Comedy
Cameron Esposito
11/26 at 8:30 Fresh off her first late-night network TV appearance in September, the one-time Lincoln Lodge staple returns to Chicago to headline a night of queer comedy. $15 plus 2-item minimum. 1548 N Wells. chicago.zanies.com.
Chris Tucker
11/22–23 at 8 The once-sought-after Rush Hour comic has had a low profile of late, but his surprisingly good turn in the dark comedy Silver Linings Playbook last year suggests there is life in him yet. $49–$84. Horseshoe Hammond, 77 Casino Center, Hammond, Ind. horseshoehammond.com.
Up Comedy Club
11/8–9 Todd Barry. He’s collaborated with the best in the alt-comedy business, guesting on Flight of the Conchords. The New Yorker has a way with the mike as well.
11/14–16 Kyle Kinane. The Columbia college alum brings his brand of lazy boy, junk-food-ridden diatribes to the stage.
11/21–23 Loni Love. The comic talks candidly about her love life. $20.
Up Comedy Club, 230 W North. upcomedyclub.com.
Readings & Lectures
CRITIC’S PICK
Chicago Humanities Festival
Through 11/10 The theme for this year’s annual highbrow bash is “What makes us human?” The answer? Apparently everyone and everything. Guest speakers include author Jonathan Safran Foer (11/6), New Yorker staple Atul Gawande (11/7), writer Sherman Alexie (11/9), autistic scientist Temple Grandin (11/9), tennis star Martina Navratilova (11/9), and chef Rick Bayless (11/10). Prices and locations: chicagohumanities.org.
Rich Cohen
11/7 at 7 The Vanity Fair writer reads from his new book, Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football. Book Cellar, 4736 N Lincoln. bookcellarinc.com.
Doris Kearns Goodwin
11/21 at 6 The presidential historian—she wrote the book that inspired Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln movie—discusses her latest book, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism. Harold Washington Library, 400 S State. chipublib.org.
Seasonal
Christkindlmarket
11/26–12/24 Warm up with some Glühwein at this popular holiday market. Sun–Thu 11–8; Fri–Sat 11–9. Daley Plaza, 50 W Washington. christkindlmarket.com.
Wreathing of the Lions
11/29 Touristy winter season unofficially kicks off with this coronation of the Art Institute’s big cats the day after Thanksgiving. 10–3. Art Institute of Chicago, 111 N Michigan. artic.edu.
Zoolights
Through 1/5 The annual family-friendly festival of lights comes to Lincoln Park Zoo for another year. 5–9. Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N Clark. lpzoo.org.