The Five

Don’t-miss picks for Wednesday, October 30, through Tuesday, November 5

1 Generations

Dance: Don’t miss Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s homage to Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old killed in Harsh Park earlier this year. The dance, Hadiya, is part of Generations, the troupe’s showcase of up-and-coming choreographers.
11/1 at 8. $45–$65. Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph. harristheaterchicago.org

2 SOFA Chicago

Design: Just consider SOFA Chicago the bougie version of the Renegade Craft Fair. More than sixty exhibitors show off their glass and sculpture wares.
11/1–3. $15. Navy Pier, 600 E Grand. sofaexpo.com

3 Wicked

Theatre: Musical freaks and geeks, rejoice! The hit aughties musical, inspired by the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel, returns.
10/30–12/21. $37–$107. Broadway in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W Randolph. broadwayinchicago.com

4 David Sedaris

Readings: Ask the humorist your pressing questions (like why is his latest book called Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls?) at this one-night only engagement.
11/2 at 8. $43–$58. Auditorium Theatre, 50 E Congress. auditoriumtheatre.org

5 It’s the Political Economy, Stupid

Art: More than 20 artists borrow the snark from Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign statement to demonstrate the aftermath of the Great Recession.
11/1–12/14. Free. Gallery 400, 400 S Peoria. gallery400.uic.edu

What I’m Doing This Weekend

Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals—a.k.a. people we like: pianist Anthony Molinaro. He performs excerpts from his new album, Here, There and Everywhere at the Chicago Humanities Festival on Friday, November 3 at 5 p.m.

“I helped start a new lunch hour concert series at Loyola University [where I teach] called First Fridays Series, so I’ll be there on Friday. A husband-and-wife duo will be performing: Winston Choi, he’s a pianist and MingHuan Xu on the violin. It’s open to the public and it’s free.

“Saturday, I’m going to get in a nice long run by the lakefront. I’m also hoping to also hit up one of my favorite restaurants: Ada Street. Among other things, they have a vinyl collection that you can select from and ask [staff] to play. And the food is first rate.

“Sunday, I’ll go to Jefferson Tap to watch the football game, before I perform at the Chicago Humanities Festival. I’ll be playing from my new album Here, There and Everywhere. The tagline is exploring music of the Beatles. I’ll be using this catalog of music as a vehicle to not only play these great tunes, but to explore these new concepts in a solo piano setting. [Tribune jazz critic Howard Reich] is going to be doing a little bit of an interview with me in between tunes. That will be fun because I like to talk about my process. The public can ask questions as well.” —As told to Tomi Obaro

Freebie of the Week

War of The Worlds: A Radio Drama

Theatre: Get in the Halloween spirit with Gift Theatre’s live reenactment of Orson Welles’s notorious 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Chicago City Wide Symphony Orchestra plays the score and Foley artists provide the sound effects.
10/30–11/2. Free. Jefferson Memorial Park, 4822 N Long. thegifttheatre.org