Events Next 30 Days
Third Coast Percussion
Thu., May 23, 8 p.m.Classical
Chicago’s superb Third Coast Percussion, recently named ensemble in residence at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, concludes its concert season with one of its most eclectic, melodic, and forward-looking programs. The centerpiece of the evening is Dmitri Tymoczko’s Röckdöts, whose high-energy, high-volume collision of tuned percussion, piano, and clattery kit drumming borrows the feel of complicated prog rock. Nico Muhly’s gorgeous Pillaging Music, a billowing miniature for piano and tuned percussion, owes a small debt to Steve Reich in terms of timbre, but its fractally blossoming florets of melody carve out their own aesthetic space. Also on the program are Alexandre Lunsqui’s Shi, a workout for scraped, scratched, and frantically rubbed whiskey bottles, grill grates, and chopsticks; new commissions for Chicago composers Ryan Ingebritsen and Marc Mellits; and Mark Applebaum’s Wristwatch Geology, the score of which is inscribed on four wristwatches worn by the four members of the ensemble. —Peter Margasak
$20
773-381-4554JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Yoko & the Oh No's, Ye Ye's, Absolutely Not
Sat., May 25, 9 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
Next Fall
Through 5/25: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 2 PMTheater & Performance
Adam loves Luke. Luke loves Adam. Luke also loves Jesus. Adam worries about which of them Luke loves more. Luke worries about Adam's immortal soul. Next Fall, making its Chicago premiere at AstonRep, looks back on their sometimes prickly five-year relationship. At times, like when the subjects of prayer, sin, and the Rapture come up, it risks becoming a play of ideas, with more speechifying than conversation. Fortunately, Geoffrey Nauffts's script leaves room for ambiguity and gives the characters personalities as well as points of view. The cast give them life and humor—particularly Ryan Hamlin and Mark Jacob Chaitin, who play Adam and Luke, and Lona Livingston and Jim Morley, who play Luke's parents. The result is charming, funny, and, ultimately, moving. —Aimee Levitt $15-20
The Robbers
Through 5/26: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 2 PMTheater & Performance
Friedrich Schiller's first play, from 1781, recalls the Gloucester subplot of King Lear: a charismatic villain steals the inheritance and position of his virtuous brother, and their father realizes too late that he's trusted the wrong son. Schiller turns the bad seed, Francis, into a despotic count, while his wronged sibling, Charles, becomes the morally conflicted leader of a band of thieves. Brad Gunter's modern-dress staging for Strangeloop Theatre has an all-female cast and a let's-play-dress-up framing device that's ill defined and unnecessary. The director's occasional heavy-handedness is redeemed, however, by the show's whiz-bang pacing—even during long speeches on the nature of freedom—and swashbuckling performances, especially Margo Chervony's blazing turn as Francis. —Zac Thompson $10-$15
Flesh: Photographs by Justice Howard
Through May 31Galleries
Photographic prints that celebrate alternative sexuality. Reception Fri 2/1, 7 PM.
The Wide Open
Starts May 23. Thursdays. Continues through June 9Museums: Openings & Receptions
Reception Sat 5/18, 1-4 PM.
The Three Musketeers
Through 7/21: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 4 PMTheater & Performance
Lifeline Theater Mainstage presents a staging of Alexandre Dumas's classic story adventure and love. $40
One Group Mind
Open run: Tue 7:30 PMImprov/Sketch
One Group Mind's showcase team, Tricky Mickey, headlines this improv show. $10
