theatre Sex with Strangers
Can a scenester (Stephen Louis Grush) with a white-hot blog about his sex life find happiness with a 30-something writer (Sally Murphy) whose career is on the wane? With a cast like this, it hardly matters: Laura Eason’s look at love, writing, and sex—a remount from Steppenwolf’s 2009 First Look Repertory—is a must-see.
GO: Previews through 1/29; $20–$50. Run continues through 5/15; $20–$73. Steppenwolf, 1650 N Halsted. steppenwolf.org

dance Pilobolus Dance Theatre
If only we are so flexible at 40. Hard to believe it’s been four decades since this visionary troupe of gymnastic dance experimentalists first twisted their bodies into living sculptures. In a rare Chicago appearance, the witty counterculture contortionists share a retrospective of the best in optically illusive movement.
GO: 1/28–29 at 7:30. $25–$55. Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph. harristheaterchicago.org

ALSO THIS WEEK: In another display of physical might, local teams of Siberian huskies put their handlers through dogsledding and skijoring demos 1/29–30 at Morton Arboretum. Onlookers who find themselves especially smitten can pet the pups and—warning, parents—sign up to adopt a rescued dog.

museums Jim Nutt: Coming into Character
Nutt’s first major Chicago exhibition in a decade offers a what-he’s-been-up-to-lately look at the hometown Hairy Who’er, with a focus on his 20-year preoccupation with painting the female head. A companion show, Seeing Is a Kind of Thinking, aims to put Nutt in context, with works by his contemporaries and later artists. For more backstory, pick up Chicago’s February issue, featuring a portrait of the artist’s 50-year marriage to fellow painter Gladys Nilsson (now that’s a long work in progress).
GO: 1/29­–5/29. Open Tue 10–8, Wed–Sun 10–5. Free (kids under 12) to $12; free Tue. Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E Chicago. mcachicago.org

concerts Music Now featuring Mouse on Mars
We knew Anna Clyne and Mason Bates were cool: Composers who moonlight as DJs and team up with filmmakers? Check. Pizza and beer at CSO concerts? Check. Which makes this latest installment of the composers-in-residence series, featuring the German electronic duo Mouse on Mars, icing on the cake—or, rather, pepperoni on the pie.
GO: 1/31 at 7. $10–$20 includes a postconcert reception with, yes, pizza and beer. Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph. cso.org

theatre Being Harold Pinter
We would say the behind-the-scenes drama is as compelling as what’s onstage, but that wouldn’t do justice to a play Tony Kushner told Chris Jones was “the best Pinter I’ve ever seen.” The short story: About a month ago, the members of Belarus Free Theatre slipped out of their embattled home country to make their date at New York’s Under the Radar Festival. But when that run ended January 16th, returning to Minsk almost certainly would have meant a group trip straight to jail. So Chicago got involved—more specifically, the Goodman and the League of Chicago Theatres—giving BFT a few more weeks to strategize and potentially apply for asylum. The moral: Some theatre changes your mind. Some changes your life. This staging—a blending of the Nobel Prize–winning playwright Harold Pinter and interviews with Belarusian political prisoners—could change the lives of 13 others.
GO: $20. 1/27 (sold out), 28–29: Goodman Theatre, 170 N Dearborn. goodmantheatre.org. 2/4–6, 11–13: Mussetter-Struble Theater, Northwestern U, 1949 Campus, Evanston. tic.northwestern.edu. 2/18–20: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier, 800 E Grand. chicagoshakes.com