The Five

Don’t-miss picks for Wednesday, April 8 through April 14, 2015

1 Hannibal Buress

Comedy: Since Buress was last in Chicago for a proper tour (see 2014’s Comedy Central special Live from Chicago!), this deadpan’s comic’s cachet has only risen. He famously called out Bill Cosby for Cosby’s alleged sexual assaults and clinched his skinny jeans cred with a star turn as Lincoln the optimistic dentist on Comedy Central’s Broad City.
4/9 at 7:30. $35–$55. The Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State. thechicagotheatre.com

2 Carousel

Theater: Don’t miss Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic about the doomed romance between naïve and spirited mill worker Julie Jordan (Lauren Osnes) and charismatic barker Billy Begelow (Steven Pasquale).
4/10–5/3. $29–$199. Civic Opera House, 20 N. Upper Wacker. lyricopera.org

3 University of Chicago Presents

Classical: For the centenary of the war to end all wars, The Pacifica Quartet and the U. of C. have organized a multiconcert festival called The Crossroads of World War I and Music, presenting music composed during the war years, along with accompanying lectures. Highlights from the six concerts include Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp (4/11 at 4); George Butterworth’s songs on the poetry of A.E. Houseman (4/11 at 7:30); and Bartók’s String Quartet No. 2 (4/12 at 3:00).
4/10–4/12. $5–$35. Various venues. chicagopresents.uchicago.edu

4 Billy Branch

Blues: It had been 15 years since this harmonica-wielding local’s last record when 2014’s Blues Shock pulled him back into the thick of Chicago’s blues scene. Catch his first-ever set at this Hyde Park club.
4/11 at 8. $12–$22. The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. ticketweb.com

5 Robert Buck

Art: Several years ago, this sculptor changed his last name from Beck to Buck and began making art about the American dream of self-reinvention. His sculptures evoke an experience of metamorphosis.
4/11–5/9. Free. Iceberg Projects, 7714 N. Sheridan. icebergchicago.com

What I’m Doing This Weekend

Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals—a.k.a. people we like: Neville Bryan Assistant Curator at the Art Institute Karen Kice. Chatter: Architecture Talks Back opens on Saturday, April 11.

“Friday, I have architects in town for the installation of Chatter: Architecture Talks Back. I’ll likely take them out to dinner at Farmhouse. It’s close to the Art Institute and close to the Hancock Tower, where we’ll head for drinks at the Signature Room afterwards. The Signature Room has one of the best vantage points of Chicago’s landscape, showing how quickly the city transitions from the density of downtown to urban sprawl.

“Saturday, I’ll stop by Volume Gallery to see their recent exhibition Five to Live: A Very Serious Reenactment. It’s a beautiful installation designed by the architecture firm Norman Kelley. (Thomas Kelley of Norman Kelley is a local architect who teaches at UIC.) Afterwards, I’ll head to the Art Institute for a roundtable discussion with architects from the exhibition from 2 to 4 p.m.

“Sunday, I will have some friends in town from London for the Society of Architectural Historians conference this upcoming week. I’ll meet them for brunch at Lula Cafe and then take them on a little tour of the city. We will go down State Street to see Mies van der Rohe’s IIT campus and Rem Koolhaas’s McCormick Tribune Campus Center building. We will then head down to the Pullman District. After a day exploring the city, I will finish with one of my favorite yoga classes at Yogaview.” —As told to Tomi Obaro

Freebie of the Week

William Cordova: Chapters: Making the Invisible Visible

Art: Harold Washington College’s visiting artist program brings in nationally recognized contemporary artists for exhibitions and lectures, free and open to the public. William Cordova, from Miami, will show a series of photos about racially marginalized communities.
4/16–7/3. Free. Harold Washington College, President’s Gallery, 30 E. Lake St. ccc.edu