THE BLONDE LEADING THE BLONDE The CSO previews a movement from a new
opera devoted to Anna Nicole Smith, then turns its attention to Janet Leigh in
Psycho.
THE FIVE
Don’t-miss picks for Wed 11.17.10 through Tue 11.23.10:
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classical Texas Tenebrae ALSO THIS WEEK: Another blonde, another night with the CSO: The orchestra plays Bernard Herrmann’s score live alongside a screening of Psycho on Nov 19. Or, for a sampling of Turnage’s work, catch the local ensemble Dal Niente the same night. |
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lit/lectures Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza |
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concerts International Contemporary Ensemble ALSO THIS WEEK: Members of both the trailblazing Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the Asian American Jazz Festival converge for a three-day blowout, the Creative Music Summit, at the MCA. Think of it as a weekend-long thanksgiving to jazz. |
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concerts The Frames |
| 5 |
theatre A Civil War Christmas ALSO THIS WEEK: When the House Theatre cracks open its version of The Nutcracker, adults will pick up on the psychological drama; kids will love the dancing toys; and everyone should leave enchanted by Kevin O’Donnell’s fantastical take on Tchaikovsky’s score. |
FREEBIES OF THE WEEK
farrago McCormick Tribune Ice Rink
It’s a year of tens at Millennium Park’s ice rink: 2010 marks a decade of drawing some 100,000 skaters annually. Admission is free, and skate rental is $10—a budget-friendly fee that should inspire your best double lutz. Your score? Ten, of course.
GO: Nov 19–Mar 13, weather permitting. Mon–Thu noon–8, Fri noon–10, Sat–Sun 10–9; see website for holiday hours. Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph. millenniumpark.org
film Typeface
The 2009 documentary on Two Rivers, Wisconsin’s Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum—by the filmmaker and executive director of Chicago’s illustrious Kartemquin Films, Justine Nagan—airs on WTTW this week. If you couldn’t snag tickets to the Siskel’s sold-out screenings earlier this year, here’s your chance to see its Chicago broadcast premiere.
GO: Nov 18 at 9 on WTTW. See wttw.com for channel information.
galleries Yvonne Domenge
What artwork will be Chicago’s next Spit Bath (er, Crown Fountain) or Bean (i.e., Cloud Gate)? It might be a sculpture by Domenge, whose public art will be installed next April in Millennium Park. In the meantime, you can eyeball sketches and models at the Chicago Cultural Center; go this week, when Domenge gives a chat on her artistic output.
GO: Talk: Nov 19 at 6. Exhibition continues through Jan 2. Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington. chicagoculturalcenter.org. Domenge also gives a free talk Nov 18 at 4 at the National Museum of Mexican Art
WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND
Deb Sokolow
Up next in our series of plans from notable, in-the-know locals (a.k.a. people we like): Deb Sokolow, one of our favorite Chicago artists, who has a show opening this weekend at Western Exhibitions:
“Actually, I have another opening, too. It’s a crazy weekend. The other project is at Hyde Park Art Center; it’s a collaboration between me and a collector [part of HPAC’s annual Not Just Another Pretty Face, which pairs artists with patrons in an attempt to push the boundaries of traditional portraiture]. He sent me some random things in the mail—drumsticks, a Notre Dame Fighting Irish T-shirt, an I-bolt—and I had to write a mystery story based on him. The culmination of this is I made an accordion-fold book: It’s a story about him that’s completely fabricated but based on some truths.
“And there’s Western Exhibitions. Coming off so many hours of work in the studio, I’m probably going to go to my neighborhood bar, Gold Star, on Division. My friends Susan and Ian run the bar. I’ll be there at some point over the weekend with a beer, looking for ghosts. The place is haunted. I’ve put it in some of my work. It’s got a lot of history: an old Polish dancehall, a brothel upstairs. It changes a little bit—Ian and Susan had to learn to make some new drinks for the new clientele: a shot that tastes like chocolate cake, another that tastes like an apple, and they’ve used me as a guinea pig in the past—but it’s still fantastic. I usually drink a Three Floyds Gumballhead or a vodka tonic.”
• Sokolow’s solo show runs Nov 19–Dec 31, with an opening Nov 19 from 5 to 8, at Western Exhibitions
• Not Just Another Pretty Face runs Nov 21–Feb 20 at Hyde Park Art Center
• Read more about Sokolow in 2005 and 2007 stories on emerging local talent from Chicago’s archives
Photography: (SMITH) AP Photo/Reed Saxon; (CSO) Todd Rosenberg; (SOKOLOW) Lisa Predko