Events Search
America: All Better!
Open run: Tue-Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 11 PM, Sun 7 PM,
312-337-3992Improv/Sketch
See Albert Williams's in-depth review.
$20-$25
The Ancient Americas
Ongoing 312-922-9410Museums
Artifacts from between the Arctic and the tip of South America highlighting 13,000 years of survivor skills utilized by the early pueblo communities of the American southwest, the Incas of South America, and other cultures throughout the hemisphere.
Big Manuel Arrington Blues Band with Easter Jones and Linda Nixon
Fridays, 8 p.m. 773-264-6336Blues, Gospel, and R&B
Blue Man Group
Open run: Thu 8 PM, Fri 7 PM, Sat 4, 7, and 10 PM, Sun 1, 4, and 7 PM, 773-348-4000Theater & Performance
Three silent guys in cobalt blue makeup, accompanied by a small but very loud rock band, perform a wordless, high-tech, highly visual work of participatory conceptual theater. Blue Man Group offers a visceral education in the tenuous division between art and trash. (NG) $49-$59
Brother, Can You Spare Some Change?
Open run: Wed-Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 11 PM, Sun 7 PM 312-337-3992Improv/Sketch
What's comedy supposed to do besides make people laugh? Mock? Expose hypocrisy? Maybe even inspire hope for humanity? Second City E.T.C.'s latest revue, Brother, Can You Spare Some Change?, focuses a lot on that last score, especially in the message-heavy closing number, "Hang On." But it's still one of the funniest sketch shows of the year, thanks in part to new musical director Michael Descoteaux, whose original compositions and effects invigorate the humor. The hard-to-hit president-elect escapes the punch lines--it's our desire to see him as the ultimate fixer that takes the blows. According to a litany of his powers, he can "make smoking good for you." Other targets include anything-goes Internet etiquette and government bailouts. A few sketches end with a thud, but the likable players--who shine in the more intimate bits--inspire forgiveness. Christina Anthony embraces the "Michelle Obama effect" of "white boys" buying her drinks, Andy St. Clair brilliantly turns the audience into a jury as a public defender trying to clear an audience volunteer of murder, and Timothy Edward Mason's solo bit with a guitar reminds us that, though we may be hardened in these hard times, the mere mention of balls, farts, or Sarah Palin is still good for an easy chuckle. --Ryan Hubbard
$20-$25
Brother John, KC McDonough, Desiree Irwin
Thursdays-Saturdays, 5 p.m. 312-640-0999Blues, Gospel, and R&B
Bus, boat, train, and walking tours
Ongoing 312-642-4600Museums
See chicagohistory.org for schedule and details.
Bye Bye Liver: The Chicago Drinking Play
Open run: Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 9:30 PM, 312-733-6000Improv/Sketch
A show about and with drinking. $15
Called to the Challenge: The Legacy of Harold Washington
Ongoing 312-747-4300Galleries
An overview of Washington's life and projects as mayor. Harold Washington Exhibit Hall, 9th floor.
Chic Chicago
9/27-7/26: Mon-Wed 9:30 AM-4:30 PM, Thu 9:30 AM-8 PM, Fri-Sat 9:30 AM-4:30 PM, Sun noon-5 PM 312-642-4600Other Stuff
Subtitled Couture Treasures From the Chicago History Museum, this exhibit, made up of more than 50 dresses, gowns, and suits from the museum's couture collection, posits that "Chicago women of style" set out to make the city something more than "hog butcher to the world." Gilded-age gowns by French couturier Emile Pingat and chic pieces by Chanel and Versace share the space with work by Chicago native Main Rousseau Bocher, aka Mainbocher, who designed Wallis Simpson's wedding gown and trousseau, and Lucy Duff Gordon, aka Lucile, a Titanic survivor credited with training the first fashion models and staging the first catwalk style shows. The museum offers a first look at the exhibit with a fund-raising reception Thu 9/25, 6;30 PM, 312-799-2116, $225. $12-$14, free Mon
