[ TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE ]

RETURN TRIP: When it debuted in 1945, Richard Rodgers' and OscarHammerstein's highly acclaimed second musical, Carousel, broke newground. The composers added a dark, edgy lining to the story ofcarnival barker Billy Bigelow, who falls in love with a young millworker, Julie Jordan. But Bigelow is incapable of supplying thebasics to sustain the relationship. Desperate for money, he dies in arobbery attempt and years later is given the chance to return for oneday in hopes of teaching his daughter a lesson about love. TheMarriott Theatre production stars Brian Herriott and Susan Moniz;Gary Griffin directs. Opens Wednesday through Nov. 3 at MarriottTheatre in Lincolnshire, 10 Marriott Dr., Lincolnshire. Tickets:(847) 634-0200.

PRINCE HAL: The Hypocrites add to their growing roster of thought-provoking works with a production of Shakespeare's historical dramaHenry 5. The company kicks off its fifth season with the story ofHenry V, formerly the rebellious Prince Hal, who follows his father'sadvice to wage war in order to regain the lands in France thatpreviously belonged to England. A cast of 30 is led by John Byrnes asHenry; Sean Graney directs. Opens Sunday and continues through Sept.28 at Storefront Theater, 6 E. Randolph. Tickets: (312) 742-8497.

TWIN TROUBLES: Nicky Silver's Raised in Captivity kicks offSpeaking Ring Theatre's sophomore season. Silver, whose Off-Broadwaysuccesses include "Pterodactyls" and "The Food Chain," delves intodark comedy with this story about the varied neurosis of fraternaltwins Sebastian and Bernadette, and the people in their lives. Theone thing they all have in common? Questions about the meaning ofhappiness and freedom. Michael Brownlee, Kevin Gladish, KristineKarvelas, Jennifer Leavitt and Sean Leonard star; Chuck Karvelasdirects. Opens Thursday and continues through Oct. 12 at the ChicagoCultural Center Studio Theater, 77 E. Randolph. (312) 458-9374.

ODDS & ENDS: As part of the Music Everywhere summer event, RedmoonTheater creates a 30-foot-tall, 12-foot-wide drum tree in MillenniumPark at Michigan and Madison. Performers will scale the structure andplay on dozens of drums and percussion instruments. Check it out from8 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sept. 6 ... Another installment ofVaudeville Underground is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The modernvariety show features an array of performers from differentdisciplines. Tickets: (773) 782-9471, ext. 2.

OPENING NIGHTS: Open Eye Productions presents Christopher Durang'sTitanic, a comedy about an odd American family on the ill-fated ship,which this time around doesn't sink. Opens tonight, to Oct. 6 at theAthenaeum Theatre, 3209 N. Southport. Tickets: (312) 902-1500 ...John Logan's Never the Sinner, a drama about the infamous 1924Leopold and Loeb murder case, is staged by Shining ThroughProductions. Opens Thursday, to Sept. 29 at Heartland Studio Theatre,7016 N. Glenwood. Tickets: (773) 743-3591 ... The Theatre of WesternSprings presents Charley's Aunt, Brandon Thomas' comedy about twoOxford students trying to woo their girlfriends with the assistanceof a visiting aunt. Opens Thursday, to Sept. 15 at the Theater ofWestern Springs, 4384 Hampton, Western Springs. Tickets: (708) 246-3380.

Lawmakers Investigate Chavez Brothers

Venezuela's National Assembly opened an investigation Wednesday into a congressman's accusations that two of President Hugo Chavez's brothers acquired 17 ranches in recent years _ if true a potential stain on the image of Chavez's socialist movement.

Lawmaker Wilmer Azuaje detailed his allegations in a closed-door committee session, presenting documents that he says show how an assortment of ranch lands were obtained by Chavez's brothers Argenis and Narciso.

Azuaje said afterward that he asked the congressional audit commission to visit the haciendas for an inspection and to summon those who sold the properties for questioning.

Azuaje, of the president's socialist party, said the ranches are all located in Chavez's home state of Barinas, where the president's father is governor.

Asked if the accusations are linked to his own campaign for governor in Barinas, Azuaje said Chavez and his party "demand that we denounce... acts of corruption (and) incapacity."

There was no immediate reaction from Chavez's younger brothers or the president, who was traveling in Brazil.

The lawmaker told the Venezuelan television channel Globovision on Tuesday that he has documents indicating Chavez's brothers acquired 17 ranches through front men who carried out the transactions on their behalf.

Azuaje said he decided to call for the investigation because he feels the land acquisitions harm the image of Chavez's socialist movement. He said he also has asked prosecutors to open a separate investigation.

The congressman said that before going public he sent evidence earlier this month to Chavez's justice minister, who he said turned over the documents to Chavez's elder brother Adan _ his education minister _ and in turn to lawyers of the Chavez family. Azuaje said he doubted the documents were going to reach the president.

He said the purchases of ranches raise questions about where the money came from.

Azuaje said one Chavez family employee by the name of Izarra should be investigated to determine how he managed to buy a single ranch valued at US$372,000 (euro237,000), the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal reported on Wednesday.

The National Assembly has been almost completely pro-Chavez since the opposition boycotted 2005 congressional elections. The single-house legislature approved the investigation's launch on Tuesday, said National Assembly President Cilia Flores, a close ally of the president.

"The healthiest thing" is to investigate both Azuaje's claims and what may be behind them, Flores said, according to El Universal.

Lawmakers will investigate not only the president's brothers, but also Azuaje's activities, she said. Flores called Azuaje's accusations part of campaigning ahead of state and local elections in November.

"I know you're candidate for governor," she said.

UN Monitors Head to NKorea Reactor Site

PYONGYANG, North Korea - U.N. inspectors headed to North Korea's key nuclear reactor Thursday for the first time since 2002 to discuss plans to shut the plutonium-producing facility under an international accord.

The development came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe criticized North Korea for conducting test firings of short-range missiles Wednesday, saying Tokyo would push for a "harsh response." A U.S. official also called them a provocation that could destabilize the region.

APTN reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency team members had left their Pyongyang hotel for the Yongbyon reactor, about 60 miles northeast of the capital.

Olli Heinonen, the deputy director of IAEA, told APTN that his team would tour the Yongbyon facility and discuss specific arrangements for future verification of the reactor shutdown and monitoring. He emphasized that the visit was not a formal inspection.

"We go to see the facilities and continue our discussions in more details," Heinonen said in footage shot by APTN at his Pyongyang hotel before departure for the reactor.

Heinonen, whose team arrived Tuesday, refused to provide details of his discussions with North Korean officials so far and emphasized that the visit to Yongbyon was not a formal inspection.

"We are here to talk about the verification and monitoring arrangement," Heinonen said. He added it was not certain when they would return from the facility, though he said that Friday was the last full day of their visit to the North before departing Saturday.

Asked if the North might begin to shut down the reactor during his visit there, Heinonen told reporters that he and his team will see "what we have on the table" Friday evening.

The trip to the facility, at North Korea's invitation, would be the first by monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency since North Korea expelled them in late 2002.

The North agreed to close the Yongbyon reactor in February in exchange for economic aid and political concessions. But the communist nation ignored an April deadline to do so because of a banking dispute with the United States.

That dispute was settled this week after months of delay, and North Korea announced Monday that it would move forward with the disarmament deal.

The Yongbyon reactor is at the center of efforts involving five countries - China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States - to stop North Korea's nuclear program. The North carried out its first atomic test explosion in October.

The 5-megawatt reactor is capable of churning out enough plutonium for one atomic bomb per year.

Two Pentagon officials confirmed a South Korean news report that North Korea tested three short-range missiles Wednesday. The missiles were fired within the North's territorial waters, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

In Tokyo, Abe said Thursday his government would "seek a harsh response from the international community" to the missile tests.

"I do not think this will directly affect our security, but in any case it is a violation of the U.N. Security council resolution," he said, referring to the document passed by the world body in October condemning North Korea's nuclear test.

The U.S. government reacted sharply earlier after the Yonhap news agency reported the launches, citing an unidentified South Korean government official.

"We expect North Korea to refrain from conducting further provocative ballistic missile launches, activity that is destabilizing to the security of northeast Asia," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

Johndroe said the U.S. "is deeply troubled that North Korea has decided to launch these missiles during a delicate time in the six-party talks."

It was the third time in a month that the North test-fired a short-range missile, following launches May 25 and June 7.

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Associated Press writers Alexa Olesen in Beijing and Kelly Olsen and Jae-Soon Chang in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report.

For St. Martin's Gee, Winning Top Priority

St. Martin de Porres basketball star Jerry Gee insists he is moreconcerned with his team's success than individual glory . . . eventhough he is off to a brilliant start that could spell player of theyear recognition.

After opting not to make an early commitment, saying he was "tooconfused" to choose among Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the 6-7,225-pound senior is concentrating on leading St. Martin to theCatholic League championship, the Class A title and . . .

"I'm not thinking about myself, only what I can do to help myteam," said Gee, who is averaging 32 points and 12 rebounds for the7-0 and fourth-ranked Silver Eagles. "Basketball is a team sport,not an individual sport.

"I will play hard every night but it only matters if our teamwins. I don't get wrapped up in being the best player in the city orthe state. I feel I have to play the way I am expected to play.If I can handle pressure and play well, that's the mark of a goodplayer."

Gee, who will test unbeaten and fifth-rated Brother Ricetonight, said he still thinks about the recruiting process. He isstill considering the same schools. "My decision will come, maybebefore the end of the season," he said.

"Now recruiting is on the back burner, now he is concentratingon playing ball," coach Mike Manderino said. "Once the earlysigning period ended and he decided to wait, you could see he wasrelieved. He was getting impatient with the process. Now he is moreat ease. He's having a good time now."

"He made a very wise decision to wait," Rockford Boylan coachSteve Goers said. "Some college will have a quality scholarship tooffer in April. He has size and a velvet touch around the basket.He has a great temperament, he plays hard and he's having fun."

WINNING STREAK: Aurora Christian's 52-game home winning streakwill be at stake against Hales Franciscan Saturday. Last season, theEagles were 26-2, losing to Hales in the regular season and thesectional opener.

Coach Don Davidson said his 4-0 club, led by 6-3 juniors JoshWayne (16 ppg) and Joe Mann (10 ppg), is as good as his 1990 squadwhich was 30-4 and finished fourth in the Class A tournament.

But the Eagles have no one taller than 6-3 and are facing "thetoughest schedule we've ever had." It includes 15 Class AAopponents and a date in the East Aurora holiday tournament.

Other starters are 6-2 junior Brad Punke (13.3 ppg), 6-2 juniorNathan Thompson and 5-8 senior point guard David Mann, Joe's brother.

"We feel we will be in every game," Davidson said. "We canshoot with anyone and our defense is very strong. We're just alittle bit short again."

TRAVEL PLAN: Near North dropped out of the Lincoln-Way holidaybasketball tournament after one year to sign a two-year contract toparticipate in the 3-year-old Nebraska Holiday Prep Classic Dec.27-31 in Lincoln, Neb.

The 16-team event will include teams from Texas, Utah, Florida,Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Washington,D.C. At Lincoln-Way, Near North was replaced by Cregier.

Near North coach Greg Motley learned about the tournament whileparticipating in last year's Vashon Thanksgiving tournament in St.Louis.

"It's a chance-in-a-lifetime for our kids, a great opportunityto get national exposure," Motley said. "Our kids are prisoners oftheir own neighborhood. This is an opportunity to be treated likecelebrities. Everyone admires Chicago basketball."

Near North has made trips to St. Louis and Louisville thisseason. Motley starts only one senior, 6-5 Eric Cotton (19 ppg).Other starters are 6-6 Willie Wilson, whom Motley calls "the bestfreshman in the state," sophomore point guard John Bentley andjuniors John Washington and Frederick Johnson.

Motley said he is afraid if his underclassmen receive too muchmedia attention, "somebody will snatch them away from me." Lastyear, he lost Toporis Nash to King and Keith Spears and MarlowWilliams to Curie. While he was frosh-soph coach at Prosser, he lostEddie Washington, Alexander Morris and Jermaine Williams to King.

"Must have been bad coaching," he said.

SOPH TO WATCH: Mount Carmel sophomore Marlo Miles averaged 17.5points in the first three games, picking up the scoring slack in theabsence of senior stars Antoine Walker (suspension) and DonovanMcNabb (football). When Walker and McNabb returned for Friday's Catholic Leagueopener, Miles did not start and played sparingly in the Caravan's103-64 rout of Loyola.

"He's tremendously talented," Mount Carmel coach Mike Curtasaid. "Like any sophomore, he has to get used to making decisionson the varsity level. With Antoine and Donnie out, we were lookingto a sophomore to step up at the end of a game. But with those twoback, you have to realize we're going to be a senior-dominatedteam."

Curta started five seniors Friday - Walker, McNabb, WillieJones, Jay Driscoll and Eugene McIntosh.

"You'd be hard-pressed to find a team that's better," Loyolacoach Karl Costello said. "Was the score an indication of how muchbetter they were than us? Yes. As the margin got bigger, they justkept elevating their game to the next level. That's a mark of theirmaturation since last year."

NOT PLAIN: Dave Stephens, Plainfield's first-year coach, sayshis 5-0 team is for real and could become the school's firstconference and regional champion since 1986 and its first 20-gamewinner in history.

Stephens, 28, has one of the tallest backcourts in the area in6-4 point guard Cody Salter (21 ppg) and 6-3 Brandon Self. Othercontributors are 6-7 Chris Glenn (14 ppg, nine reb.), 5-11 BradEldred, 6-5 Dave Thompson, 6-8 junior Nate Fox, 6-3 Paul Vogt and 6-4Matt Zwoliski.

"We have size, teamwork, good shot selection and we're hitting55 percent from the field," Stephens said. "Our goal is to win 20games. If we keep doing well, we'll have to start checking theschool record books. Nobody can remember a team that had a betterrecord than last year's 16-10."

Kinect's Israeli partner sees a remoteless world

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Inon Beracha envisions a world where your movements control the gadgets and devices around you. There's no remote control to lose, no buttons to push. The air conditioner senses your presence and changes the temperature to your liking.

Controlling your surroundings with the wave of a hand sounds like magic, but Beracha's company, PrimeSense, is already making headway, thanks to a little help from video games.

PrimeSense's 3-D camera is a key component of Microsoft Corp.'s Kinect motion- and voice-control technology for the Xbox 360 game system. Coming this fall, Kinect will let people play games and watch movies on the Xbox with no wand, controller, mat or remote. It recognizes users' gestures and voices, so you can control on-screen characters in racing, action and sports games simply by speaking or moving your body. If it's a hit, it could pave the way for a remoteless future.

Beracha and his PrimeSense colleagues see their technology as an integral part of the home of the future. PrimeSense already has other collaborations in the works, with TVs and PCs fitted with its device targeted for next year.

"Our vision is to see this technology become ubiquitous, in every consumer device," said Beracha, PrimeSense CEO.

Several companies have developed depth-sensing cameras. Another Israeli company, 3DV Systems, developed one that determined the depth of the picture with a technique similar to radar. Microsoft snapped up that company in 2009, but didn't use its camera for the Kinect.

The camera from 3DV was relatively sophisticated and expensive. PrimeSense's, by contrast, is a fairly standard one that you might find in any Web camera, according to Adi Berenson, the company's vice president of business development.

The setup is able to determine depth because the camera is paired with a projector that emits invisible, infrared light in a complicated speckle pattern. The camera picks up how the pattern is distorted when it hits objects. At a distance of 7 feet, it can distinguish depth differences of less than an inch, Berenson said. That's enough to decipher gestures and hand movements. At a distance of 3 feet, the resolution is finer, and facial expressions can be distinguished.

Kinect also has a microphone that picks up the location of sounds, helping the system understand its surroundings. Microsoft's software ties the components together.

Microsoft is counting on Kinect to lure people who haven't traditionally been interested in video games. The company will start selling it in the U.S. for $150 on Nov. 4 and elsewhere at around the same time.

The founders of PrimeSense all hail from Israel, which has evolved from a farming nation into a high-tech powerhouse, known for its many startups and developments in communications, software and military technology.

The company started with Aviad Maizels, who worked in research and design for Israel's military intelligence service. He was looking for a better way to interact with consumer devices, and games in particular. He teamed up with Alexander Shpunt, now the company's chief technology officer, who came up with the camera system, building on the work of others on speckle patterns for depth-sensing.

The company got started in 2005. Its goal isn't to make the gadgets. Rather the Tel Aviv-based company makes the sensor system and seeks others to embed it in products. Microsoft was the first to bite, Beracha said.

PrimeSense's technology brings to mind the 2002 movie "Minority Report," where Tom Cruise shifts documents and pictures around on a screen using a special glove. But with a depth-sensing camera, you wouldn't need a glove to do the same thing. PrimeSense has made the hardware from the film — set in 2054 — look obsolete.

As is often the case with new technologies, gaming provides the first toe-hold. In four or five years, Beracha believes we can see a home furnished by gesture-controlled TVs and other electronics.

He acknowledged that PrimeSense's technology may not be for every device or every consumer. Without an actual remote to tear away, parents may struggle with children refusing to turn off the TV. Some users may have a hard time completely letting go of remotes, he said.

The ultimate goal of the PrimeSense is "for humans and devices to live seamlessly side-by-side, so that we don't have to do anything special for devices to work," said Maizels, PrimeSense's president.

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AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson in New York contributed to this report.