Events Search – Closing (Theater and Galleries)
From the Rooftops
Through 1/24:Galleries
Screenprints by Ethan D'Ercole, who's created album covers for White Rabbits and Brendan Benson. Reception Fri 12/14, 6-9 PM.
Boobs of the Dead: A Walking Dead Burlesque
Through 1/25: Fri 9 PMTheater & Performance
When I told my wife (and yes, I told my wife) that I was going to see a zombie-themed strip show called Boobs of the Dead, she made a face and laid out a picture for me of gray, rotting dugs without so much as a hint of perk. Well, that's not how it turned out. This parody of the Walking Dead franchise features eight remarkably healthy-looking infectees. In fact, as a lab-coated scientist points out, the zombifying process actually makes them sexier, magically clothing them in bustiers and fishnet stockings. Even a bearded old codger gets transformed. Gorilla Tango burlesques are always smart and playful, but this edition shows a developing sophistication. The dancers are more confident, Erica Reid's choreography is more resourceful (starting with an awfully sexy reverse strip and culminating in a full-out production number), and, um, standout performances are getting more common. Paly Flames, in particular, does some honest-to-god show-stealing here. —Tony Adler $35
Greetings from the Holy City
Through 1/25:Galleries
New photographs by Jason Reblando, documenting the contemporary residents who call North Lawndale home.
Nuances of Landscape
Through 1/25:Galleries
Chicago painters Mary Porterfield and Nina Weiss present new work . Reception Thu 12/6, 5-8 PM.
1600 E. Golf Rd.
Suburbs Northwest
847-635-2633Tapman: Origin
Through 1/25: Fri 7:30 PMTheater & Performance
Tapman Productions' debut musical has humor, charm, and lots of fabulous tap dancing. But, as directed and choreographed by Tristan Bruns, it comes up seriously short on storytelling. A sketchy script full of throwaway lines buries the plot points. All I know for sure is that superhero (or maybe bad guy) Tapman alternately clashes and bonds with his mighty frenemy, the MADD Tapper—and that Tapman's girlfriend should be crucial but isn't. Music director Kyle Greer supplies some expert songs and piano playing, while, as Tapman, Bruns reveals a decent voice and a knack for sand-dancing. Guest artists from the Cartier Collective and M.A.D.D. Rhythms troupes flesh out the show, if not the narrative, and Zada Cheeks's MADD Tapper joins Bruns in a truly super superhero battle. —Laura Molzahn $15
Gyroscopic: Cubist Drawings and Late Paintings
Through 1/26:Galleries
A retrospective of works by Richard Koppe, the noted painter and student of Moholy-Nagy's New Bauhaus. Reception Fri 11/30: 5-8 PM.
Miami Nice: A Golden Girls Musical
Through 1/26: Fri-Sat 7:30 PMTheater & Performance
The popular sitcom is reimagined as a satirical crime drama in which the titular girls are actually drug dealers. $15
Rememberer
Through 1/26:Galleries
New digital prints and works on paper by local artist Ewa Bloch. Reception Fri 12/14, 6-8 PM.
10th Anniversary Exhibition
Through 1/26:Galleries
Ten years' worth of notable pieces displayed by the Russell Bowman Art Advisory, including work by Andy Warhol, Kiki Smith, and Jim Nutt.
The 8th Annual Emerging Artist Exhibitions
Through Jan. 27Galleries
Group show featuring notable up-and-comers from the Chicagoland area. Reception Fri 1/11, 6-10 PM.
Focus: Hito Steyerl
Through 1/27:Galleries
A retrospective of Steyerl's various video work and media installations.
Juried UIMA Member Exhibit
Through 1/27:Galleries
Group show featuring work by members of the museum. Reception Fri 12/1, 6-9 PM.
2320 W. Chicago Ave.
Ukrainian Village/East Village
773-227-5522A Painting Show in Two Parts: Part II
Through 1/27:Galleries
The second installment of paintings by Paul Bloodgood and Michael Byron. Reception 12/16, 4-6 PM.
Purple Heart
Through 1/27: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PMTheater & Performance
Bruce Norris's 2002 play unfolds in 1972, in the nondescript home of Carla, a desperately unhappy alcoholic whose husband was killed while serving in Vietnam. She shares the place with her morbid teenage son and unflappable mother-in-law. One day Carla meets and starts to fall for Purdy, a disabled Vietnam vet with a misanthropic streak. Purdy apparently shares that last quality with the playwright, who undertakes Carla's undoing with relish, throwing in several gross-out scenes involving blood, vomit, and a prosthetic hand. The whole thing feels contrived and mean. Director Jimmy McDermott handles the grisly stuff clumsily, the cast fail to find the right rhythm for Norris's snappy dialogue, and KC Karen Hill's Carla is bratty and not much else. --Zac Thompson $25-$35
Young Playwrights Festival
Through 1/27: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PMTheater & Performance
Pegasus Players's 26th annual showcase for local teenage playwrights comprises four one-acts selected from hundreds of submissions. The Queen and Her Cliquedom by Stephanie Chavez is a charming comedy about two teens defying their school's rigid social hierarchy. In Willa Sachs's Pinwheels, a soldier struggles to readjust to civilian life after returning from Iraq. The employees of a grocery store are stranded on a roof in Liza Farler's surreal The Flood. And a surly convenience store clerk falls for one of the oldest con games in the book in Daniel Swanson-Nystrom's Quick and Go. In video segments that introduce each piece, the authors say they'd never thought of writing a play until this opportunity came along. Here's hoping they keep at it. —Zac Thompson $15-$25
