; $30, $27 seniors, $26 students on Friday and Saturdays. 7:30 preview tonight, $15.

PlayhouseSquare’s Hanna Theatre — (2067 E. 14th St., Cleveland; 216-241-6000) Guys & Dolls continues through June 30. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. $10-$67.

Greater Cleveland Aquarium — 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, last admission is at 5 p.m., Nautica Entertainment Complex, 2000 Sycamore St., Cleveland. Features more than 40 tanks of all sizes, which are home to thousands of living creatures including the Ohio-native brook trout, ferocious piranhas and sand tiger sharks that measure more than 7 feet. $21.95, $15.95 ages 2-12. www.GreaterClevelandAquarium.com.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History — Exhibitions on display through Sept. 1 are Megalodon: Largest Shark that Ever Lived; and Sharkabet: A Sea of Sharks from A to Z. Museum is at 1 Wade Oval Drive. Admission is $12, $10 ages 3-18, college students and seniors, and free for children 2 and under. www.cmnh.org.

Summit County Historical Society John Brown House Open House — 4-6 p.m. today at the John Brown House, 514 Diagonal Road, Akron. The tour includes the Summit Hall of Honor, featuring displays honoring Summit Award winners. Free. 330-535-1120, www.summithistory.org.

Spring Barn Sale at Gina Bishop’s Century Barn — 6-8 tonight, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 2357 Hudson Aurora Road, Hudson. For more information, go to www.home
girlshop.com.

Victoria Rowell Public Event — 7 tonight at the Southeast Community Center, 1400 Sherrick Road SE, Canton. Victoria Rowell, author and actress from the soap opera The Young and the Restless, will talk about her book The Women Who Raised Me, which chronicles her experiences in the foster care system. Admission is $10 and $25 for admission, an autographed copy of her book and a picture with the speaker. For more information, call 330-456-3479 or go to www.starkcountyul.org.

22nd Annual Marc’s Great American Rib Cook-Off & Music Festival — Noon to 11 p.m. Friday-Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. Monday at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica. Featuring; Friday, Rocktopia; Saturday, Rick Springfield; Sunday, Buddy Guy; and Monday, Bret Michaels. $8. www.fox8.com/rib.

Polish American Club Fish Fry — 4:30-8 p.m. Friday at the Polish American Club, 472 E. Glenwood Ave., Akron. Starting at $7.95. 330-253-0496.

Ohio State Reformatory Ghost Hunts — Friday at the Ohio State Reformatory, 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield. Ghost Hunts offer an overnight experience for those with serious interest in paranormal activity. $70; proceeds go to restore the structure. www.mrps.org.

A New Adventure Widows & Widowers social group — 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Eat’ N Park, 200 Howe Ave., Cuyahoga Falls. 330-929-5430 or 330-630-9275.

Unattached Seniors— 9 a.m. Saturday at the Waterloo Restaurant, 423 E. Waterloo Road, Akron. 330-644-6624.

A New Beginning Social Group for Widows and Widowers — 9 a.m. Saturday at Thano’s Restaurant, 71 Fifth St. SE, Barberton. 330-745-6239.

One Love Unity 3rd Annual 5K Walk for Health & Community Cookout — 9:30 a.m. check in on Saturday at Hardesty Park, 1615 W. Market St., Akron. 5K begins at 10 a.m. with 1, 2, 3 mile walk at 10:15 a.m. For more information, call 330-571-6060, 330-790-1257 or go to www.akron1loveunity.org.

Widows & Widowers (SOS) Starting Over Socially Brunch & Dominoes — 10 a.m. Saturday at Perkins, 4896 Everhard Road, Belden Village. Participants pay for their meals. For information call Norma at 330-452-5889 or Bernie at 330-477-5325.

Hoover-Price Planetarium Shows — 1 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, 800 McKinley Monument Drive NW, Canton. Citizen Science May 4 through July 7. 330-455-7043.

Bluegrass Saturday Nights — 7-11 p.m. Saturday at Homerville Community Center, state Route 301, Homerville. All pickers welcome; open stage and jam rooms. 330-416-2222.

Massillon Museum Brown Bag Lunch — 12:10 p.m. Tuesday at the Massillon Museum, 121 Lincoln Way E. Todd Clark, Stark Parks History Programmer and Naturalist, will present Going to Work: Federal Projects and the Great Depression. For more information, call 330-833-4061 or go to www.
massillonmuseum.org.

Carovillese Club Spaghetti Dinner — 4-7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Carovillese Club, 570 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave., Akron. $6 to $8.25. 330-929-6767.

Summit County Historical Society Perkins Stone Mansion Tours — 1-3 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at the Perkins Stone Mansion, 550 Copley Road, Akron. $6, $4 seniors, $2 students. 330-535-1120 or go to www.summithistory.org.

Weekday walkers — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is holding a weekday walk at 10 a.m. at O’Neil Woods Metro Park, 2550 Martin Road, Bath Township. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Contra dance — You can join the musical group Hu$hmoney with its jigs and reels and caller Carol Kopp in a contra dance from 8 to 10:30 p.m. at the Boston Township School House at Riverview Road and state Route 303 in Peninsula. Instruction will be offered at 7 p.m. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. The fee is $6.

Stories for kids — The Medina County Park District is holding story hours for youngsters 3 to 6 years old and accompanying adults at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Krabill Shelter at Chippewa Lake. That’s off Ballash Road in Lafayette Township. The stories will be repeated at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday. Advance sign-up is required. 330-722-9364.

Civil War talk — John Parker and the Underground Railroad are the topic of a Civil War talk at 7 p.m. in the GAR Hall Museum at Riverview Road and state Route 303 in Peninsula. Free. www.peninsulahistory.org.

Valley hike — The Akron Metro Parks Hiking Club will meet at 7 p.m. at the Hunt Farm Visitor Information Center off Bolanz Road in Cuyahoga Falls for a five-mile hike on the Towpath Trail. 330-923-6371.

Friday

Thomas Tank Engine — The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad is hosting Thomas the Tank Engine’s Go Go Thomas Tour 2013. There will be 25-minute train rides departing every 45 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from the Boston Mill Station off Riverview Road in Boston Township. The rides will continue from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $18 plus tax for ages 2 and up. For tickets, call 866-468-7630 or www.ticketweb.com/thomas.html. For more information, call 800-468-4070 or go to www.cvsr.com.

Celtic music — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is presenting a family campfire with Celtic music from 7 to 9 p.m. at Firestone Metro Park. Meet at the Tuscarawas Meadows Area off Harrington Road in South Akron. Bring chairs and marshmallow sticks. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Wildflowers for kids — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is holding Kinderealm programs on wildflowers for youngsters 3 to 6 years old and accompanying adults at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Meet at the Seiberling Nature Realm, 1828 Smith Road, Akron. The program will be repeated at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Advance sign-up is required. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Fit Friday — The Stark County Park District is holding a Fit Friday hike at 9 a.m. at the David Fichtner Center, 12833 Market Ave. N, Hartville. 330-409-8096.

Saturday

Pulling invasives — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is seeking volunteers to pull invasive garlic mustard from 9 a.m. to noon at Hampton Hills Metro Park. Meet at the trailhead off Akron-Peninsula Road in North Akron. Dress for off-trail work and bring a hat, work gloves, snack and water. Advance registration is required. 330-865-8057, ext. 226, or mperdicas@summitmetroparks.org. Adults must accompany those 16 and younger.

Cardio hike — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is holding a cardio hike on the Highbridge Trail at 9 a.m. Meet at the Highbridge parking lot at 1270 Front St., Akron. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Picnic ride — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is holding a picnic bike ride on the Towpath Trail. The ride will cover about 10 miles. Meet at 11 a.m. at the Clinton Trailhead off North Street in Clinton. Helmets required. Bring your own lunch. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Meet Cheeks — You can meet Cheeks the Chipmunk, the costumed mascot of Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Seiberling Nature Realm, 1828 Smith Road, Akron. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Bird walk — The National Park Service is holding a bird walk from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Cuyahoga Valley. Meet ranger Paul Motts at the Ledges Shelter parking lot off Truxell Road in Boston Township.

Full-moon hike — The National Park Service is conducting a full-moon hike of 1½ miles on the Oak Hill Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley. It will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Meet at the Oak Hill Trailhead off Oak Hill Road in Boston Township.

Hanging at Hunt — The National Park Service is staging family activities from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Hunt Farm Visitor Information Center off Bolanz Road in Cuyahoga Falls. There will be information on camping available from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Nature in zoom — Artwork on Nature in Zoom Mode by the Crooked River Gang, a group of local artists, will be featured in an exhibit at the M.D. Garage in the Cuyahoga Valley park. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1556 Boston Mills Road, Boston Township. The show continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

Trail cleanup — Volunteers are needed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Plateau Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley park. Meet at the Oak Hill Trailhead off Oak Hill Road in Boston Township. Wear sturdy boots and bring a small pack with lunch, water and work gloves. Call 330-678-9028.

Healthy hike — The Medina County Park District is holding a healthy hike at 9 a.m. at O’Neil Woods Metro Park in Summit County’s Bath Township. The park is off Martin Road. For ages 10 to adult. 330-722-9364.

Urban homesteading — The Medina County Park District is holding a program on urban homesteading by gardener-farmer-nutritionist Loree Cummings of Stone Cottage Farm & Garden. The program will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the Wolf Creek Environmental Center, 6100 Ridge Road (state Route 94), Sharon Township. The fee is $20. Advance registration is required. http://stonecottagefarmandgarden.com.

Bog hike — The Kent Bog State Nature Preserve will host a bog hike at 11 a.m. The preserve is off Meloy Road on Kent’s south side. Sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of Kent Bog. 330-527-5118.

Owl prowl — Quail Hollow State Park near Hartville will present an owl prowl from 8 to 10 p.m. at 13480 Congress Lake Road NE, Lake Township. Meet at the Spruce Grove picnic area. Bring repellent and a flashlight. 330-877-6652 or www.quailhollowpark.org.

Holden hike — The Portage Trail Walkers hiking club will meet at 10 a.m. at Holden Arboretum in Kirtland to observe the azaleas and rhododendrons on a three-mile hike. Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. 330-673-6896.

Valley hike — The Akron Metro Parks Hiking Club will meet at 9 a.m. at the Kendall Lake Shelter off Truxell Road in Boston Township for a hilly six-mile hike. 330-923-6371.

Solar party — The Astronomy Club of Akron will host a Solar Party with a program on sunspots, prominences and solar flares at 1 p.m. Meet at the club’s observatory at Portage Lakes State Park, 5031 Manchester Road (state Route 93), New Franklin. 330-837-5848.

Full-moon hike — The Wilderness Center at 9877 Alabama Ave. SW in Sugar Creek Township, is hosting a full-moon hike at 9 p.m. 877-359-5235.

Preserve doings — The Beech Creek Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve is offering a program on chickadees from 1 to 2:15 p.m. at 11929 Beech St. NE, Washington Township. It will also host a spring garden tea at 3 p.m. The fee is $25. Advance sign-up is required. 330-829-7050.

Kids fishing — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is opening its ponds for youth fishing involving youngsters 15 and younger. Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Also open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday at 8912 Portage Lakes Drive, Coventry Township. Youth anglers must be accompanied by adults, and adults are not allowed to fish in the youth area. 330-644-2293.

Sunday

Vernal pools — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is conducting a vernal pools hike at 1 p.m. at Liberty Park. Meet at the Pond Brook Conservation Area off state Route 82 in Twinsburg Township. Wear rain boots and clothes that can wet and dirty. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Bluebird fun — Learn ways to attract bluebirds in a program at 1 p.m. in the pavilion at Goodyear Heights Metro Park. That’s off Newton Street in East Akron. Beginners are welcome. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Photo meeting — The Medina County Park District’s Photographers of the Parks Club will meet at 3 p.m. at the Wolf Creek Environmental Center, 6100 Ridge Road (state Route 94), Sharon Township. For ages 16 to adult. 330-329-4814.

Silver Creek hike — The Akron Metro Parks Hiking Club will meet at 2:30 p.m. at Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton for a five-mile hike. Meet in the Pheasant Run Area. 330-923-6371.

Nature walk — The University of Mount Union’s John T. Huston-Dr. John D. Brumbaugh Nature Center is hosting a nature walk from 2 to 4 p.m. The center is on Dan Street in Washington Township. 330-823-7487.

Snake fun — The Wilderness Center at 9877 Alabama Ave. SW in Sugar Creek Township, is hosting a walk-in nature program on snakes from 1 to 4 p.m. It will continue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday. 877-359-5235.

Butterfly gardening — The Beech Creek Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve is offering a program on gardening to help butterflies at 2 p.m. at 11929 Beech St. NE, Washington Township. 330-829-7050.

Monday

Goodyear Heights hike — The Akron Metro Parks Hiking Club will meet at 9:30 a.m. for a five-mile hike at Goodyear Heights Metro Park in East Akron. Meet at the rear of the main parking lot off Newton Street. 330-923-6371.

Tuesday

Grassland birds — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is staging a hike to look for grassland birds at 7 p.m. at Springfield Bog Metro Park, 1400 Portage Line Road, Springfield Township. Binoculars are recommended. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Film/photo festival — The Greater Akron Audubon Society will present a film/photo show with members’ contributions at 7 p.m. at the Mingo Shelter in Sand Run Metro Park. That’s off Sand Run Parkway in northwest Akron. 330-645-0953 or info@akronaudubon.org.

Wednesday

Evening hike — The National Park Service is staging an evening hike from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the Riding Run Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley park. Meet at the Everett Road Covered Bridge parking lot off Everett Road in Boston Township.

Lunchtime history — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is holding a 30-minute, half-mile hike at 11:30 a.m. in the Cascade Locks Park. Meet at the Mustill Store off West North Street near downtown Akron. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Meet in garden — The Master Gardeners will present a program on perennials at 7 p.m. at the Seiberling Nature Realm, 1828 Smith Road, Akron. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

River fun — Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is holding a program on What’s in the Water? at 7 p.m. Meet at the Chuckery Area of Cascade Valley Metro park. That’s off Cuyahoga Street in North Akron. 330-865-8065 or www.summitmetroparks.org.

Brown-bag concert — Folksy singer Kathy Johnson will sing from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in a brown-bag concert at the Mustill Store off West North Street near downtown Akron. Free. Bring a lunch or buy one at the store. 330-374-5625.

Gorge hike — The Akron Metro Parks Hiking Club will meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Gorge Metro Park for a trails-and-sidewalk hike. Meet in the Front Street parking lot in Cuyahoga Falls. 330-923-6371.

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning at the beaconjournal.com.

Contemporary Line Dancing — 1-2 p.m. today, Springfield Township Boyd Esler Senior/Community Center, 2491 Canfield Road. $4. 330-733-2556.

Polka Dance — 2-5 p.m. today, Polish Legion of American Veterans Post 32, 283 Dayton St., Akron. Free. 330-253-0542.

Line Dance Class — 7-8 tonight, Tallmadge Community Center, 80 Community Road. $5. 330-673-0848.

Akron2Cleveland New Ballroom Dancers — 7-9 p.m. Friday, Goodyear YMCA, 110 Goodyear Blvd., Akron. 330-573-9453 or 330-631-5299.

Ballroom Nights — 8-10:30 p.m. Friday at the Quirk Cultural Center, 1201 Grant Ave., Cuyahoga Falls. Free lesson 7:30-8 p.m. Dance is $9 per person. Ages 16 and older only. 330-971-8225 or 330-971-8425.

Dance With Kent Le Mar — 9 a.m. Saturdays, Theatre Dance Centre, 4800 Massillon Road, Green. For ages 30 or older. $10 per class. 330-899-9655.

Ballroom Dancing — 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Sherwood Dance Club, 960 Jacoby Road, Copley Township. $7. 330-864-4484.

Ron Davis Dance Band Ballroom Dance — 5-8 p.m. Sunday, Firestone Park Christian Church, 40 E. Wilbeth Road, Akron. $4 per person, $7 a couple. 330-753-6679.

Ballroom Dancing — 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Sherwood Dance Club, 960 Jacoby Road, Copley Township. $7. 330-864-4484.

Keep It Movin … Line Dance Basics for Grown Folks — 10-11 a.m. Tuesday, Trinity United Church of Christ, 915 N. Main St., Akron and 10-11 a.m. Wednesday, Lawton Community Center, 1225 Lawton St., Akron. Presented by Universal Nursing Services. Free.

Poetry in Motion of Akron — Hand-dance (beginners-intermediate) at 7:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; salsa (beginners-intermediate) at 8:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays at 210 E. North St., Akron. For information, go to www.pimakoh.com.

Country Line Dance Lessons — 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, intermediate class, Tallmadge Community Center, 80 Community Road. $5. 330-673-0848.

Sounds of Yesterday — 2-5 p.m. Wednesday, Fraternal Order of Police, 2610 Ley Drive, Akron. Ballroom music. 330-724-7414 or 330-753-6679.

Detroit-Style Urban Ballroom Dancing Class — 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays, the Unity House, 1241 Diagonal Road, Akron. $5 for class, free open dance starts at 8. 330-571-6060.

Ballroom Dancing — 6:30-9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Polish Legion of American Veterans Post 32, 383 Dayton St., Akron. Music by Delci Tones. $5. 330-253-0542.

Cleveland Orchestra — 8 tonight and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Featuring Manfred Honeck, conductor; and Lars Vogt, piano. Program: Martinsson, Open Mind; Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3; and Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5. $31-$119, students $10. 216-231-1111, 800-686-1141 or go to www.clevelandorchestra.com.

PNC Musical Rainbows The Happy Horn — 10 a.m. Friday and 10 and 11 a.m. Saturday, Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Featuring Hans Clebsch, violin; Angelin Chang, piano; and Maryann Nagel, host. For ages 3-6. $7. 216-231-1111 or www.cleveland
orchestra.com.

Cleveland Orchestra KeyBank Fridays@7 — 7 p.m. Friday, Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Featuring Manfred Honeck, conductor. Program: Martinsson, Open Mind; and Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5. $31-$79, students $10. 216-231-1111, 800-686-1141 or go to www.cleveland
orchestra.com.

Movie: The Hangover Part III

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, John Goodman

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Studio: Warner Bros.

Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Rating: R for pervasive language including sexual references, some violence and drug content and brief graphic nudity

Theaters: Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park 18, Lake 8, Macedonia 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Regal Medina 16, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster 10, Magic City Drive-In, Midway Twin Drive-In

HH

2. Iron Man 3, $35,770,094, 4,237 locations, $8,442 average, $337,661,977, three weeks.

3. The Great Gatsby, $23,939,228, 3,550 locations, $6,743 average, $90,682,832, two weeks.

4. Pain & Gain, $3,237,689, 2,429 locations, $1,333 average, $46,712,183, four weeks.

5. The Croods, $3,024,602, 2,373 locations, $1,275 average, $177,024,785, nine weeks.

6. 42, $2,812,115, 2,380 locations, $1,182 average, $88,816,627, six weeks.

7. Oblivion, $2,337,050, 2,077 locations, $1,125 average, $85,588,010, five weeks.

8. Mud, $2,229,546, 960 locations, $2,322 average, $11,656,971, four weeks.

9. Peeples, $2,159,980, 2,041 locations, $1,058 average, $7,867,757, two weeks.

10. The Big Wedding, $1,210,204, 1,443 locations, $839 average, $20,308,188, four weeks.

The listing is ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters and total box office receipts, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com.

Akron-Summit County Main Library — (Auditorium, 60 S. High St., Akron; 330-643-9015) Classic Western Film Series: Calamity Jane, 6:30 tonight. Free.

Capitol Theatre — (1390 W. 65th St., Cleveland; 440-528-0355) Charge, 7 tonight, $9; 11 a.m. Saturday, $6. Adhyaya, 10 a.m. Sunday. $12.

Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque — (Aitken Auditorium, 11141 East Blvd.; 216-421-7450) The Girl, 5:30 p.m. Friday, 7:40 p.m. Saturday; Lore, 7:25 p.m. Friday, 9:35 p.m. Saturday; Tokyo Twilight, 9:35 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday. $8; $13 for two films a day.

Cleveland Museum of Art — (11150 East Blvd.; 888-262-0033) Future Weather, 6:45 p.m. Friday; Sins of Pompeii (The Last Days of Pompeii), 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. $8; $6 members; $5, seniors; $4, students.

Omnimax Theater at the Great Lakes Science Center — (601 Erieside Ave., Cleveland; 216-694-2000) Tornado Alley, noon, 2 and 4 p.m. today-Wednesday; The Living Sea, 1 and 3 p.m. today and Friday, 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 1 and 3 p.m. Monday-Wednesday. $9.50; $7.50 under 18. Center/theater combination tickets, $12.95 and $8.95.

Palace Theatre — (605 Market Ave. N., Canton; 330-454-8172) Oblivion, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday. $5.

EPIC — HH

(PG — mild action, some scary images, brief rude language) Amanda Seyfried, Beyonce Knowles, Colin Farrell, Christoph Waltz and Josh Hutcherson provide the voices for this 3-D animated fable about a teenage girl who is magically transported into an alternate universe. 1 hour, 42 minutes.

Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park 18, Lake 8, Linda Theatre, Macedonia 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Regal Medina 16, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster 10, Blue Sky Drive-In, Midway Twin Drive-In.

FRANCES HA — Not rated

(R — sexual references, language) Director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Greenberg) goes low-budget, black-and-white French New Wave with this whimsical study of a young woman (Greta Gerwig) trying to survive in New York. 1 hour, 26 minutes.

Cedar Lee, Valley View 24

FAST & FURIOUS 6 — HHH

(PG-13 — intense sequences of violence and action and mayhem throughout, some sexuality, language) Justin Lin returns for a fourth time to direct Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson and the rest of the rubber-burning crew. 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Great Oaks Cinema, Highland Theatre, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park 18, Lake 8, Macedonia 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Regal Medina 16, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster 10, Magic City Drive-In.

THE HANGOVER PART III — HH

(R — pervasive language including sexual references, some violence and drug content, brief graphic nudity) For the final chapter in his hugely successful trilogy about guys behaving badly, director Todd Phillips shakes things up by doing away with weddings and bachelor parties altogether. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha are all back for more punishment. 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park 18, Lake 8, Macedonia 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Regal Medina 16, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster 10, Magic City Drive-In, Midway Twin Drive-In.

RENOIR — Not rated

(R — sequences of art-related nudity, brief language) Set on the French Riviera in the summer of 1915, Jean Renoir — son of the Impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste — returns home to convalesce after being wounded in World War I. At his side is Andree, a young woman who rejuvenates, enchants, and inspires both father and son. In French and Italian with subtitles. 1 hour, 41 minutes.

Cedar Lee

WHAT MAISIE KNEW — Not rated

(R — some language) In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents’ bitter custody battle. A revisioning of the Henry James novel of the same name. With Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan. 1 hour, 39 minutes.

Cedar Lee, Valley View 24.

Playing through 
next week

42 — HHH

(PG-13 — thematic elements including language) The life story of Jackie Robinson, the first black player in Major League Baseball, and his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of Branch Rickey. 2 hours, 8 minutes.

AT ANY PRICE — HH

(R — sexual content, including a strong graphic image, language) Director Ramin Bahrani is working on an American Gothic canvas with a half-dozen recognizable actors and some big-picture themes about the plight of the 21st-century farmer, as told through the perspective of a Willy Loman-esque character and his dysfunctional family. It’s beautifully photographed and solidly acted, but it’s all over the place. With Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron, Red West. 1 hour, 45 minutes. Showing only at Cedar Lee, Cleveland Heights. 440-349-3306.

THE CALL — Not rated

(R — violence, disturbing content and some language) Halle Berry plays a 911 operator who takes a call from an abducted teenager and must confront a killer from her own past to save the girl’s life. 1 hour, 38 minutes. Showing only at Cinemark Movies 10, Jackson Township. 330-497-9118.

THE CROODS — HH½

(PG — some scary action) In this animated film, a prehistoric family embarks on a journey to find a new home after their cave is destroyed. It has a strong, star-studded cast and dazzles visually in wondrously colorful, vibrant 3-D, but the script doesn’t pop off the screen quite so effectively. With the voices of Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener. 1 hour, 32 minutes.

ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH — Not rated

(PG — some mild rude humor, action) Sarah Jessica Parker, Sofia Vergara, Brendan Fraser and Ricky Gervais provide the voices for this animated comedy about an astronaut who answers a distress call hailing from a highly dangerous planet. 1 hour, 29 minutes. Showing only at Cinemark Movies 10, Jackson Township. 330-497-9118.

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION — HH

(PG-13 — intense sequences of combat violence and martial arts action throughout, and for brief sensuality and language) The G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within their own government after they are framed for crimes against the country. 1 hour, 50 minutes. Showing only at Cinemark Movies 10, Jackson Township. 330-497-9118.

THE GREAT GATSBY — HHH

(PG-13 — some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying, brief language) Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the party-loving millionaire living the high life in 1920s New York. Tobey Maguire is the aspiring author from the Midwest who starts hanging out with the rich crowd. 2 hours, 23 minutes.

IDENTITY THIEF — HH½

(R — sexual content, language) Jason Bateman goes on a road trip to find the woman (Melissa McCarthy) who has stolen his identity and wrecked his life in the process. Directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses). 1 hour, 50 minutes. Showing only at Cinemark Movies 10, Jackson Township. 330-497-9118.

THE ICEMAN — HHH

(R — strong violence, pervasive language, some sexual content) The true story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man. When finally arrested in 1986, neither his wife nor daughters have any clue about his real profession. With Michael Shannon, Ray Liotta and Winona Ryder. 1 hour, 45 minutes.

IN THE HOUSE — Not rated

(R — sexual content, language) A 16-year-old boy insinuates himself into the house of a fellow student from his literature class and writes about it in essays for his teacher. Faced with this gifted and unusual pupil, the teacher rediscovers his enthusiasm for his work, but the boy’s intrusion will unleash a series of uncontrollable events. In French with subtitles. 1 hour, 45 minutes. Showing only at Cedar Lee, Cleveland Heights. 440-349-3306.

IRON MAN 3 — HHH

(PG-13 — sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, brief suggestive content) Playboy industrialist and armored superhero Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, is brought to the brink of destruction by a new enemy known as the Mandarin. With Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley, Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle. 2 hours, 10 minutes.

JACK THE GIANT SLAYER — HH½

(PG-13 — intense scenes of fantasy action violence, some frightening images, brief language) This riff on the old Jack and the Beanstalk fable stars Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies) as a young man battling hordes of CGI giants. Directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men), which gives us hope there’s more here than dull, Clash of the Titans-style crash and bang. 1 hour, 54 minutes. Showing only at Cinemark Movies 10, Jackson Township. 330-497-9118.

JURASSIC PARK 3D — HHH

(PG-13 — language, dinosaur violence) Scientists figure out a way to clone dinosaurs and bring back 15 species, including a very angry Tyrannosaurus Rex. Things go bad. The 3-D isn’t even necessary; just enjoy one of Spielberg’s best movies. 2 hours, 6 minutes.

MUD — Not rated

(PG-13 — some violence, sexual references, language, thematic elements and smoking) Two boys find a fugitive hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River and pledge to help him reunite with his girl and escape. 2 hours, 10 minutes. Showing only at Cedar Lee, Cleveland Heights. 440-349-3306.

OBLIVION — HH½—

(PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, brief strong language, and some sensuality) A man living on a post-apocalyptic Earth rescues a woman from a spacecraft crash and begins to question the official history he has been told all this time. 2 hours, 4 minutes.

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL — HHH

(PG — sequences of action, scary images, brief mild language) A small-time circus magician finds himself hurled from Kansas to the fantastical land of Oz, where he tries to transform himself into a great wizard. With James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams. 2 hours, 10 minutes. Showing only at Cinemark Movies 10, Jackson Township. 330-497-9118.

PAIN & GAIN—— HH½

(R — bloody violence, crude sexual content, nudity, language throughout and drug use) A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong. 2 hours, 4 minutes.

PEEPLES — HH

(PG-13 — sexual content, drug material, language) Craig Robinson (TV’s The Office) crashes the eponymous family’s annual gathering in the Hamptons to propose to their daughter (Kerry Washington). 1 hour, 35 minutes.

SPRING BREAKERS — Not rated

(R — strong sexual content, language, nudity, drug use and violence) Four bored college girls set off for a spring fling in Florida that erupts into a bacchanal of booze, drugs and violence. Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens break away from their Disney roots, and James Franco is a cornrowed, wanna-be gangster rapper named Alien. 1 hour, 32 minutes. Showing only at Cinemark Movies 10, Jackson Township. 330-497-9118.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS — HHH

(PG-13 — intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence) The action is grander, the stakes are higher and the camaraderie funnier in director J.J. Abrams’ second outing into Star Trek territory. The story sends Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), First Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the crew of the USS Enterprise on the trail of a terrorist (Benedict Cumberbatch) who has declared war on the Federation. 2 hours, 12 minutes.

TYLER PERRY’S TEMPTATION: CONFESSIONS OF A MARRIAGE COUNSELOR—— Not rated

(PG-13 — some violence, sexuality and drug content) An ambitious married woman’s affair with her new client, a billionaire social media mogul, leads to betrayal and recklessness. 1 hour, 51 minutes. Showing only at Cinemark Movies 10, Jackson Township. 330-497-9118.

Chuck’s Steakhouse — Johnny & the Apple Stompers, Jared S. & the Cincinnati Real Country Anti-Pop and Mikey Brown & the Cuyahoga County Rebels play at 9 Friday; Helix Reign, Stereo Audio and Mo Rage at 9 Saturday at 456 E. South St.

Corky’s Thomastown Cafe — DJ Glide emcees karaoke at 9:30 tonight, Friday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; Don’t Know, But They’re Good plays at 9:30 Saturday at 1131 S. Arlington St.

Getaway Pub — Jon Mosey plays at 9 tonight; Mike Lenz at 7 Sunday; Charlie and the Poor Boys at 8 Wednesday at 1462 N. Portage Path.

KC’s Nashville Nights — Mystic Taxi plays at 9 Friday; Double Barrel at 9 Saturday; Barb emcees karaoke at 9 Wednesday at 88 W. Wilbeth Road.

Kevin O’Bryan’s Irish Pub — Dave Cordi emcees karaoke at 9:30 tonight at 1761 S. Main St.

Mickey’s in the Valley — Mike Lenz Band plays at 10 Friday at 1310 Weathervane Lane.

Ohio Brewing Company — The Help, Dave Hammer and The Cigar-ettes play at 7 Friday at 451 S. High St.

Sand Bar — J.T. Teis plays at 9 Friday at 3822 S. Main St.

Square Night Club — DJ Robin at 11 Friday; DJ Darren at 11 Saturday; Kyle Jazz Trio plays at 8 Sunday; Gina emcees karaoke at 9:30 Wednesday at 820 W. Market St.

Tap House Concert Venue — Spazmatics play at 9 Friday; Junkman at 9 Saturday at 2215 E. Waterloo Road.

Tasty Jones — Steelheaders play at 9 tonight; Irv & Friends/open mic at 8:30 Wednesday at 1714 Merriman Road.

Varsity O Bar & Grill — Dave Cordi emcees karaoke at 8 Tuesday at 1895 Triplett Blvd.

EAST

Brew House — Cassie emcees karaoke at 10 tonight at 244 N. Water St., Kent.

Outpost — Ryan Houde plays at 8 tonight; Slave CD Release at 7 Friday; Erasing Never at 5 Saturday; Mike Lenz at 8:30 Wednesday at 4962 State Route 43, Kent.

Rico’s Restaurant Patio Bar — Highway 61 plays at 9 Friday; Rich Underwood Trio plays at 9 Saturday at 1332 Tallmadge Road, Brimfield Township.

Town Centre Sports Bar & Grill — Ziggy and Joann emcee karaoke at 8 tonight and Friday; Rag Baby plays at 8:30 Saturday at 4112 Brimfield Plaza, Brimfield.

NORTH

The Basement — Chauncey Shives plays at 9 Saturday at 480 W. Sagamore Road, Sagamore Hills.

Blue Rock Cafe — Pat Vaughan plays at 6 tonight; Open mic at 7:30 tonight; Django Billy Gypsy Jazz at 6 Friday; Blue Lunch at 8 Friday; Yodapez at 6 Saturday; Kannibal Kings at 8 Saturday; Rock Wehrmann at 8 Sunday at 5827 Darrow Road, Hudson.

Domenic’s Pub — Tommytune emcees karaoke at 9 Friday; Three on a Tree plays at 9 Saturday at 2467 State Road, Cuyahoga Falls.

Novo Lounge at the Sheraton Suites — Kim Karam & the Gene Fiocca Band plays at 8:30 Friday; Danny Clark at 8 Saturday at 1989 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls.

On Tap — Bobby Martin emcees karaoke at 9:30 Friday, Saturday; Bongo Joe & Steve-O play at 7 Wednesday at 4396 Kent Road, Stow.

Sto-Kent Lanes Beach Club — Mark Shaffer emcees karaoke at 9 Friday and Saturday at 3870 Fishcreek Road, Stow.

Streets Tavern — DJ Roger emcees karaoke at 8 tonight at 9107 State Route 14, Streetsboro.

SOUTH

Dietz’s Landing — Jersey plays at 8 Saturday; T. Condo at 3 Sunday; Retro at 3 Monday at 401 W. Turkeyfoot Lake Road, New Franklin.

Jimmy’s Restaurant & Lounge — Teddy Tunes emcees karaoke at 7 Wednesday at 4262 Portage St. NW, Jackson Township.

Menches Brothers — Dave Cordi emcees karaoke at 7 Friday at 3700 Massillon Road, Green.

Prime 93 — Sterle Brothers play at 6:30 Friday; John Perry at 6:30 Saturday; Max at 6 Wednesday at 4315 Manchester Road, New Franklin.

Sadie Rene’s Nightclub — Prophets of Doom play at 9 Friday; O’Doyles at 9 Saturday; Pile Up the Bodies, Radiatrix at 9 Sunday; Electric Jam Night with Sexy Sadie at 9 Wednesday at 7200 Whipple Ave. NW, Jackson Township.

356th Fighter Group — Midnite Special plays at 9 Friday and Saturday at 4919 Mount Pleasant Road, Green.

Upper Deck — Westside Steve plays at 6 Friday; Coast to Coast at 6 Saturday; Aretifex at 4 Sunday; Shock Wave at 4 Monday at 357 Turkeyfoot Lake Road, New Franklin.

WEST

Galaxy Restaurant — WIXY 1260 plays at 7 tonight; DC Flux at 9:30 Friday; Scott Alan at 9 Saturday at 201 Park Centre Drive, Wadsworth.

Houston Pub — Open mic with Tom Ball at 7 Tuesday at 3069 Houston Road, Norton.

Hudson’s Restaurant — Danny Mazzocco Trio plays at 6 p.m. Friday at 3900 Medina Road, Fairlawn.

KC’s Sports Pub — Motley Crued plays at 9:30 Saturday at 346 Main St., Wadsworth.

On Tap — Chris Martin emcees karaoke at 9:30 Friday and Saturday; Gryphons play at 8:30 Wednesday at Acme Plaza, 3997 Medina Road, Bath Township.

On Tap — Bobby Martin emcees karaoke at 9 Friday at 2905 Medina Road, Medina.

Sweet Pea Cafe — Keith Thornton plays at 7 Friday; Cuyahoga Valley Frackers at 7 Saturday at 117 Merz Blvd., Fairlawn.

CLEVELAND AREA

Barking Spider Tavern — Bill Weiner plays at 8 tonight; Vicki Chew at 10 tonight; George Foley & Friends at 5:30 Friday; Flipside at 8 Friday; Eclectic Vision at 10 Friday; Oolong Gurus at 8 Saturday; Blond Boy Grunt & The Groans at 10 Saturday; Emily Keener at 7 Sunday; Michael Rotman at 9 Sunday; Chris Nauman at 8 Monday; Avin Baird at 10 Monday; Open Mic with Will Cheshier at 8 Tuesday; Dan Holt at 8 Wednesday; G.S. Harper at 10 Wednesday at 11310 Juniper Road, Cleveland.

Nighttown — Donal Malloy Clear Water plays at 7 tonight; Sammy DeLeon/Jackie Warren Latin Jazz Sextet at 8:30 p.m. Friday; Euclid High School Big Band at 7 Tuesday at 12387 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights.

Wilbert’s Food & Music — The Howlin Brothers play at 8 tonight; J. Rod, Crazy8theGreat, Curtis Beckham, H.O.R.N, Grim, Nuffsed and ShogunDirtyCrook at 9 Friday; Dan Reed, Gary Decanay and Liza Bundy at 9 Saturday; Lance Whalen and Hawk and Dove at 8 Wednesday at 812 Huron Road E., Cleveland.

LeBron James Grandmother’s Fan Club Sound, Taste of Soul — 4 p.m. Saturday at Helen Arnold Community Learning Center, 450 Vernon Odom Blvd., Akron. Includes food and music by Carson Barnes Quartet, Marilyn Rivers, Al Knight, JLTs Gospel Singers and more. $8. 330-784-2544.

Jazz Tuesdays — 7 p.m. Tuesday, Massillon Senior Center, 39 Lincoln Way E. Free. 330-832-9831, ext. 311.

ACO Featuring Jackie Warren — 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Pub Bricco, 1841 Merriman Road, Akron. 330-869-0035.

Help shine the spotlight on those who make our community sparkle by downloading and submitting nominations. Awards will be awarded in 13 categories — six arts categories, plus awards for business, volunteer, outreach, patron, educator and more.

Nominations for Arts Alive! Awards are due June 15. Forms can be found at www.akronareaarts.org/arts-alive and should be mailed to: Arts Alive! 2013, Akron Area Arts Alliance, 140 E. Market St., 2nd Floor, Akron, OH 44308.

Blossom art talks

Kent/Blossom Art offers two free guest lectures this week as part of the 2013 Public Lecture Series, presented by Kent State University’s College of the Arts: sculptor Michelle Lopez today, and printmaker Stefan Hoffmann on Saturday. Both talks take place at 6 p.m. in Room 202 of the Art Building on the Kent State campus.

Kent State’s College of the Arts Public Lecture Series features top artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, printmaking and ceramics. The Kent/Blossom Art program also includes two-week intensive workshops in these areas of study, available at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Lopez creates sculptures from a variety of materials and surfaces, including industrial aluminum sheeting and grip tape, as well as more organic items like tree limbs and leather.

Hoffman, a printmaker from the Netherlands, creates site-specific wall and window installations with a focus on screen-printing techniques.

For more information, go to http://dept.kent.edu/art or call 330-672-2192.

Fashion notes

Two Kent State University Fashion School students will compete in the Supima Design Competition, a fashion design contest that culminates in a New York Fashion Week runway show at Lincoln Center with a $10,000 grand prize.

Kent State senior fashion design majors Will Riddle and Sylvia Bukowski will compete against students from the Rhode Island School of Design, the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Savannah College of Art and Design as part of the Supima Design Competition. Each school in the competition was asked to select two graduating students as representatives.

Riddle was the winner of the Eveningwear/Formal Wear Award at this year’s Annual Fashion School Fashion Show, and Bukowski won the Knitwear Collection Award.

The students will work with premium Supima denims, knits, corduroys, twills and shirting to create five evening looks. A panel of industry experts will judge the collections at the Fashion Week runway show. Last year’s panel included Gilt Groupe founder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, model and entrepreneur Coco Rocha, Bloomingdale’s vice president Kevin Harter and designers Nicole Miller and Charlotte Ronson.

Today

Reception — Kent State University Downtown Gallery, 141 E Main St., presents Capture: Photographs by Drew Smith through June 15 in the Downtown Gallery. The gallery hosts a free, public opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information, call 330-676-1549 or email lsickle1@kent.edu.

Worth Noting

Photography Classes — Registration is open for the Massillon Museum’s June photography classes. Intro to Digital Photography will meet from 10 a.m. to noon on four consecutive Saturdays beginning June 1. Artist and University of Akron professor Jody Hawk will introduce students to the basics of digital photography using “point and shoot” cameras (the standard digital cameras). Each student must provide his own digital camera. Use of a laptop computer is highly recommended to gain the most benefit from the class. Students ages 12-15 may register for the class when accompanied by an adult who is also taking the class. Tuition is $60, $50 for museum members. The Darkroom Photography class will meet 1-3 p.m. Saturdays for eight weeks, June 1 through July 27. Hawk will introduce students to the basics of darkroom photography, discussing Andy Warhol’s use of photography to celebrate the museum’s summer exhibition, Snap! In the Photobooth with Andy Warhol and Friends. Tuition is $90, $80 for members. Registration is required five days in advance before the start of the first class in each session. Students may register by phone, by mail, or in person using cash (exact change), checks, or credit cards. For a detailed class schedule, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org/.

Dorothy Shinn writes about art and architecture for the Akron Beacon Journal. Send information to her at the Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640 or dtgshinn@att.net.

NOTO Designer Challenge and Summer Fashion Show

NOTO, Downtown’s premiere women’s fashion boutique, returns with spot on trends not meant for the faint at heart. The Designer Challenge takes place at the Trolley Barn behind Austen BioInnovation Institute (47 N. Main St.) at 7 p.m. and features five local fashion designers. This will be followed by the fifth annual Summer Fashion Show that brings the best in fashion, music and models. The public can cast votes for their favorite designer via text or by tablet kiosks at the event. The winning designer is announced at 8 p.m. and will have her line featured and available for purchase this summer at NOTO.

“This year is unique with a down-to-earth, festival inspired theme,” said Lauren Ward, owner of NOTO. “In the past it’s been fast paced with electronic music. The Shivering Timbers are performing this year so it will be the exact opposite - a folksier, upbeat, cool twist. Plus, there is a solid group of pieces being shown. It’s all very exciting.”

Live music by Shivering Timbers and vinyl spinning by DJ Moose Malloy begin at 6 p.m. Fashion show styles will be available for purchase immediately after the show. Guests can also enjoy a braid bar by MC Hair Consultants and cuisine from The Orange Trük.

The event is free to attend, but special VIP tickets are available for $25 each and include seated fashion show admission and two drink tokens. Purchase tickets at www.zelionoto.com/tickets, by phone at 330-451-6686 or in-store at 76 S. Main St. Complete details are at www.zelionoto.com.

Akron Film+Pixel Short Attention Span Film Festival

Akron Film+Pixel recruited 60-second-or-less films from budding and established film makers for screening at multiple venues Downtown. Short Attention Span Film Festival submissions will be shown on a continuous loop at 43 Furnace, We Gallery and Summit Artspace, and projected on the north end of the John S. Knight Center. A total of 26 films, 16 of which are local or from Ohio natives, range from comedic and dramatic to abstract.

“We’re excited to present another brisk set of films for the Artwalk crowd this year,” said Steve Felix, executive director of Akron Film+Pixel. “It’s fun to assemble a snappy mix of shorts and see them projected outside. Brevity is a virtue -- we get to showcase many filmmakers and keep the audience on their toes.”

Guests vote for their favorite film via text or at tablet kiosks at each venue. The winning film maker is revealed at 9:45 p.m. and receives a cash prize courtesy of Downtown Akron Partnership. For more information, visit www.akronfilm.com.

Text-to-Vote

for the Designer Challenge and the Short Attention Span Film Festival takes place during a limited time frame and only within Downtown Akron. This encourages guests to attend and experience the event. Register to vote by texting “AKRON” to 25827 and following the prompts, on site at the film festival venues and Trolley Barn, or pre-registering at www.downtownakron.com/live.

Added Activities

Live & Local participants will also enjoy up close and personal experiences with performers strolling the footprint including RiverFall and members of the Akron Symphony Orchestra. Zydeco Bistro’s food truck will also be stationed at 43 Furnace in the Northside District.

For more information, visit www.downtownakron.com/live.

Artwalk Map and Trolley and Parking Information

An Artwalk map is available on the trolley, at participating Artwalk locations and at www.downtownakron.com/artwalk. Two city trolleys circulate the route stopping at each Artwalk venue. Gallery spaces are open between 5-10 p.m. with opening and closing hours fluctuating at each gallery.

About Downtown Akron Partnership

The mission of Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) is to promote and build a vibrant and valuable Downtown. DAP is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing people, activity, business and a thriving civic life to the heart of Akron. Through strategic marketing, clean and safe programs and management of Downtown’s resources, DAP works to promote Downtown as a gathering place in the center of our community.

DAP’s members include property owners, business leaders and government officials who want to improve the image of Downtown as a safe, convenient location for businesses, working professionals and families. DAP is governed by a Board of Trustees as diverse as the interests of our city.

About Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit KnightFoundation.org.

The event is in its 22nd year and if you love meat and classic rockers then you should have a gut-busting, meat-sweating good time.

This year’s headliners are a living blues legend, an ’80s power pop king and a hair metal stalwart: Buddy Guy, who played a great, high energy show at the Akron Civic back in March; singer/songwriter/actor Rick Springfield, who recently garnered great reviews for his rockin' version of Man That Never Was in the 2013 documentary Sound City Players; and Poison lead singer/songwriter and cable network-sponsored skank collector Bret Michaels. (You recall the various iterations of his reality show Rock of Love, right?)

Guy, who will perform at 9 p.m. Sunday, is still touring behind his 2012 album, Live at Legends, while Springfield (9 p.m. Saturday) is riding the wave of critical positivity generated by Dave Grohl's Sound City Players.

Michaels, who will play at 6 p.m. Monday, has a new album coming out in late June called Jammin’ With Friends. The album took two years to compile and features 20 tracks of covers, a few originals and some re-recorded versions of Poison songs.

The “with friends” of the title are an eclectic bunch of famous musicians including Jimmy Buffet, Ace Frehley, Miley Cyrus, Loretta Lynn, Lil Jon, Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath (he still makes music?) and Peter Keys of Lynyrd Skynyrd. There are also two newish original songs — The App Song and You Know You Want It.

In addition to the national headliners, the event will feature bands both local and otherwise performing on two more stages.

At 9 p.m. Friday night, the Detroit-based party band Mega 80s, who — as suggested by the name — plays music from the 1980s, and was named best cover band by the readers of Real Detroit in 2002 and 2004-2010, will perform on the House of Blues-sponsored Emerging Artist Stage.

The music will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday on the HOB stage. Bands include the Chardon Polka Band (6 p.m.) and party dance-rock band London Flatts (7:30 p.m.).

On Sunday, the music will start at 12:30 p.m. and bands will include Pittsburgh indie rockers the Winter Brave; Santa Cruz, Calif., punk-flavored rockers Stellar Corpses (3:15 p.m.); Cleveland “cinematic pop band” and Scene Magazine’s best upcoming band of 2013 the Modern Electric (4:10 p.m.); Akron’s popular active rockers Red Sun Rising (6 p.m.); and Kent indie folksters Bethesda (7:50 p.m.).

At 1 p.m. on Monday you will be able to check out local teen guitar whiz the Michael Weber Show (1:45 p.m.) and talented Akron/Kent soul-pop-rock band Winslow (4:45 p.m.).

On Saturday, the Roots of American Music Acoustic Dining Tent will feature Diana Chittester (2:45 p.m.) and local singer/songwriter Ryan Humbert (4:30 p.m.) and Walkin’ Cane (1 p.m.) and another set from Chittester (4:30 p.m.) on Sunday.

Random acts of live music

• Tonight at Annabell’s Bar & Lounge in Highland Square in Akron, local prog-rockers Relaxer featuring folks from other bands such as Party of Helicopters, White Pines, Drummer and Houseguest, will play a free show along with catchy ’80s dark wave-inspired Akron group David Bay Leaf.

• On Friday night, the Auricle in Canton will welcome Brooklyn-based hip-hop/bluegrass group Gangstagrass.

I know what you’re thinking. The combination of Brooklyn, aka the hipster band metropolis, coupled with the notion of a mash-up of rap and bluegrass and a new album called Rappalachia just screams eye-roll inducing musical pretentiousness.

But the quintet isn’t nearly as corny as its high concept would suggest and you may already know one of its songs, Long Hard Time to Come, the title theme to popular FX series Justified.

The new album features the group backing up several emcees, including Kool Keith and NYC duo Dead Prez.

• I haven’t been to Clay's Park since the Alive Festival moved farther south, but this weekend fans of jam bands may want to make the drive to the bucolic resort and water park in Stark County for wildly popular Columbus jam band Ekoostik Hookah's annual “The Ville” (hey, didn't it used to be Hookaville?) festival.

This year’s spring edition features two nights of headlining sets from Ekoostik Hookah as well as sets from Rusted Root and Col. Bruce Hampton (a truly strange and interesting dude) on Saturday. On Sunday, popular Youngstown group Glass Harp, featuring the classic trio lineup of singer/guitarist Phil Keaggy, bassist Daniel Pecchio and drummer John Sferra, will play.

Also performing will be a gaggle of national and regional bands including Michael Glablicki; Jon Wayne and the Pain; Sultans of Bing; Fletcher’s Grove; Aliver Hall; Dragon Wagon; Blue Moon Soup; the Get Down; the Hot Sauce Committee; Hey Monea; and Glow Stick Willy. Go to www.thevillefestival.com for show times.

• On Saturday, Cleveland uber-guitarist Neil Zaza will perform a special concert that is being recorded for an upcoming DVD/multimedia documentary to be released later this year.

The show will be tailored for the DVD, meaning Zaza’s set list will cover his entire career and go deep into his 15-plus CD releases. Tickets are $20 and you’ll get to be an extra!

Manzarek remembered

R.I.P. Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek.

Yet another classic rocker shuffles off this mortal coil leaving behind a legacy of time-tested and still influential music.

Manzarek with his classical influences and bossa nova grooves was one of the most immediately recognizable keyboardists in one of the more immediately recognizable rock bands and he produced some of L.A. punks X’s best albums including the seminal Los Angeles.

Don’t look now, but many of our beloved rock heroes are in their 60s and early 70s and are slowly jamming toward the corporeal finish line excepting of course, Keith Richards and Iggy Pop who will surely both survive the apocalypse (be it self-inflicted or biblical) along with cockroaches, plastic containers and at least one Kardashian.

Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758. Read his blog, Sound Check Online, at www.ohio.com/blogs/sound-check, or follow him on Twitter @malcolmxabram.

Yes, after years as Drucilla on “The Young and the Restless,” actress and author Victoria Rowell will be talking about her book “The Women Who Raised Me,” detailing her experiences as a child in the foster care system.

2) LeBron James Grandmother’s Fan Club Sound and Taste of Soul, 4 p.m. Saturday, Helen Arnold Community Learning Center, 450 Vernon Odom Blvd., $8, 330-784-2544

Evening of food and music featuring jazz saxophonist Carson Barnes and his quartet, singer Marilyn Rivers, Ruby Nash Garnett, Al Knight, Pat Munford and others.

3) Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band, 8 p.m. Friday, Akron Civic Theatre, 182 S. Main St., $14-$18, 330-253-2488, www.akroncivic.com

Pretty self-explanatory. A presumably thin guy with a high voice and some messed up hair will try to invoke the look, sound and feel of going to a small, intimate MJ show, something that never happened in real life.

4) Zoso — The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience at Rockin’ on the River, 5 p.m. Friday, Falls River Square Amphitheater, 2020 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, rockinontheriver.com

Man, sometimes it feels like these guys’ entire tour schedule is centered on NE Ohio as they are frequently in the area and they will be back in Akron in August after a jaunt through several South American countries. Also on the bill is the Joe Vitale Jr. Band.

5) Con Funk Shun, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Palace Theatre at PlayhouseSquare, 1615 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, $47.50-$87.50, www.playhousesquare.org, 216-640-8477

So, are you a “Ms. Got-the-Body” who is wrapped “Too Tight” and is ready to cut loose and have some “Ffun?” Well my Bay Area homeboys (well, Vallejo, Calif., is close enough) and full-size R&B band (yeah!) are ready to funk up the Palace, so jump on “Love's Train” and dance!

Q: If I remember correctly, you mentioned some time ago that “Dexter” was going to have one more season, the eighth, and that would be the last season. Is this so?

A: Would I lie to you readers? While it took some time to make it official, the Showtime series starring Michael C. Hall has said “the end begins” when the eighth season premieres on June 30. According to Showtime, “Season eight begins six months after LaGuerta’s murder — and Dexter is still managing life as a dad, brother, and serial killer. As Deb (series star Jennifer Carpenter) struggles to deal with the consequences of her actions, a mysterious woman comes to work with Miami Metro, offering first-hand information on Dexter’s past.” That woman, a neuropsychiatrist with special insights into serial killers, is played by Charlotte Rampling. You can find a trailer and a scene from the season premiere at www.sho.com, and it looks like a grim concluding ride.

Q: There seemed to be quite a bit of closure and finality to the season finale of “Shameless.” Is it coming back?

A: The Showtime series starring William H. Macy will be back for a fourth season in 2014.

Q: Clayton Moore was my favorite TV Lone Ranger. John Hart temporarily replaced him in the mid ’50s. Moore died in 1999 at the age of 85, but what ever happened to John Hart? Is he still alive?

A: Hart died in 2009 at the age of 91. According to his Los Angeles Times obituary, Hart played the Silver-riding ranger for 52 episodes beginning in 1952 after Moore, who had begun the TV role in 1949, left over a pay dispute. A Los Angeles native, Hart did some acting before World War II, when he was drafted into the Army, and went back to his craft after the war. That included starring in the movie serial Jack Armstrong, The All-American Boy, and guest roles on The Lone Ranger before putting on the title character’s mask. After Moore returned to the series in 1954, Hart did more acting as well as producing. He played a small role in the 1981 movie The Legend of the Lone Ranger. which starred the one-film-and-done Klinton Spilsbury; Hart played the Lone Ranger again in episodes of Happy Days and The Greatest American Hero.

As you undoubtedly know, a new Lone Ranger will be on the big screen in July, with Armie Hammer as the Ranger and Johnny Depp as Tonto.

Q: Many years ago in the early days of “live” TV there was a play called “Incident in a Temporary Town.” I don’t recall the main actors, but it seems to me that one later played in “Sea Hunt.” Does this ring any bells with you?

A: I think you are referring to the production Tragedy in a Temporary Town, which aired on the NBC anthology The Alcoa Hour in 1956. It was written by TV legend Reginald Rose (12 Angry Men) and directed by Sidney Lumet, later famous for Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network and other films.

The play, which takes place in real time, concerns a group of aircraft workers living in a trailer camp. When a young man grabs and tries to kiss a 15-year-old girl in the camp, she runs away screaming and says, “Somebody jumped on me.” Some of the workers begin to search for the assailant; they incorrectly settle on a Puerto Rican lad and begin beating him — until another worker, played by Lloyd Bridges, says that his son is the guilty one. He also denounces the mob as “the dregs, the swill, the gutless wonders of the earth.”

The play became sensational when Bridges accidentally added a strong profanity to a line in the live broadcast.

The Associated Press said NBC received hundreds of phone calls over the slip, although the network said the slip was understandable; it came in that intense, mob-denouncing scene and Bridges reportedly had felt very emotional during rehearsals. But that may have resonated with some viewers, since Bridges received an Emmy nomination for the performance.

I do not know of a video of the production; I read the script in the old anthology Television Plays for Writers.

•

Do you have a question or comment for the mailbag? Write to the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com. Please mark the email or envelope with “mailbag.” Letters may be edited for publication. Please do not phone in questions. Individual replies cannot be guaranteed.

Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and Ohio.com, including the HeldenFiles Online, www.ohio.com/blogs/heldenfiles. He is also on Facebook and Twitter.

The Architects — 7 p.m. May 31, the Auricle, 601 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton. With Cyphert and Cody Martin. $10. 330-353-8694 or http://theauricle.net.

Dinner Concert Series Presents Sandi Patty — 6 p.m. May 31, the Hartville Kitchen, 1015 Edison St., Hartville. 500 tickets available for show with dinner. $48. 330-877-9353 or www.hartville
kitchen.com.

Dinner Concert Series Presents Mark Schultz — 6 p.m. May 31, the Hartville Kitchen, 1015 Edison St., Hartville. 500 tickets available for show with dinner. $48. 330-877-9353 or www.hartville
kitchen.com.

Jean P. — 9 p.m. June 8, the Auricle, 601 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton. 330-353-8694 or http://theauricle.net.

Richie Furay — 8 p.m. June 21, the Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St. $31. 330-677-5005 or www.thekentstage.com.

Kevin Costner & Modern West — 8 p.m. June 22, the Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St., Kent. 330-677-5005 or www.thekentstage.com.

Mary J. Blige’s The Liberation Tour — 8 p.m. June 22, Quicken Loans Arena, Ontario Street and Huron Road, Cleveland. With Anthony Hamilton and comedian Jay Lamont. Tickets start at $65. 888-894-9424 or www.theQarena.
com.

Jennifer Knapp — 9 p.m. June 22, the Auricle, 601 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton. $15-$20. 330-353-8694 or http://theauricle.net.

Totally 80s Tour — 7 p.m. June 28, the Z-Plex at Stringz & Wingz, 1543 state Route 303, Streetsboro. Featuring Martha Davis and the Motels, Bow Wow Wow and Gene Loves Jezebel. $20 in advance, $25 day of show. www.rev360records.com.

LEOGUN — 7 p.m. June 28, the Auricle, 601 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton. $8-$10. 330-353-8694 or http://the
auricle.net.

Richard Thompson Electric Trio — 8 p.m. July 8, the Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St., Kent. $36-$46. 330-677-5005 or www.thekentstage.com.

Great White — 7 p.m. July 13, The Z-Plex at Stringz & Wingz, 1543 state Route 303, Streetsboro. $25 in advance, $30 day of show. www.rev360records.com.

The Temptations — 8 p.m. July 21, The Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St., Kent. $36-$46. 330-677-5005 or www.thekentstage.com.

Vienna Teng — 8 p.m. Sept. 28, the Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St., Kent. $20. 330-677-5005 or www.thekent
stage.com.

Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band, 8 p.m. Friday, $14 and $18.

The Auricle — (601 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton; 330-353-8694, http://theauricle.net)

Gangstagrass, 7:30 p.m. Friday, $10.

The Strictly Business Band, 8 p.m. Saturday, with Universal Unit, $10-$12.

Beachland Ballroom and Tavern — (15711 Waterloo Road, Cleveland; 216-383-1124, www.beachland
ballroom.com)

Venomin James, 8:30 tonight, with Night Sweats and the Goonz, $8.

The Medicine Cabinet CD Release, 8:30 p.m. Friday, with Music for the Trees, $8.

The Highballers, 9 p.m. Friday, with Lawton Brothers and Mole People, $10.

Rock & Reggae Festival, 7 p.m. Saturday, with Carlos Jones & the P.L.U.S. Band, JiMiller Band, TwistOffs, Tropidelic, Big Ship, oldboy, tasteycakez, Istvan Medgyesi and Svelton, $15.

The Womack Family Band, 8 p.m. Sunday, with Rachel & the Beatnik Playboys, $8.

Savoy, 9 p.m. Sunday, with Ravey Gravy and Little B, $12.

The 4onthefloor, 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, with Filligar and Elk, $8.

Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps, 8 p.m. Wednesday, with Dolfish and Morgan Mecaskey, $8.

Buzzbin Cafe — (339 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton; 330-313-1087, www.buzzbinshop.com)

The Kernal, 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Grog Shop — (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights; 216-321-5588)

Two for the Road Tour, doors open 7:30 tonight, with Matt Pryor & James Dewees, $14.

Captain Kidd, doors open 5:30 p.m. Friday, with the Winter Brave, Evolution, Vindice and Forrest City Rebels, $8 in advance, $10 day of show.

Queens of the Iron Mic, 10 p.m. Friday, with Aaqila, Indica Spitts, Rain the Quiet Storm, Chevy Blue, Poison I.V. and Carma Delane, $8.

Lorine Chia, doors open 8:30 p.m. Sunday, with Dope Kulture, Keyel and Ezzy, $10.

Lyrical Rhythms: Poetry & Soul, doors open 7 p.m. Tuesday, $5.

Wild Belle, doors open 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, $12.

House of Blues Cleveland — (308 Euclid Ave.; 800-598-8703, www.live
nation.com)

Alkaline Trio, doors open 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, with Bayside and Off With Their Heads, sold out.

The Kent Stage — (175 E. Main St.; 330-677-5005, www.thekentstage.com)

Muffinslap, 8 tonight, $5.

Neil Zaza, 8 p.m. Saturday, $20 reserved, $25 VIP.

Lock 3 — (200 S. Main St., Akron; www.lock3live.com)

Evil Ways - Tribute to Carlos Santana, 7 p.m. Friday, with the Juke Hounds.

Musica — (51 E. Market St., Akron; 330-374-1114)

Paper Route, 7 p.m. Wednesday, with Royal Vasa and Goodbye River, $9.99.

Peabody’s — (2045 E. 21st St., Cleveland; 216-776-9999; www.peabodys.com)

Taproot, doors open 6:30 tonight, with Boy Hits Car and XFactor1, $15.

Skyosis, doors open 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with Neverender, Mercury Lake, Hear Lies Another, Exostra, TheAlteredGeneration and Clouds Over Midgar, $5.

Bubba Sparxxx, doors open 6 p.m. Sunday, with Ray Cartagino and M. Stacks, $10 in advance, $15 day of show.

Pirate’s Cove — (2045 E. 21st St., Cleveland; 216-776-9999)

A Night in Cleveland, doors open 6 p.m. Friday, $10 in advance, $12 day of show.

Palace Theatre PLAYHOUSESquare — (1615 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, www.playhousesquare.org, 216-640-8477)

Con Funk Shun, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, $47.50-$87.50.

Rockin’ on the River — (Falls River Square Amphitheater, 2020 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls; http://rockinontheriver.com)

Zoso - The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience, 5 p.m. Friday, with Joe Vitale Jr. Band.

St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church Social Hall — (1051 Robinson Ave., Barberton; 330-733-7692)

Pat Massie and P.M. Country, 1-3:30 p.m. Sunday, $2.

Stambaugh Auditorium — (1000 Fifth Ave., Youngstown; 330-747-5175, www.stambaughauditorium.com)

Kellie Pickler, doors open 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, $35 and $45.

Winchester Music Hall — (12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood; 216-226-5681)

Gina Sicilia and Band, 9 p.m. Friday, $12.

What: 22nd Annual Marc’s Great American Rib Cook-Off & Music Festival

When: Friday through Monday

Where: Jacobs Pavilion and the Nautica Entertainment Complex, West Bank of the Flats, Cleveland

Tickets: $5, free for kids under 12

Information: www.fox8.com/rib, 800-745-3000

What: Relaxer with David Bay Leaf

When: 10 tonight

Where: Annabell’s Bar & Lounge, 784 W. Market St., Akron

Tickets: Free

Information: 330-535-1112

What: The Ville featuring Ekoostik Hookah, Rusted Root, Col. Bruce Hampton and more

When: Friday through Monday

Where: Clay’s Park Resort, 13190 Patterson St. NW, North Lawrence

Tickets: $20-$65

Information: www.clayspark.com, www.thevillefestival.com

What: Neil Zaza

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: The Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St.

Tickets: $20-$25

Information: 330-677-5005, www.thekentstage.com, www.neilzaza.com

What: Gangstagrass

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: The Auricle, 601 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton

Tickets: $10-$12

Information: 330-353-8694, www.theauricle.net

The new place is a second location for the owners, who also operate Fiore’s Italian Ristorante at 2179 Lincoln Way E. in Wooster Township, Wayne County.

The location, 85 W. Montrose Ave., Copley Township, previously was home to the short-lived Nicollini’s Restaurant, and before that Bennigans, according to NAI Cummins Real Estate, which brokered the deal.

Fiore’s will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and will have patio seating.

• A new Potbelly Sandwich Shop opened its doors at 4460 Belden Village St. NW, Jackson Township, on Tuesday.

The national chain has 270 locations; this is its fourth in Northeast Ohio. Potbelly features warm, toasted sandwiches, hand-dipped shakes and made-to-order salads. Other locations are in Cleveland, Independence and Mayfield Heights.

The shop will employ about 25 full- and part-time workers. Hours are Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• 750ml wine bar in the Pilgrim Square plaza in West Akron is opening a second location in Brecksville.

Owners Jim and Karla Walters recently signed a lease for one of downtown Brecksville’s historical red brick buildings at 8903 Brecksville Road. The location will be larger than the original.

Construction is expected to begin in June with a late summer target opening date. The Akron location opened in 2008.

• A third location of Sweet Frog, the frozen yogurt shop chain that has locations in Stow and Green, is expected to open soon at 2719 W. Market St., Fairlawn.

The shops offer 16 flavors of self-serve frozen yogurt and a variety of toppings.

The Nielsen company estimated that 14.3 million people watched Candice Glover’s victory over Kree Harrison in last week’s final episode of the season. Both the CBS drama “NCIS” and comedy “The Big Bang Theory” had more viewers last week.

The fall for “Idol” is startling. Just two years ago, the show drew 29.3 million people for its season finale, more than double what it had this year. Big changes are expected for the show going forward.

The “American Idol” high water mark was the 38.1 million who watched the season conclusion in 2003.

The 23-year-old, who won the Fox singing series last week after competing for four months, is set to release “Music Speaks” on July 16.

Past “Idol” champs released their debut albums in the fall after winning the contest in the spring, but Glover said she’s ready to capitalize on the insta-fame “Idol” has given her.

“I’ve built a fan base being on this show, and my fan base is interested in me now and they won’t see me every Wednesday and Thursday anymore to admire my singing, so I think it’s a good thing it’s coming out this summer,” she said in an interview this week.

“It’s crazy that I’m even talking about an album because last year I was working at a resort,” she added, laughing.

“Music Speaks” was available on pre-order the day after she won the “Idol” crown, beating out country singer Kree Harrison. Glover’s debut single, the inspirational pop ballad “I Am Beautiful,” sold 48,000 tracks in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The St. Helena Island, S.C., native, who auditioned but didn’t make the cut in seasons nine and 11, said the “Idol” experience has made her more confident.

She said taking risks on the show — like performing Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” and Drake’s “Find Your Love” — is helping her find her true voice.

“(From) day one I was still in the mind-set of pleasing people. In season 11, I was all about pleasing people. ... This year I took more chances because I didn’t care anymore,” she said. “I didn’t always have that confidence. I was insecure about how I looked and people would tell me all the time, ‘You don’t look the part.’ And this year I kind of stopped caring about that and just did me.”

Glover said she’s heading to Los Angeles this week to begin work on her album.

“My album will most likely be R&B, soul and a little bit of jazz, almost like a Jazmine Sullivan vibe because I love her. She’s my favorite singer of all time,” Glover said of the Grammy-nominated songstress whose R&B hits include “Need U Bad” and “Holding You Down (Goin’ in Circles).”

When asked what producers and songwriters she would be working with, she said: “I have no idea.”

Glover, who is also influenced by Christina Aguilera, said she wants her album to be full of positive messages, much like her first single.

“I was in school for psychology because I wanted to counsel teenage girls that had those insecurity problems, and I’m glad my music has that connection with people because that’s really what I wanted to do whether I was singing or not,” she said.

The top 11 contestants on “Idol” will kick off a 40-show concert tour June 29 in St. Louis, Miss.

The 26-year-old country singer won the show’s mirror ball trophy Tuesday.

“This is amazing!” she beamed to her professional partner, Derek Hough.

The pair earned two sets of perfect scores Monday night and another on Tuesday. Judges’ scores combined with viewer votes determine the winner.

Because there were problems with voting on the ABC website during Monday’s East Coast broadcast, host Tom Bergeron said Tuesday those votes weren’t counted. Only votes cast by phone, text and Facebook factored into the final count.

Teen Disney Channel star Zendaya danced perfectly during the final two episodes, collecting the most points from the judges, but she fell short of the title.

“I’m very proud and I’m very happy,” the 16-year-old said after the results were read. “And I get to leave here with an amazing experience.”

Football pro Jacoby Jones finished in third place. Fellow finalist Alexandra Raisman was axed at the beginning of Tuesday’s episode.

“This has been the best experience of my life,” the gold medalist said. “My whole life, all I’ve ever known has been gymnastics, so to try something new has been amazing.”

The two-hour finale featured the return of the season’s already-eliminated contestants: comedians Andy Dick and D.L. Hugely, Olympian Dorothy Hamill, actor Ingo Rademacher, reality stars Lisa Vanderpump and Sean Lowe, singer Wynonna Judd and boxer Victor Ortiz.

Judd opted to sing rather than dance on the final episode, while Hamill celebrated another chance to hit the ballroom floor.

The Olympic skater, who said she was motivated to join the show after watching fellow skater Kristi Yamaguchi, had to withdraw from the competition early in the season because of an injury.

Hamill danced again Tuesday, and Yamaguchi joined her.

“It’s such an honor to join my idol out here on the dance floor,” said Yamaguchi, the Season 6 “Dancing” champ.

Korean pop star Psy brought his unique moves to the ballroom by dancing along with his new single, “Gentleman.” Pitbull and Jessica Sanchez also performed.

ABC announced earlier this month that the next season of “Dancing With the Stars” will air one night a week instead of two.

When: Continuing through June 2, 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays

Where: Actors’ Summit, 103 S. High St., Akron

Onstage: Keith Stevens, Peter Voinovich

Offstage: Sean Christopher Lewis, playwright; Neil Thackaberry, director; Lauren Fawkes, stage manager; MaryJo Alexander, costumes/props; Rory Wohl, set design; Kevin Rutan, lighting/sound design; Fred Sellers, board operator

Tickets: $28-$30; senior citizens, $25 Thursdays and Sundays; students, $9

Information: 330-374-7568

The Ravenna resident will appear on tonight’s episode of Fox’s MasterChef, which airs from 8 to 10 p.m. on WJW Channel 8.

What Thomas-Pallotta can say about her experience on the show is limited. She had to sign a non-disclosure agreement until her time on the show is completed.

She said the taping took place in Los Angeles in January. Tonight’s two-hour season premiere episode details the audition phase of the reality cooking show.

It was six years ago when Thomas-Pallotta first made her cooking debut on national television when she was selected to be a contestant on the Rachael Ray show’s ‘‘So You Think You Can Cook” contest.

Thomas-Pallotta won the contest, which included a prize of a week of specialized training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and a feature on Ray’s show and in her magazine.

Since then, Thomas-Pallotta has been working hard to get her career in food going. In 2009, she and chef Stefanie Paganini hosted their own show, Dinner and Drinks, on Time Warner Cable’s Northeast Ohio Network and she is a regular at local food shows.

Thomas-Pallotta works as a manager at Ken Stewart’s Lodge in Bath Township, where tonight they will have the television tuned in to watch her.

MasterChef, which debuts its fourth season tonight, features chef Gordon Ramsay, restaurateur Joe Bastianich and chef Graham Elliot putting a group of contestants through a series of cooking challenges and elimination rounds, with the ultimate goal of turning one amateur cook into a culinary master.

While she could not reveal whether she made it through the audition phase and got to be a contestant, Thomas-Pallotta said she was happy to be back home in Ohio, where she is currently working on writing a book about the years she suffered from anorexia nervosa.

The 31-year-old suffered from the eating disorder in her early 20s. Her weight dropped from 140 to 110 pounds on her 5-foot-5-inch frame.

As part of her therapy, Thomas-Pallotta was told to learn how to cook. “That’s when I really fell in love with food,” she said.

Thomas-Pallotta said cooking is common therapy for those dealing with anorexia, because it forces patients to take small tastes of food as they prepare it, helping to reintroduce eating into their lives. It also helps them to re-establish a healthy relationship with food.

Not only did Thomas-Pallotta recover, but also her recovery resulted in a love of food and cooking that she has been putting to use ever since.

“My physical recovery was over a year but my mental recovery is a lifelong process. I battle with it every day. The difference is I am stronger than ever and I have my support group in place to sense when I am weak mentally and physically,” she said.

Thomas-Pallotta kept journals during the time and is hoping that if she can turn them into a book, her experience may help others who are fighting similar battles with eating disorders.

“My main focus right now is my website (www.jenncancook.
com) and working on my journals,” she said.

Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or at labraham@thebeaconjournal.com. Find me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @akronfoodie or visit my blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/lisa.

The comedy, playing as part of a “Rolling World Premiere” at Actors’ Summit, is a two-man love fest that stars Keith Stevens and Peter Voinovich, both sons-in-law of theater co-artistic directors Neil Thackaberry and MaryJo Alexander.

The work, written by Sean Christopher Lewis, is presented through the National New Play Network, an alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development and production of new plays. Manning Up received Rolling World Premieres in Iowa City, Iowa, and Salt Lake City, Utah, in the latter part of 2012 and has now moved to Akron.

Directed by Thackaberry at Actors’ Summit, the play is set in a man cave with baseball memorabilia that’s part laundry room, part TV room and part bar in Long Island, N.Y. This is the haven of the gruff man’s man Raymond, played with a fair dose of fierceness by Voinovich.

At the other end of the spectrum is Stevens, who plays a great nerd in Donnie. This college professor has a funny part in his hair, glasses and uptight body language. Donnie is more emotional about his wife’s pregnancy than she is, and he can cry at the drop of a hat.

“I got a lot of rage in me,” Donnie says nervously when he talks about his failings as a man.

What’s sweet about this show is that it delves into the many neuroses men might have about looming fatherhood but may never verbalize. The guys reveal to each other the moments in their marriages that have made them feel most like a man and least like a man. All this is in preparation for a “man-inar” that Raymond insists they must take together to get in touch with their inner manhood.

The anecdotes are sweet and funny and reveal the depth of these guys’ love for both their wives, unseen offstage, and their unborn babies. As different as Raymond’s and Donnie’s personalities are, these “bros” are tight.

Stevens and Voinovich expertly play off their characters’ differences, including Donnie’s squeamishness and Raymond’s somewhat graphic references to sex and pregnancy.

“You’re like an idiot savant of manliness,” Raymond tells Donnie in one of the play’s best lines.

The play is for mature audiences, with humorous references to baby-making and changes in the female body from pregnancy. It’s the perfect role at the perfect time for Voinovich, whose wife, Sasha Thackaberry, just gave birth to son Spencer during the play’s rehearsal process.

Manning Up is both silly and funny as Raymond and Donnie get all worked up trying to express their primal screams in preparation for their “man-inar.” These guys may be insecure but Voinovich and Stevens skillfully create sympathetic characters who we know will rise to the challenge of fatherhood when the moment comes.

Men and women will enjoy both the baseball analogies these characters use about childbirth as well as poignant revelations such as this: “Family is the cosmos in that amazing woman’s belly.”

Manning Up’s most heartfelt moments come when Raymond and Donnie work their emotions out by taking turns talking to imaginary people in a chair, including people who have hurt them over the years. Most importantly, the men talk to themselves and learn to be kinder to themselves.

In this emotionally satisfying comedy, Raymond and Donnie, like many close friends, end up being the best form of therapy for each other.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Michigan tourism officials have rolled out a new radio ad as part of its Pure Michigan campaign highlighting its craft beer scene and urging Ohioans to visit the state.

The radio spot is airing in the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton markets, along with Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis and southern Ontario.

“Our craft beer industry is booming and we encourage beer enthusiasts across the Great Lakes region and beyond to find their new favorite beer on tap right here in Pure Michigan,” George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan at the Michigan Economic Development Corp., said in a prepared statement.

Michigan is home to more than 100 breweries, ranking fifth in the nation.

For more details, visit www.michigan.org/breweries.

Boehner honored

Ohio Congressman and Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-West Chester, received the Beer Institute’s 2013 Jeff Becker Beer Industry Service Award for his commitment to the beer industry and American beer drinkers, the trade and lobbying group announced last week.

Boehner, who was personal friends with Becker, said he was honored to receive the award.

“Brewers and beer importers fuel a national industry that supports jobs in my district and every district across the country,” he said. “I’m proud to support hardworking Americans and stand up for fair policies for all consumers.”

Beer podcast

As Darrell Williams surveyed the Ohio craft beer scene, he couldn’t find a good podcast devoted to brewing in the Buckeye State. So he started one.

Williams, a web design developer in Cincinnati, and friends Kevin Yania, Mark Driscoll and Ron Tulley launched the weekly Ohio Beercast in March.

They’ve released interviews with the crew behind MadTree Brewing in Cincinnati, Dick Stevens at Elevator Brewing in Columbus and Scott LaFollette at Blank Slate Brewing Co. in Cincinnati. (I also recorded an interview.)

“I think in the end, we want to give people the chance to discover Ohio beer and what it has to offer,” Williams said. “You hear about Colorado, California and other big states in the beer scene and I wanted to at least show the Ohio population that we have something exciting going on here.”

Episodes are usually released on Thursday nights. People can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes, Stitcher Radio or the Microsoft podcast network.

For more details or to listen, visit: http://theohiobeercast.us/.

Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his beer blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/the-beer-blog/. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrick.

Top Songs:

1. “Can’t Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton),” Ryan Lewis, Macklemore

2. “Blurred Lines (feat. T.I. & Pharrell), Robin Thicke

3. “Just Give Me a Reason (feat. Nate Ruess),” P!nk

4. “Come & Get It,” Selena Gomez

5. “Mirrors,” Justin Timberlake

6. “Radioactive,” Imagine Dragons

7. “Cruise (Remix) (feat. Nelly),” Florida Georgia Line

8. “I Love It (feat. Charli XCX),” Icona Pop

9. “Young and Beautiful,” Lana Del Rey

10. “Get Lucky (Radio Edit) (feat. Pharrell Williams),” Daft Punk

Top Albums:

1. “The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann’s Film),” Various Artists

2. “Modern Vampires of the City,” Vampire Weekend

3. “Demi,” Demi Lovato

4. “Random Access Memories,” Daft Punk

5. Love is Everything,” George Strait

6. “The 20/20 Experience,” Justin Timberlake

7. “Golden,” Lady Antebellum

8. “The Heist,” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

9. “Night Visions,” Imagine Dragons

10. “Annie Up,” Pistol Annies

Rowland and Rubio will be on the show when it starts its third season on Fox this fall. They replace Britney Spears and record producer Antonio “L.A.” Reid.

It’s a reunion for Rowland and Cowell, although American audiences might not know that. She served as a judge for a season on the more successful British version of the music show.

In a news release Monday Rubio told Cowell to “be careful what you wish for.” She said she wondered if the notoriously cranky judge would be ready to handle her.