The Five

Don’t-miss picks for Wednesday, November 18, through November 24, 2015

1 Surrealism: The Conjured Life

Art With more than 100 paintings and objects, this exhibit tells the story of surrealism’s roots, with masterworks by Magritte and Ernst, and its legacy in contemporary art, from Paschke to Koons.
11/21–6/5. Suggested donation $12. Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago. mcachicago.org

2 Burning Bluebeard

Theater Now an annual holiday tradition, this production inspired by the Iroquois Theatre fire of 1903 is a singular, poignant treat.
11/19–1/10. $28–$36. The Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee. goruffians.org

3 Kyle Kinane

Comedy The longtime erstwhile Chicagoan come home to tell his signature, freewheeling hilarious stories.
11/19–11/21. $20. Up Comedy Club, 230 W. North. upcomedyclub.com

4 Lucky Plush

Dance In conjunction with the Harris Theater’s new Mix at Six program, the local contemporary company performs excerpts from its repertory.
11/19 at 6. $10. Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph. harristheaterchicago.org/events/2015-2016-season/mixatsix-lucky-plush

5 Avalon String Quartet

Classical If you’re a fan of Weinberg’s The Passenger, which the Lyric mounted last season, then you’re in for a strong dose of Shostakovich-esque gratification with String Quartet No. 14 paired here with Beethoven’s Quartet in B-flat Major (Op. 130) and Grosse Fuge (Op. 133).
11/22 at 2. Free with $20–$25 admission. Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan. artic.edu

What I’m Doing This Weekend

Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals: Chicago Dramatists playwright Scott Woldman.

“On Friday, I’m attending auditions for my play, Beautiful Autistic, which opens February 4 at Chicago Dramatists. Around 8 p.m., I’ll head over to Davenport’s Piano Bar to hear musical-theater legend Micky York perform stories and songs about drinking.

“Saturday, I’ll be rehearsing for a 2nd Story show in which I’m performing called All In The Family: Stories of Love and Strife. The show is Monday, November 23 at City Winery Chicago at 7:30 p.m. and features a great mix of amazing stories. Saturday night, I’m seeing Stage Left Theatre’s production of The Firestorm, which I’ve heard is phenomenal.

“Sunday morning, I’m going to a dress rehearsal for A Christmas Carol at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. The show opens on Saturday, November 28 and I adapted the script. On Sunday afternoon, I’m going to Redtwist Theatre’s opening of Incident at Vichy—a lesser known, but extremely powerful play by Arthur Miller.” —As told to Tomi Obaro

Freebie of the Week

Poets Look at Paintings

Readings The Poetry Center revives a past live event, originally at the Museum of Contemporary Art (circa 1974): poetic performances rooted in visual art.
11/18 at 6. Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington. poetrycenter.org