Best Bets/Hot Tickets

Best Bets/Hot Tickets
TONIGHT
* It's opening day for the annual Western PA Balloon Quest, which will feature a hot air balloon launch at 8:30 p.m. at Scotland Meadows Park, 304 S. Scotland Lane, New Castle, Pa. Events continue through Sunday. For information, call (724) 658-4541 or (724) 652-1902. FRIDAY
* One singular sensation may be in store for patrons of Stage Left Players of Lisbon, whose production of "A Chorus Line" opens at 8 p.m. in David Anderson High School Auditorium, 260 W. Pine St. Other performances of this Broadway favorite will be at 8 p.m. Saturday and July 25-26 and at 2 p.m. July 27. Call (330) 424-5093 for ticket information.
* A fairy tale gets the Broadway treatment in "Once Upon A Mattress," which is the final production of Summer Stock '03 at Kent State University Trumbull Campus, 4314 Mahoning Ave. N.W., Warren. The musical was inspired by the story of "The Princess and the Pea," and comedy has been added liberally. Performances, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 3. Tickets, $12 for adults, $10 for students and senior citizens and $8 for children.
* You don't have to be a rich man to see "Fiddler on the Roof," which opens tonight at New Castle Playhouse, 202 E. Long Ave., New Castle, Pa. Tickets are $13 for adults, $11 for senior citizens and children. To make reservations, call (724) 654-3437.
* A little goth, a little metal -- that's what alt-rock band A Perfect Circle blends to make its music. A live performance will be at 8 p.m. Aug. 8 at Odeon Concert Club in Cleveland's Flats district. Order tickets after 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster.
* In the news: another farewell tour. This time, it's husband-and-wife vocalists Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, whose "One More for the Road" concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18 in Palace Theatre, Cleveland. Call Tickets.com to place orders. Tickets are $35 to $55.
SATURDAY
* "Hail the Conquering Hero," a classic film satire by director Preston Sturges, will be shown at 1:30 at Warren-Trumbull County Public Library, 444 Mahoning Ave. N.W., Warren. Admission is free. The film, which debuted in 1944, features Eddie Bracken as a Marine Corps reject who is celebrated back home as a war hero. Members of The Flick Clique will lead a discussion afterward. For information, call (330) 399-8807, Ext. 128.
* Country music star Toby Keith is getting help from Blake Shelton and Junior Brown on his "Shock'N Y'all Tour," which will stop Sept. 18 at Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls. Buy tickets beginning at 10 a.m. at a Ticketmaster site.
* Hear rap groups Insane Clown Posse and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony in the same place -- Tower City Amphitheater in Cleveland. The Sept. 17 concert will begin at 7 p.m. with opening acts Killah Priest, Tech N9ne and Kottonmouth Kings. Call Ticketmaster after 10 a.m.
* Street rods, trucks, muscle cars and classic makes will compete in Super Street Nationals by Street Machine Association through Sunday at Conneaut Lake Park, Conneaut Lake, Pa. Prizes will be awarded in 15 categories, and one car will be selected as grand champion. Related events will include a "Miss Classic Iron" bathing suit competition; burn-out contests both days; and a Saturday night concert by Johnny Angel and the Halos in Dreamland Ballroom. Call (814) 382-5115 for details.
SUNDAY
* Bluegrass music lovers will meet at 4 p.m. at Scenic Vista Park, 11000 Wayne Bridge Road, Lisbon, where the band Get Out And Push from Hanoverton will play its favorites. The concerts will end at 6 p.m. For details, call (330) 424-9078.
NEXT WEEK
* Find those grass skirts and Hawaiian shirts. It's time to pay tribute to Jimmy Buffett with the band Fins to the Left, which will perform at 7 p.m. at Mill Creek MetroParks Judge Morley Pavilion, off McCollum Road, Youngstown. The concert is free and seating is on the lawn.
AHEAD
* The Whispers, the vocal group that will perform Saturday in Cleveland with The Temptations, The Four Tops and The O'Jays, will headline another show Aug. 30 at Edward W. Powers Auditorium, downtown Youngstown. Count on hearing "Rocksteady," the group's 1987 pop and R & amp;B hit, as well as songs from the 1960s. Buy tickets at RBG Music in Warren or Rollers Restaurant or Goldie Florist in Youngstown.
* Performances of the one-man show "I Hate This," by David Hansen, will be at 8 p.m. July 25 and 3 and 8 p.m. July 26 in Dobama Theatre, 1846 Coventry Road, Cleveland. It's about a father's experience with stillbirth. "I Hate This" also will be performed at Minnesota Fringe Festival in August. For tickets, call Bad Epitath Theater Company, (216) 556-0919. Also debuting in Cleveland on July 25: The one-woman show "Those Seven Little Words" by Greta Rothman, who plays a single woman who tends to fall in love with gay men. Shows are weekends through Aug. 23 (except Aug. 8-9) at Kennedy's in Playhouse Square Center. Call Tickets.com.