Paula Scrofano has returned to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in “Willie Wonka,” the summer offering for children staged in the beautiful theater usually reserved for plays by William Shakespeare. Based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” this stage show, with music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, features favorite songs from the 1971 film that featured Gene Wilder.

The show will run from Tuesday, July 8, to Sunday, Aug. 17, at Navy Pier, 8900 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Recommended for ages 5 and older, the show is 65 minutes — just the thing for kids and parents hoping to introduce their children to live theater, a relief from the violence in today’s motion pictures.

Tickets are $18 for children 12 and younger and $23 for adults, and are available at (312) 595-5600 or visit www.chicagoshakes.com.

Scrofano has just completed a run with the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in “The Comedy of Errors,” where she played dual roles. It was a family story — a bit complicated, but with a happy ending, or, as Shakespeare put it, “All’s well that ends well.”

Meanwhile, John Reeger, Scrofano’s husband, is opening in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” Tuesday, July 8, at the First Folio Shakespeare Festival at the Peabody Estate, just off 31st Street (Oakbrook Drive) at 146 Juliet Court, Oak Brook. Here the audience is seated on the lawn, under the stars, just as it was in the days when it was first presented in 1598-99. The performance is at 8:15 p.m. Prices are $26 for adults and $21 for seniors and students. The play runs through Sunday, Aug. 17. For information, visit www.firstfolio.org.

Upcoming performances of this theatrical couple include Scrofano’s appearance at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire in “All Shook Up.” This is a rock ’n‘ roll musical featuring the music of Elvis Presley.

This stage play should attract a crowd and even though Elvis is long gone (according to some), he lives on as a star whose aura will not fade. The play opens Wednesday, Sept. 24. Prices, times and dates are at www.marriottheatre.com.
 
Ukrainian view of Riverside

As bad as we feel about gas prices in our country, Urii Polatayko of the Ukraine explained that gas prices in his country are even higher than those in Europe, and those in Europe are higher than ours.

Urii, 19, is visiting his mother, Oksana Polatayko of Riverside, on a cultural exchange program where he is working and studying the hotel management profession. A student at Ternopil National University, he finds working at the Royal Albert Palace banquet hall in Fords, N.J., “interesting.”

“There are 26 of us living in a six-bedroom apartment. I sleep in the hallway,” he said with a smile on his face. He admitted he does enjoy the American policy of tipping the waiter.

The student finds Riverside a most interesting place.

“This is the first time I have ever seen a red bird — a ‘cardinal.’ We don’t have them where I live,” he said.

He also is intrigued by the rabbits, squirrels and other wildlife in Riverside. He and his mother explained that, in the Ukraine, animals live in forests, not in neighborhoods.

“I have even seen a red fox,” he said excitedly.

He has one more year before earning his bachelor’s degree, then he will go for a master’s degree in hotel management.