Chicago intellectual property attorney and novelist Mary Hutchings Reed, of counsel to Winston & Strawn, has written a musical comedy-romance about golf, titled “Fairways.”

It will have its world premiere this month at Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles. Opening night benefits are scheduled Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25, and performances will continue through March 19.

Reed, an avid golfer, wrote the book and lyrics for “Fairways.” The music, including 15 new songs, is by Chicago composer Curt Powell. The production is underwritten in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

“Golf is a spiritual exercise,” Reed said. “You really have to learn to play within yourself, to stay with the process rather than anticipate the results. I've always been fascinated with the idea of putting golf on stage.”

A graduate of the Yale University Law School, Reed has won several awards for fiction. Among them are a first prize in the Pariah Publishing First Chapter contest and several semifinalist rankings in writing competitions.

Active in Lawyers for the Creative Arts, she won the Thomas R. Leavens Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts in 2004.

Showtimes for “Fairways” are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Sundays. For ticket information, call (630) 587-8521 or access www.steelbeamtheatre.com.

Panelists for a discussion of Irish ethnicity at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, in the Irish American Heritage Center include former appellate justice Neil F. Hartigan and State Sen. John J. Cullerton.

Titled “Celtic Irish Cosmos: The Irish Ascendancy,” the program will be presented in the auditorium of the former school building at 4626 N. Knox, Chicago. Call (773) 282-7035 for details.