theatre Elizabeth Rex
Arguably the next best thing to a Shakespeare script? Timothy Findley’s play about the Bard and Co. performing for the queen on the eve of her lover’s date with the executioner. We’ve been waiting all fall for this one, with the Stratford vet Diane D’Aquila reprising the role she originated.
GO: Previews 11/29­–12/6; $44. Run continues through 1/22; $55–$75. Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier, 800 E Grand. chicagoshakes.com

pop MarkÉta IrglovÁ
The clear-as-a-bell female half of The Swell Season goes solo, playing songs from her new recorded-in-Chicago album of moody chamber pop, Anar. Fingers crossed that some of the local free-jazz community pillars who played on the record—the cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, the trombonist Jeb Bishop—join her onstage. Bonus: Read about Irglová’s marriage to the Chicago sound engineer Tim Iseler.
GO: 11/26 at 9. $18–$20. Lincoln Hall, 2424 N Lincoln. lincolnhallchicago.com

ALSO THIS WEEK: Will Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s new effort, Hysterical, come close to recreating the indie-rock perfection of the band’s self-titled first—and still best—album? Judge for yourself when the group plays Lincoln Hall 11/29–30. Or catch the onetime Tuareg warriors Tinariwen, who traded their Kalashnikovs for Stratocasters, when they bring their hypnotic desert grooves to Metro 11/25.

film West Side Story
Skip the multiplex this holiday (Tower Heist? Really?) and relive a classic when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays Leonard Bernstein’s score live alongside a high-def screening of the newly remastered film. One note: Try to keep the humming to a minimum. With seats as much as $136 a pop, your armrest-mate will appreciate it.
GO: Previews 11/25–26 at 8, 11/27 at 3. $41–$136. Symphony Center, 220 S Michigan. cso.org

ALSO THIS WEEK: Support local talent! The Ryan Opera Center alum Amber Wagner stars in the Lyric production of Ariadne Auf Naxos, Strauss’s playful opera within an opera, 11/19–12/11.

film Sing-Along The Sound of Music
This one, you can sing along: The Music Box comes alive with the sound of off-key belting when the theatre hosts its eighth annual Thanksgiving run of the beloved Julie Andrews flick. Pro: Related festivities include a costume contest. Con: All seats typically sell out. Call ahead.
GO: 11/25–27; see website for showtimes. $8–$15. Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport. musicboxtheatre.com

museums Lost Panoramas
If you haven’t perused our December photo essay, Sunken Treasures, a collection of images made from a century-old trove of glass-plate negatives chronicling the reversal of the Chicago River, check it out. It’s a beauty. And if the haunting pictures of Chicago’s long-ago past leave you wanting more back story, head to the Nature Museum 11/25, when you can inspect the photos up close while the article’s coauthor, Richard Cahan, gives a guided lecture. And then? You can consider yourself a Chicago River expert.
GO: Cahan lecture: 11/25 at 11. Museum open Mon–Fri 9–5, Sat–Sun 10–5; closed 11/24. Free (kids under 3) to $9; free Thu for Illinois residents. Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N Cannon. naturemuseum.org