Grounded in Fiction

The Chicago Air & Water Show dominates the skies this weekend, but there’s plenty to see at street level—for starters, a couple of theatre adaptations by local lit stars. Elizabeth Berg—she of New York Times best-seller list fame, who has been touted by everyone from Oprah to the American Library Association—has adapted her novel The Pull of the Moon for the stage, and the production is in its first full-fledged run through Sunday at Berwyn’s nascent 16th Street Theater (6420 16th St., Berwyn; 708-795-6704). Remaining showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday the 15th, 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday the 16th, and 6 p.m. Sunday the 17th; tickets are $16.

Also making the move from page to stage—or, in this case, staged reading: Lady into Fox, an adaptation of David Garnett’s absurdist novel (in which, yes, a lady turns into a fox) by the local tour-de-force writer Joe Meno (Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails). The reading, presented by the local theatre troupe Greasy Joan and Co., begins at 2 p.m. Sunday the 17th at The Book Cellar (4736 N. Lincoln Ave.). Admission is free; call 312-458-0718 for reservations.

Best Bets for Things to Do This Week

See
If the drama leading up to November’s election has turned into so much white noise, revisiting the scandals of another era might help shake things up. Nixon’s Nixon, the multi-Jeff-nominated production from Writers’ Theatre (644 Vernon Ave., Glencoe; 847-242-9730), returns Tuesday the 19th with its original and highly lauded leads, William Brown and Larry Yando, and director, Michael Halberstam. The show reimagines a meeting between Kissinger and Nixon on the eve of the latter’s resignation. Although the show runs through October 19th, tickets, $60 to $75, are going fast. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Hear
Speaking of hot seats, film-composer extraordinaire John Williams’s two-night run with Yo-Yo Ma at the CSO is sold out, but tickets are still available for a weekend concert by songwriter Chip Taylor, whose melodies are just as recognizable. Who’s Chip Taylor, you ask? Think "Wild Thing," "Angel of the Morning," and countless other songs recorded by everyone from Janis Joplin to Waylon Jennings. The concert takes place 8 p.m. Saturday the 16th at Old Town School of Folk Music (4544 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-728-6000). Tickets are $20.

Vogue
And for her next self-reinvention: AARP spokeswoman? Believe it or not, the Material Girl hits the half-century mark this weekend—albeit with a bod most women half her age would covet. The divas at Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club (3700 N. Halsted St.; 773-525-1111) are celebrating with drink specials and screenings of Madonna movies and videos from 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday the 15th. Reservations are recommended. Bonus: Two guests will win tickets to Madge’s October 27th show at the United Center. Or, for live entertainment with a dollop of sass, catch Cabaret for Life, featuring some 20 performers, 7 p.m. Thursday the 21st at 3160 (3160 N. Clark St.; 773-327-5969). The show benefits one local’s participation in the Chicago and National AIDS Marathons.

Watch
And just a gentle reminder that the Chicago Dancing Festival—featuring some of the nation’s top modern dance chops and curated by some of Chicago’s own—runs Monday the 18th through Wednesday the 20th at venues downtown. And it’s free. Need we say more? Monday’s 20th Century Masters performance at the Harris Theater is officially sold out (call 312-334-7777 to find out how to get on the standby list), but no advance tickets are required for A Celebration of American Dance, featuring the local talent of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Joffrey, and Muntu Dance Theatre, among others, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday the 20th in Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion (Michigan Avenue and Randolph Drive). Visit chicagodancingfestival.com for more information.