Cedric the Entertainer, George Lopez Headline Comedy Get Down Tour; Three Doors Down and Lady Antebellum in Area Shows (Fri., 9/18/15)

1) Who’s the hardest working man in show business? It could very well be Cedric the Entertainer, who hosted the syndicated TV show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” star of TV Land’s “Soul Man,” standup comic, voice talent, and family man.”Soul Man” was recently picked up for a fifth season. Born in Jefferson City, Mo., he worked as an insurance claims adjuster and substitute high school teacher after graduating from college with a mass communications degree, before trying his hand at comedy. His first good comedy breaks came as a contestant on “It’s Showtime at the Apollo,” HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam,” and BET’s “Comic View.” Cedric’s had many comedy roles in cinema, too, including the Barbershop, Haunted House, and Madagascar movies, and even as the iconic Ralph Kramden character in the 2005 film The Honeymooners.  Cedric’s recipe for success is simple: He has a genuine talent for humor, doesn’t take himself too seriously, and likes entertaining an audience. This is a great opportunity to see a legendary performer along with other top comedians on the Comedy Get Down World Tour including Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley, George Lopez, and Charlie Murphy. 8 p.m. Consol Energy Center, 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown.

2) “I’ll keep you by my side with my superhuman might / Kryptonite.” So ends the chorus to 3 Doors Down’s first single, “Kryptonite.” If that chorus seemed ubiquitous during summer 2000, it’s because the single charted on Billboard’s alternative, rock, and Hot 100 charts. The song comes from the Mississippi rock band’s debut album, The Better Life. With over 6 million copies sold, The Better Life can make everything that came after it seem to pale by comparison. But 3 Doors Down are far from one-hit wonders and in fact have had multiple high-charting albums and singles throughout the past 15 years, including their latest LP, 2011’s Time of My Life. The band just finished working in the studio on a new album and wrapped up a summer tour with Seether. So what brings them to the Steel City? Why, the “Steelers Back to Football Concert,” of course, one of multiple events building to the Black & Gold’s home opener against the San Francisco 49ers. The outdoor concert will be at Stage AE, where the Terrible Towels surely will be twirling from the lawn. Doors open 6 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (CM)

3) Country music trio Lady Antebellum makes a stop at First Niagara Pavilion on the group’s Wheels Up 2015 tour. Composed of vocalist Hillary Scott, guitarist/vocalist Charles Kelley, and instrumentalist Dave Haywood, the trio have proven their staying power as country music stars, having won two Grammy Awards and numerous country music awards of various sorts. They are probably best known for their 2009 single “Need You Now,” a poignant duet that braids the vocal talents of Scott and Kelley into a single melancholy harmony. The band formed in Nashville in 2006 and rose extraordinarily quickly, now standing among some of country music’s top contemporary talent. Since then Lady Antebellum has continued to grow its fan base with appearances in arenas and major amphitheaters across the United States. The group’s latest release was last year’s 747. Opening are Hunter Hayes and Sam Hunt. 7 p.m.. 665 Rt. 18, Burgettstown. (RH)

4) PICT Classic Theatre specializes in plays by Irish and English playwrights, typically ones that were written or are set in the pre-Internet era (i.e., before the 1990s). That’s a lot of theater to choose from, and past productions have ranged from the works of Samuel Beckett to social comedies, light and dark. PICT’s latest offering in this back-to-school time of year is Willy Russell’s back-to-school comedy Educating Rita. The title’s Rita is a hairdresser who wants to expand her horizons by acquiring culture. She enrolls in a university literature course taught by an alcoholic professor who’s become cynical about the very academic life to which Rita aspires. A hit when it opened in London in 1980, Educating Rita was made into a 1983 movie with Michael Caine and Julie Walters. PICT has Martin Giles as the professor and Karen Baum as Rita. 8 p.m. Runs through September 19. Charity Randall Theatre in the Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Ave., Oakland. (MV)

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