Welcome back to Chicago's Tuesday culture roundup, a quick and dirty guide to what's opening, closing, and buzzing in local arts each week. Note that this isn't a curated event list like Chicago's in-print Go Listings or weekly Chicago Guide—just a roundup of what's coming, going, and breaking throughout the city. Got a tip, quibble, or sweet nothing? Let us know in the comment section.
News
Weezer is headlining Taste of Chicago
As are Erykah Badu, Spoon, the Chieftains, and Maze with Frankie Beverly. The festival runs July 8–12 in Grant Park, and tickets (free–$50) go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via tasteofchicago.us.
Spike Lee's Chiraq is reportedly based off Lysistrata
In news that's unequivocally out of left field, ScreenDaily reports that Spike Lee's polarizing Chiraq will reimagine the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata—the one where all the women withhold sex until the men end the Peloponnesian War. There are whispers of appearances by JHud, Common, John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jeremy Piven, but nobody has been officially announced yet. Stay tuned.
Kanye got his doctorate…
Amid swells of College Dropout knee-slappers, Kanye West appeared at SAIC's graduation ceremony yesterday to receive his honorary doctorate. He said some stuff, too, most of it typically Kanye.
…and performed at Chance's open-mic night for high-schoolers
Following his graduation and a surprise performance at Sunday's Bulls/Cavs game, Yeezy joined Vic Mensa on stage at Chance the Rapper's high-school open-mic night. The pair performed their recent collaboration "U Mad" to many a squealing teen. Skip to 1:40 below for the big reveal.
Humboldt Parkers unite against Riot Fest
Weeks after 26th Ward alderman Roberto Maldonado publicly opposed Riot Fest's return to Humboldt Park, residents gathered Friday as Humboldt Park Residents Against Riot Fest to back their alderman. Festival organizers are apparently in meetings with Maldonado, but as WGN reports, unless the Mayor unprecedentedly steamrolls Maldonado, Riot Fest is out of luck.
The Goodman is building a $15 million arts education space
The Alice B. Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement (nicknamed "The Alice" for top donor Michael Sachs's late wife) will occupy 7,800 square feet of the theater's second story with classrooms, rehearsal space, and a STEM lab. There's a quick $4 million left to raise, but it's happening. More details here.
Wicker Park Fest announces headliners
This year's lineup features '90s throwbacks Veruca Salt and Blonde Redhead, plus former James Brown impersonator Charles Bradley and melodic metalheads Deafheaven. The festival runs July 25–26 at Milwaukee and North. More artists to come soon.
Opening
May 15: Another Kind of Love: An ex-punker comes home to honor her former-rockstar mother and connect with her soon-to-be rockstar niece. Chopin Theatre (1543 W. Division)
Open Now: The White Road, in which Ernest Shackleton's quest across the Antarctic leaves his crew marooned. Irish Theatre of Chicago at the Den Theatre (1333 N. Milwaukee)
Open Now: Inana: An Iraqi museum curator and his bride salvage relics on the eve of the U.S.'s invasion of Baghdad. Kimberly Senior directs. TimeLine Theatre (615 W. Wellington)
Open Now: All’s Well That Ends Well: Shakespeare meets 1950s mafiosos. Stage Left Theatre at Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont)
Open Now: The Bloodhound Law, a world premiere and the final installment of City Lit’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Project set in Chicago at the time of the Fugitive Slave Act. City Lit Theater (1020 W. Bryn Mawr)
Open Now: Three Sisters: The Hypocrites’ Geoff Button takes on Chekhov. The Hypocrites at the Den Theatre (1333 N. Milwaukee)
Open Now: Anna in the Afterlife, in which a novelist, unconscious on an operating table, is visited by various deceased friends in pseudo-purgatory. Polarity Ensemble at the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln)
Open Now: Between You, Me & the Lampshade, in which a single mother houses an undocumented immigrant in her South-Texas trailer. Teatro Vista at Victory Gardens (2433 N. Lincoln)
Open Now: Lady Windermere's Fan: Oscar Wilde's high-society satire. Dead Writers Theatre at Stage 773 (1225 W. Belmont)
Open Now: Spring Awakening, Fearless Theatre's boozed-up reimagination of Frank Wedekind's 1910 youth drama. Fearless Theatre at the Charnell House (3421 W. Fullerton)
Open Now: Original Voices, a third-annual group show featuring artists working in new and underexposed media. Ken Saudners Gallery (230 W. Superior)
Open Now: The Diary of Anne Frank, directed by the unerring Kimberly Senior. Writers Theatre at Books on Vernon (664 Vernon, Glencoe)
Open Now: Game of Thongs: A Game of Thrones Burlesque. Breasteros. Yep. Gorilla Tango Theatre (1919 N. Milwaukee)
Closing
May 12: Headshots by Julius DC Bautista. Degenerate Art Gallery (5554 N. Winthrop)
May 16: Look, We Are Breathing: A ritzy suburb copes with a teen's drunk-driving death. Rivendell Theatre (5779 N. Ridge)
May 16: Down the Moonlit Path, in which you, the viewer, follow nine transglobal folktales through the towering Preston Bradley Center. Preston Bradley Center (941 W. Lawrence)
May 16: Worthy: Four teens traverse a fairy-tale version of the Internet. Adventure Stage Chicago (1012 N. Noble)
May 16: The Bird Feeder Doesn't Know, the world premiere of Todd Bauer's dramedy about an ailing couple's descent into assisted living and its toll on their palsied son. Raven Theatre (6157 N. Clark)
May 16: A Collection for Zopilote: Paintings by Irene Hardwicke Olivieri. Carl Hammer Gallery (740 N. Wells)
May 17: The Book of Mormon: Trey Parker and Matt Stone's smash hit gets a remount. Bank of America Theatre (18 W. Monroe)
May 17: Jesus Christ Superstar: Theo Ubique coffee-shops the rock opera, acoustic and unplugged. No Exit Cafe (6970 N. Glenwood)
May 17: Richard Hunt: The MCA toasts 60 years of twisted metal by the Chicago native. Museum of Contemporary Art (220 E. Chicago)
May 17: The American Clock: Arthur Miller's Depression-era vaudeville. Redtwist Theatre 1044 W. Bryn Mawr)
May 17: Penelope, O Penelope: Simon Abkarian shoots the Odyssey up with modern technology. Theatre Y at Saint Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church (2649 N. Francisco)