CHARLIE BROWN AND THE GREAT EXHIBIT
Track the nearly 50-year evolution of the classic comic strip, from when Charlie Brown was smart(ish) and Snoopy walked on all fours to the beloved version read by 355 million people worldwide.
DETAILS:
Through 2/18 Ever wonder how the football bit came into existence? This exhibit shows how Charles Schulz developed and perfected his famous bunch of kiddos. Timed-entry tickets required, $13–$20, which include general admission. Open daily 9:30–4. Free (kids under 3) to $15. 57th and Lake Shore. msichicago.org.
Illustration: Courtesy of Peanuts Worldwide LLC
MIKE DAISEY
The controversial monologuist brings his American Utopias to the Chicago Humanities Festival. Other fest guests include chef Grant Achatz and New York Times polling analyst Nate Silver.
DETAILS:
Starts 11/1–11 This longstanding annual Windy City tradition offers cheap liberal arts seminars: Most programs are $10 at the door or $5 in advance, with free entry often available for students and teachers. This year—just in time for election season—the theme is “America.”
11/3 at 12:30 Tricia Rose, inventor of hip-hop studies.
11/4 at 3:30 The August Wilson scholar Henry J. Elam Jr. on the playwright’s contribution to American theatre.
11/10 at 10 Elie Wiesel, author of Night, a memoir of his time in a Nazi concentration camp.
11/11 at 12 Gwendolyn Wright, host of PBS’s History Detectives, turns the lens on Chicago architecture.
Details: chicagohumanities.org.
Photograph: Ursa Waz
WHAT I WAS THINKING
Highlighting more than 100 photographs and 75 photographers (including George Tice, right), the retrospective at the Catherine Edelman Gallery showcases a quarter century of brilliant work.
DETAILS:
11/2–29 The gallery celebrates its 25th anniversary with this group show of over 100 photographs by more than 75 artists, including iconic images by Keith Carter, Sally Mann, and O. Winston Link, plus selections from Nan Goldin’s acclaimed The Ballad of Sexual Dependency series, which was the gallery’s inaugural exhibition. 300 W Superior. edelmangallery.com.
Photograph: Two Amish Boys, Lancaster, PA, George Tice/Courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery
MATT AND KIM
Dispel your notion of indie rock as “emo”—this Brooklyn duo is anything but. Their catchy, energetic songs translate into a crashing party of drums and keyboards. Catch them at the Congress Theater while you can.
DETAILS:
11/10 This Brooklyn duo makes boisterous indie rock marked by yelping vocals, squiggly synthesizers, and lumbering drums. At 9. $24. Congress Theater, 2135 N Milwaukee. congresschicago.com.
Photograph: Jonathan Mannion
SISTER ACT
The Oscars and Tonys won by the cast and crew could fill the Auditorium Theatre, but Chicagoans themselves will pack the seats to see Ta’Rea Campbell lead this feel-good musical based on the 1992 movie.
DETAILS:
11/13–12/2 The ridiculously talented Hollis Resnik returns to town as the mother superior in this story of singing nuns and the power of joyful noise. $28–$103. Broadway in Chicago at Auditorium Theatre, 50 E Congress. broadwayinchicago.com.
Photograph: Joan Marcus