Most biographies explore the life of a single individual, but recently, a television documentary delved into the collective history of witches.

Onesti Entertainment presents master illusionist Mike Super, winner of the NBC TV reality series “Phenomenon,” in an interactive family show at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, in The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. Tickets are limited.

Alan Menken’s musical version of “A Christmas Carol” will be performed from Nov. 28 to Dec. 21 at Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., St. Charles.

Founder and Artistic Director Donna Steele, who directs the professional cast, said this version of the Dickens family classic has not been seen in the area lately. Starring as Scrooge will be Thomas Thomas of Wasco, Peter Sipla of Lisle as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Jim Turano of River Forest as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Jamey McDunn of Schaumburg as Marley. The family classic features a large cast.

Back from a European tour, members of Massachusetts band Boys Like Girls take a breather.

This is not one of those sappy, feel-good holiday flicks - it's from France, after all - but  "A Christmas Tale" manages to be funny and knowing in the midst of sadness and heartbreak.

Play "Who Wants to Be an Oscar Winner" to learn more about this film.

Most girls would happily endure a love bite from hunky Robert Pattinson as vampire Edward Cullen in the screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s teen-vampire romance novel, "Twilight."

Fans are eager sink their teeth into the books about a vampire, and the movie based on the seires, which opens this week.

It’s easy to see how fast the time goes by when artists like Christina Aguilera and Enrique Iglesias release “Greatest Hits” collections. 

The Youth Symphony of DuPage will present its first concert of the season at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, in Pfeiffer Hall on the North Central College campus in Naperville. The symphony is composed of more than 130 middle and high school musicians representing 23 communities.

Writers from the Fox Valley will participate in the first Wayne Book and Author Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at Wayne’s Old Village Hall. Admission is free.

Sponsored by the Wayne Historical Preservation Society, the inaugural event has been organized by Tim Hall of Wayne, who is celebrating the release of a nonfiction, autobiographical novel, “Full of It: The Birth, Death, and Life of an Underground Newspaper” (www.timhallbooks.com). Taking part is Gene McCormick, also of Wayne, author of “Rain on the Sun” and additional titles, who will read from a work in progress. A partial list of other area writers includes Gabriella Filippi of Wayne; Pulitzer-nominated George Rawlinson of Elgin; Rachel Gies of St. Charles, reading from her newest novel, “The Darkness Within”; and Jason Behrends of St. Charles; plus special guest Alex Bledsoe, author of the best-selling fantasy/mystery novel “The Sword-Edged Blonde.”

A game show winner, a vampire and an animated dog voiced by John Travolta are the subjects of this week's movies.

Soprano Margaret Harden of Geneva is a new member of Chicago a cappella, which is expanding its concert schedule in Naperville this season, with three performances at the new Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College.

A premier classical chamber vocal ensemble, the ensemble will make its debut at Wentz in December with a concert called “Holidays World Tour.”

The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra will present two concerts featuring 21 groups from the Chamber Music Institute.
 
They begin at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, in the ATC Auditorium in the Visual and Performing Arts Center on the main campus of Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive. CMI concerts are free to the public, and tickets are not required.