Best bets for area entertainment

Royal Oaks, 924 Oak St. on Youngstown’s near East Side, will host Polish Happy Hour starting at 5:30 p.m. today. Built in 1919, the Royal Oaks is not only Youngstown’s oldest bar, but the first bar in the city to get a liquor license after prohibition was repealed in 1934. It has long been a blue-collar spot for after-work camaraderie. Inspired by the bar, PolishYoungstown has invited the folks from the steel museum and YSU’s Steel Valley Voices to do a presentation on the role of Polish immigrants in the city’s steel industry.

Featured beverages will be two working-man’s favorites: Zywiec beer and Sobieski Vodka. Polish food on the buffet table will include szynka (ham), kapusta (sauerkraut) and homemade kielbasa. There is no admission charge.

Home-grown comedian Mark Riccadonna is on the center stage at the Funny Farm comedy club for four shows this weekend: 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday. The Funny Farm is at 5583 Youngstown-Warren Road, Niles; call (330) 652-4242.

j Reed Worth sings a number from “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” which will be part of the Stage Left Players high school youth troupe’s Broadway revue. The fundraiser begins at 7 p.m. Friday at Trinity Playhouse, 234 E. Lincoln Way, Lisbon. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Willie Nelson keeps right on rolling, and he’s rolling into Youngstown’s Covelli Centre for an 8 p.m. concert Friday. Check Ticketmaster for tickets.k

Three live theater productions continue their runs this weekend.

New Castle Playhouse’s “Lend Me a Tenor” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The theater is at 212 E. Long Ave., New Castle, Pa.; call (724) 654-3437.

“Reefer Madness,” the campy comedy based on the 1930s-era anti-marijuana film, is on the Oakland Center for the Arts stage at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The theater is at 220 W. Boardman St., downtown Youngstown; call (330) 746-0404.

The light comedy “Wally’s Cafe” is at Trumbull New Theatre, 5883 Youngstown-Warren Road, Niles, with shows at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday; call (330) 652-1103.

Cleveland’s Hot Cha Cha returns to Cedars tonight for the second time this year. The all-girl rockers headline a bill that also includes Rocket Radio and Oh Empire. Cedars is at 23 N. Hazel St., downtown Youngstown. Around the corner at Barley’s, 21 W. Federal St., the lineup includes Pro Bono, Black Sheep Caravan and Radio Interference. In Austintown, The Firehouse (formerly One-Eyed Willie’s), 2555 S. Four Mile Run Road, has OhM and a special guest.

The Salem Youth Chorus will present a concert at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 323 Wick Ave., Youngstown.

If you are into big band music, you probably know about Ron Chick’s Friends, the 22-piece orchestra that regularly performs dinner-shows in the area. Chick has assembled what he calls his All-Star Alumni big band for a dinner-show and dance at Lucianno’s in Austintown at 5 p.m. Sunday. Lucianno’s is in the Wedgewood Plaza. Call (330) 792-5975 for ticket information.

National touring rockers Chevelle make their triumphant return to The Wedge on Monday for a 7:30 p.m. concert. The Wedge is in Wedgewood Plaza in Austintown. Call (330) 270-8670.

Bruce Springsteen’s only regional appearance so far this year will be at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh on Monday night. Tickets, of course, have been sold out since about 15 minutes after they went on sale. But if you are determined to see him, they will be available — for a price — by re-sellers. k

The annual Hookahville music festival will warm up the Midwest May 23-25 with a weekend of jam-centric rock spearheaded by Ohio’s own Ekoostik Hookah. It’s at the Frontier Ranch in Pataskala, which is way down in remote Licking County but worth the road trip. The musical lineup includes Les Claypool, The Wailers, Toubab Krewe, Freekbass and a lot more. Tickets are available through InTicketing. Call (866) 55-TICKETS.