The Ten

Don’t-miss picks for March 12 through March 18, 2020

PLEASE NOTE: Events may be postponed or simply canceled. Please call ahead to make sure they are still scheduled to take place.

1 Fennesz

Experimental Music:Since 1995, Austrian guitarist and composer Christian Fennesz has dealt in heady electronic explorations that have almost nothing to do with the dance floor. He is more about ambience, from his droning takes on ’80s pop to his avant-garde collaborations with composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and ex–Japan frontman David Sylvian. His latest, last year’s Agora, consists of four sweeping soundscapes whose subtle shifts are hypnotic.
3/12 at 9 p.m. $18–$20. Empty Bottle. eventbrite.com

2 Decadence/Chicago

Dance:Master choreographer Ohad Naharin compiled this medley of works for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago two seasons ago, and its return marks one of just two more appearances by the company before its residency at the Harris ends. It might be a while before you can again see Hubbard Street perform the powerful cornerstone of the program — Minus 16, set to the Passover song “Echad Mi Yodea” — and nobody does it better.
3/12–15. $40–$110. Harris Theater. hubbardstreetdance.com

3 The Lady From the Sea

Theater:Amid the flood of usual Ibsen suspects (the city has gotten its fill of variations on A Doll’s House) comes this rarely produced work by the Norwegian master. The buoyant Chaon Cross leads the cast as a lighthouse keeper’s daughter who must choose between her dull but safe marriage and the sensual siren call she hears coming from beyond the shore.
3/12–4/12. $38–$84. Court Theatre. courttheatre.org

4 Daniel Beltrá: The Amazon

Art:For more than two decades, this Seattle-based photographer has documented the changing state of the Amazon rainforest from a helicopter. His expansive aerial images — flooded lowlands, iron mines, and other associated ecological devastations — reveal the scale of humanity’s impact on the planet and form a visual plea to combat climate change.
FREE 3/12–5/2. Catherine Edelman Gallery. edelmangallery.com

5 Apsáalooke Women and Warriors

Art:In the fall of 2018, the Field Museum began its three-year renovation of the Native North American Hall, refreshing dated, colonialist displays with more authentic representations of indigenous communities. This exhibition examines the critical but distinct roles of the women and men of the Apsáalooke Nation through finely crafted objects like war shields and cradleboards. It’s the museum’s first major exhibition curated by a Native American scholar, Nina Sanders, who also invited contemporary artists to showcase paintings, fashion, photography, and more.
3/13–4/4/2021. $23–$40. Field Museum. fieldmuseum.org

6 Lost Objects

New Music:David Lang, Michael Gordon, and Julia Wolfe, the founders of the influential composers’ collective Bang on a Can, usually write music separately, as they did for Lang’s and Wolfe’s individually won Pulitzers. For the neo-oratorio Lost Objects, they all worked together, enlisting a baroque choir and orchestra, here Bella Voce and its Sinfonia, alongside electric guitarist Brandon Acker and DJ Dan Dehaan.
3/14: St. James Cathedral. 3/15: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. $10–$65. bellavoce.org

7 Thundercat

R&B:The weirdest contemporary addition to the jazz canon is L.A. oddball Stephen Bruner, probably the only artist to follow a Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins collaboration with a Kendrick Lamar duet. Expect a bonkers show from the supremely gifted bassist and notorious jokester.
3/15 at 8 p.m. $31. Riviera Theatre. eventbrite.com

8 Chef Takeover

Food:The nonprofit Common Threads provides opportunities for underprivileged families to learn more about healthy dieting and nutrition. Counterintuitively, the organization celebrates its 15th anniversary with some of the most decadent cuisine in town, courtesy of prominent local chefs such as Stephanie Izard (Little Goat), and Paul Kahan (Blackbird).
3/16 at 6:30 p.m. $125–$250. Zhou B Art Center. commonthreads.org

9 Chicago Works: Deborah Stratman

Art:In this exhibit, the MCA screens the local artist, filmmaker, and UIC professor’s The Illinois Parables, which explores how sites of sociopolitically fraught events (such as the Chicago Police Department’s 1969 raid on the headquarters of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party) are informed by their landscape and geography.
3/17–7/26. $15. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. mcachicago.org

10 Chicago Flower & Garden Show

Garden:Founded in 1847 as an expo for exceptional-looking flowers and fruits, this floral fest is now a playground for the Pinterest-minded. Visitors can walk through more than 20 elaborately themed gardens; tour the Plant Truck, a 1974 van outfitted with plants and gardening materials for sale; and create their own container gardens at “potting parties.”
3/18–22. $5–$20. Navy Pier. chicagoflower.com