The Ten

Don’t-miss picks for February 22 through February 28, 2018

1 Plantation!

Theater:David Schwimmer directs Kevin Douglas’s Southern-fried comedy about a member of the Texas gentry who gives away her plantation to the descendants of a slave her family once owned.
2/21–4/22. $20–$75. Lookingglass. lookingglasstheatre.org

2 The Green Book Chronicles

Film:Playwright Calvin Alexander Ramsey has spent much of the past decade working on projects about the Negro Motorist Green Book, the guidebook for black roadtrippers during the Jim Crow era. This Friday, Black Cinema House hosts a screening and discussion of The Green Book Chronicles, Ramsey’s as-yet-unfinished documentary about the text.
FREE 2/23 at 7 p.m. Black Cinema House. rebuild-foundation.org

3 Celebrating David Bowie

Rock:This winter marks two years since the legendary rock chameleon’s death. A tribute tour helmed by Bowie’s friends and former bandmates promises catharsis by way of a career-spanning rock ’n’ roll revue, including everything from Bowie’s first hit, “Space Oddity,” to cuts from his final LP, Blackstar.
2/23 at 7:30 p.m. $35–$135. Vic Theatre. jamusa.com

4 Deeply Rooted Dance Theater

Dance:Powerhouse choreographer Nicole Clarke-Springer draws on Alice in Wonderland in this new work for Deeply Rooted’s dynamic dancers, exploring feminist issues through the concept of swallowing and being swallowed as it relates to a woman’s size and stature in society. Favorites Church of Nations and Desire, set to the work of Nina Simone, as well as Clarke-Springer’s 2016 piece Femme, accompany the premiere.
2/24 at 7:30 p.m. $25–$45. Center Theatre. northshorecenter.org

5 Howardena Pindell

Art:This underknown New York artist, now in her 70s, is a force in abstract art, having developed an unusual palette of materials that include hole-punched flecks of paper, glitter, and perfume. A 1979 car crash left Pindell with memory loss, fueling a work called Memory: a series of canvases that evoke the ephemerality of thought. Here, she receives a well-deserved first major survey.
2/24–5/20. Free–$15. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. mcachicago.org

6 Uppers & Downers

Food and Drink:Beer snobs and coffee snobs will find common ground at this beverage fest. Chicago-based brew gurus Good Beer Hunting team up with world champ barista (and former Intelligentsia marketing director) Stephen Morrissey to curate two back-to-back tasting sessions. Expect beer, coffee, coffee-beer, and other unholy crossovers.
2/24 at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. $65. Thalia Hall. thaliahallchicago.com

7 Lunar New Year Parade

Parade:Ring in the Year of the Dog with a colorful parade through Chinatown. The marching bands, floats, and lion dances punctuate a week of cultural events and live performances around town—including pop-ups at the Chicago Symphony Center.
FREE 2/25 at 1 p.m. Wentworth from 24th to Cermak. ccc-foundation.org

8 Esther

Classical:Music of the Baroque’s chorus and orchestra join to present Handel’s oratorio, based on the Old Testament story of how Queen Esther saved the Jews in Persia from genocide, a story also told on the holiday of Purim, which begins this year on February 28. The quartet of soloists includes the dramatic bell-toned tenor Nicholas Phan.
2/25–2/27. $25–$78. 2/25: North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie. 2/27: Harris Theater. baroque.org

9 Palehound

Rock:On last year’s A Place I’ll Always Go, Palehound’s Ellen Kempner made a case for herself as one of the most humane voices in modern rock. Her heart-on-sleeve lyrics, which speak to the comedy and poetry of self-discovery, should appeal to fans of lo-fi bedroom rockers like Liz Phair, not to mention anyone who felt misunderstood and isolated as a teenager. So, everybody.
2/28 at 8 p.m. $15. Schubas Tavern. lh-st.com

10 Romeo Santos

Latin:One of the Latin music world’s foremost stars returns to Chicago after a three-year hiatus. Though Santos’s 2017 album, Golden, features an array of collaborations (Swizz Beatz, Daddy Yankee, and Julio Iglesias make appearances), the singer’s charm and his crisp, clean vocals remain the main draw.
2/28 at 8 p.m. $60–$845. United Center. ticketmaster.com