We’re seeing spring temperatures burst out all over now, so we’re sure that many of you are going to use the next few days to emerge from your hibernation caves. Even though some of the masking requirements have changed at various venues and sites, please stay safe as you roam through the city.
And we’ll do our part by continuing to let you know about fascinating online fare and fun things to do outside, in addition to activities and events that will bring you to our cherished Chicago venues. Read on!
Fri 4/22
Zephyr Dance presents Not Dead Yet, a presentation of three new works in progress from choreographers Tom Brady, Michelle Kranicke, and Joanna Read that work with the existing scenic design at SITE/less (1250 W. Augusta) left over from their 2019 performance, On Notice. Kranicke, the longtime artistic director for Zephyr, and her husband, architect David Sundry, created SITE/less as a way to “push against traditional models of curation,” as Kranicke noted to the Reader in 2019; part of that includes asking artists to “rethink the connection between movement and architecture and deepen the relationship between the viewer and the venue beyond the typical model.” Not Dead Yet runs tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 PM; tickets are $22 at zephyrdance.com. (KR)
The Logan Square Auditorium (2539 N. Kedzie Blvd.) is ready to rumble for “Thrash Unreal,” the new monthly show by Freelance Wrestling. Headliner Robert “Ego” Anthony has also wrestled under the name Egotistico Fantastico—most notably for the Insane Clown Posse-owned company Juggalo Championship Wrestling. Actually, I don’t know if that’s Anthony’s most notable cameo; I can’t pretend I know anything about wrestling except that it’s super fun to experience live. Also, Juggalo endorsements go far with me. If you feel that way too—or just want to escape reality by watching seven people sweat and destroy each other in convoluted and overdramatized power struggles—you’ll probably like this! Bodies start slamming at 8 PM. Tickets are $20-$35 and available to those 21 and up. (MC)
Shattered Globe Theatre honors the late playwright Joel Drake Johnson (who died in 2020) with a revival of his 2013 play Rasheeda Speaking, originally produced by Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Johnson was also an inaugural member of the Victory Gardens Theater playwrights ensemble; Shattered Globe’s producing artistic director, Sandy Shinner, served as associate artistic director at VG when Johnson was there. In Rasheeda, directed by Shattered Globe associate artistic director AmBer D. Montgomery, Jaclyn, a Black woman, faces intra-office racism, including being spied upon by the white woman promoted ahead of her. SGT ensemble member Deanna Reed-Foster, who understudied the role in 2013, plays Jaclyn; the cast also includes ensemble members Daria Harper and Drew Schad with Barbara Roeder Harris. It opens in previews tonight at 8 PM at Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont), and runs through 6/4; tickets are $25-$45 at 773-975-8150 or sgtheatre.org. (KR)
Sat 4/23
My Block My Hood My City is honoring Earth Day with a day of service in Englewood. In addition to trash collection, volunteers can also work on garden projects and assembling potted plants for sharing with local seniors. There are two volunteer locations, each within a half mile of 61st and Halsted. Register here to select your preferred clean-up spot. This event is happening from 10 AM-1 PM, and it’s open to everyone who enjoys helping and spending time with neighbors. (MC)
There is also an Earth Day clean-up happening at Rainbow Beach (3111 E 77th St.) to prepare the area as a potential nesting site for piping plovers. When these endangered shorebirds select sites for wintering or mating, they return to them annually for the rest of their lives. Protecting those habitats is vital to ensuring piping plovers’s survival. According to the event description, experts believe Rainbow Beach is “the most promising possible additional nesting site in Chicago.” To avoid too much beach traffic and maintain social distancing, clean-up crews are happening in shifts, starting at 10 AM, 10:30 AM, 11 AM, and 11:30 AM. As of press time, 10 and 10:30 are listed as full, but there are still openings for 11 AM and 11:30 AM (and that could change, so check out the Chicago Ornithological Society’s website to reserve your spot as soon as you can). (MC)
After being entirely online last year, the Chicago Inclusive Dance Festival returns to live performance today and tomorrow at the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (2102 W. Ogden). Cosponsored by 3Arts, ReinventAbility, MOMENTA, Kinetic Light, Bodies Of Work, and Access Living, the festival features workshops, performances, and film screenings on dance and movement for people with and without disability. This year’s focus is on incorporating access into the creative process, especially through audio description. It runs from 12:30-4:30 PM, and is free (though donations will be accepted); registration is required here. (KR)
From 2-9 PM today, the Leather Archives (6418 N. Greenview) is running Dark Entries, their all-day film festival showcasing the latest in “depraved” heavy fetish films. Highlights include The Degenerates (director Jonathan Doe’s 2021 homage to Japanese gore, the slutty cow antics of performer Little Puck, Nuevas Lenguas (the slaughterhouse-turned-dungeon short by local QTPOC erotic filmmakers House of Huitlachooch), and more. Artists and performers Felicia Fisher, Bowie Sinclair, Little Puck, Kristopher Koffin, and Viki Vice will be on hand for post-screening Q&As. Admission is $25 ($15 for students) and strictly for those 18 and over. (MC)
Sun 4/24
Yesterday marked the first day of the ChiTeen Lit Fest, a literary festival by and for teens hosted by the Chicago Public Library. Through Sat 4/30, library branches across the city will offer free workshops to explore literary-related skills. Of note are Real Life in a Funny Picture: Making Oral History Comics, a workshop with artist Nick Merlock Jackson at 4 PM on Mon 4/25 at the West Lawn branch (4020 W. 63rd St.), and Hip Hop as Poetry, Lyrics as Lit:, a listening party and discussion with free refreshments starting at 4 PM on Wed 4/27 at the Blackstone branch (4904 S. Lake Park). There are three headlining acts for ChiTeen Lit Fest—singer Jean Deaux, YA author Elizabeth Lim, and poets Noelle Berry and Rich Robbins–who will perform in person at regional library locations and guide workshops throughout the week, all viewable in person as well as via YOUmedia’s YouTube channel. Berry and Robbins perform at Woodson Regional (9525 S. Halsted) today at 1 PM, while Lim can be found at Sulzer (4455 N. Lincoln) today at 2:30 PM, and Jean Deaux performs at Legler Regional (115 S. Pulaski) on Sat 4/30 to close out the festival. Advanced registration is required for all in-person events, and select branches will have swag bags while supplies last. For a complete list of programming, check out CPL’s website. (MC)
The organization Love & Protect was originally known as the Chicago Alliance to Free Marissa Alexander, as the group began in 2013 as a local response to Alexander’s case—she is a Black mother of three from Florida who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for defending herself during a violent attack from her estranged husband. Thanks to national organizing efforts and Marissa Alexander’s own advocacy work, she was offered a plea deal in 2015 which allowed her to avoid the 20-year sentence. Love & Protect has expanded its own work to “support women and gender non-conforming/non-binary people of color who are criminalized or harmed by state and interpersonal violence.” You can learn more about their work today as well as the cases of violence survivors Chystul Kizer, Bernina Mata, and DeBraca Harris by tuning into a Teach-in and Letter Writing event that the group is co-hosting with the Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee. It’s on Zoom starting at 1 PM, and pre-registration is required. (SCJ)
Reader associate editor Jamie Ludwig writes, “If you love modern doom, you owe a debt of gratitude to Candlemass.” The purveyors of heavy music started in Sweden in 1984, and soon refined a sound that appeals to metalheads, rockers, and fans of Black Sabbath. There’s a rare chance to see Candlemass in concert in Chicago tonight, as they headline a 8 PM show at Pilsen’s Thalia Hall (1807 S. Allport); Jamie suggests getting there early to catch openers Ruby the Hatchet and Frayle. It’s open to those 17 and over, and advance tickets are available at Eventbrite. (SCJ)
Mon 4/25
It may seem a little on the nose (or, if you prefer, snout) but the guest chefs at tonight’s rendition of Monday Night Foodball will be throwing around the pig skin—and then seasoning it along with the rest of the lechon and serving it to the lucky people who show up. Roel and Jen Estanilla of the caterer and pop-up dining experience Pig & Fire are bringing a Filipino menu to the Kedzie Inn tonight, including sisig, pancit, and lumpia. Senior writer Mike Sula wrote about the menu here, and you can pre-order for pick up (you can also pick up and eat it right there at the bar) by going here. The deliciousness happens from 5-9 PM at 4100 N. Kedzie. (SCJ)
Tony Assimos, the self-described CVO (“Chief Vinyl Officer”) of Portage Park record store Tone Deaf, is spinning as DJ Tony Deaf at Sleeping Village tonight (3734 W. Belmont). Starting at 7 PM, he’ll be drawing from his extensive collection to surprise and delight crate diggers interested in shoegaze, punk, and other sounds of rock rebellion. Then at 9 PM, the bands Stuck, Pardoner, and the Deals will perform live sets. While it’s free to enjoy DJ Tony, tickets are required to the 9 PM show and available here for $13. It will cost you $15 at the door. Tonight might be your lucky Monday night—well, if you’re over 21 and vaccinated. Please note masking is still expected at Sleeping Village. (MC)
Stage Left Theatre continues its online playreading series, Off-Stage Left, with a live Zoom reading tonight of Seven Twenty-Five by Humboldt Park resident Ana Daniela Reyes-Rosado. The play is based on the Cero Maravilla murders of July 25, 1978, in which two young Puerto Rican independence activists, Carlos Enrique Soto-Arriví and Arnaldo Darío Rosado-Torres, were killed by Puerto Rican police. The two men planned to deliver statements protesting the imprisonment of Puerto Rican nationalists convicted in an assassination attempt on President Truman in 1950 and the shooting in the U.S. Capitol in 1954. (July 25 marks the day U.S. soldiers landed in Puerto Rico in 1898.) An undercover agent alerted the Puerto Rican police, who ambushed the two activists; in the aftermath, the police officers were found guilty and several local government officials were accused of either planning or covering up the event. Willow James directs. Tickets are $5 and can be reserved through stagelefttheatre.com. This event starts at 7 PM. (KR)
Tue 4/26
Enjoy a solo show of work by Chicago-via-Puerto Rico painter Bibiana Suárez, now on view at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture (3015 W. Division). “De:Lata”—a mash-up of the verb delatar (to tell) and the noun lata (can)—uses the visual language of food labels to explore how Latinx identity is sold and packaged, becoming a sort of reductive or “canned response” to the complexity of lived experience. Using bold colors while borrowing from advertising aesthetics as much as Latinx sign-painting and muralist traditions, Suarez illustrates the tense relationship between identity and commerce. The exhibition will be on display at the museum until July. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 AM-5 PM and 10 AM-2 PM on Saturday. Admission is free and open to all. (MC)
Never seen 8 ½? You have a chance to watch Fellini’s 1963 film (his last in black-and-white) this week as part of the late night series at the Logan Theatre (2646 N. Milwaukee). Reader contributor Jonathan Rosenbaum called it “exhilarating.” Judge for yourself tonight, Wed 4/27, or Thu 4/28 at 10:40 PM; tickets are $10 and available for advance purchase online. (SCJ)
Wed 4/27
Poetry Month is coming to a close. Whether you’re still looking to get immersed in verse or it’s your first lyrical event, check out Monica Ong’s “Planeteria” at the Poetry Foundation (61 W. Superior). As the Foundation explains: “‘Planetaria’ is an exhibition of visual poems by Monica Ong that leverages the visual language of astronomy to explore the precarious territories of motherhood, women in science, and diaspora identity.” The show will be up until June and you can catch it this week; today and Friday from 11 AM-4 PM or Thursday from 11 AM-8 PM. See the Poetry Foundation’s website for their current COVID-19 policies for visitors. (MC)
The Hideout (1354 W. Wabansia) hosts two regular events tonight that strive to give back to the community. You can join in the giving spirit by starting with Soup & Bread; tonight’s offerings include a lentil soup with chamomile-lemon oil and ramps (prepared by Urban Canopy’s Ethan Fischer) or a black-eyed pea soup from Floriole’s Allison Scott. Proceeds from either go to Pilsen Food Pantry (pre-order here and then pick up in person at the Hideout anytime from 5-7 PM tonight). And then stick around for Hideout Trivia, hosted by historian and curator Paul Durica. Donations for entry are accepted each trivia night to benefit a different community organization (with tonight’s Trivia proceeds also going to Pilsen Food Pantry). The theme tonight is a tribute to Mayor Harold Washington, with special appearances by journalist Monroe Anderson, Jacky Grimshaw of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and filmmaker Joe Winston. Music is provided by the fun and friendly Mr. and Mrs. Wednesday Night. It starts at 6 PM, and you can buy tickets here. (SCJ)
Staying in tonight? You can still take in some storytelling, courtesy of the monthly series Telling Favorites. This month’s program (the theme is “favorite gathering”) is hosted on Zoom, and pre-registration is required to receive the viewing link. And a packed line-up awaits you, starting at 7 PM, including local writers and performers Lily Be, Kim Blevins, Rose Chord, Silvana Clark, Ashton Cynthia Clarke, and Debi Lewis. You can read more about the performers and the series at the Telling Favorites website.
Thu 4/28
The historic Blackstone Hotel (636 S. Michigan) first started attracting famous folk to its fancy digs in the early twentieth century, and has hosted several presidents (like Teddy Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter). And since a recent rehab in 2017 and “revitalization” (as the hotel calls it) which includes new art throughout, the hotel stands to shine in its former glory as tourists and visitors keep coming back to Chicago. Tonight, even if you’re not staying in the hotel, you can sneak a peek at its lobby while you enjoy poetry. Writers from Poems While You Wait will be on hand to offer custom free poems, and planted tulips will be available to take home from Chicago Floral. Both the poets and the plant experts will be on hand from 5-6:30 PM this evening. Check out the hotel’s Facebook page for more information. (SCJ)
Mainstage Chicago, a West Loop photography and video production studio, hosts Spring Swap tonight. It’s an evening sale featuring used film and photo gear from Mainstage, Camera Ambassador, and other production and hardware companies, and offerings from other vendors including plants from InFlorEscence, pottery, zines, and more. This evening is free to attend and browse, but people who register on Eventbrite will be entered into a raffle to receive a half-price booking fee for Mainstage’s studio space. It all happens from 6-8 PM at 400 N. Racine, Suite 107. (SCJ)
In our April 14 issue, Reader contributor Aaron Cohen wrote about Making Mexican Chicago, a new book by historian and Georgetown University professor Mike Amezua. Amezcua will be visiting the Newberry Library tonight to sign copies of the University of Chicago Press publication, and talk to James Akerman, curator of maps at the Newberry and director of the Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography. This free event is co-sponsored by the Chicago Collections Consortium and is being held in conjunction with an exhibition on view at the museum until June 25, “Crossings: Mapping American Journeys.” The talk starts at 6 PM at the library (60 W. Walton). (SCJ)
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