Events Search – Agenda
Story Club
Open run: Thu 8 PM
773-929-3680Spoken Word/Poetry Slams/Open Mikes
An open mike for storytellers.
Free
Rising Up: Hale Woodruff's Murals at Talladega College
Through June 16Galleries
In 1938, Talladega College commissioned the Harlem Renaissance artist Hale Aspacio Woodruff to paint six murals to hang in a campus library. Three tell the story of the slave ship Amistad: an onboard mutiny, the trial of the captives, and their eventual return to Africa. Three more depict the Underground Railroad; the first day of student registration at Talladega, one of the country's first all-black colleges, in Alabama in 1867; and the building of Savery Library, the eventual home of Woodruff's work, in 1937. Woodruff's vibrant, large-scale murals were influenced by American regionalist style, a Mexican sojourn during which he apprenticed to Diego Rivera, and the cubism he studied in Paris. He returned from France in 1931 to chair the first art department for African-American students at Atlanta University; also in the 30s, Woodruff, who was born in Cairo, Illinois, painted murals for the Works Progress Administration. He went on to teach at Spelman College, Clark University, and at Talladega before joining the art faculty of New York University, where he taught until his retirement. In 2011, Atlanta's High Museum of Art collaborated with Talladega College on an extensive conservation project to prepare the murals for a multicity your, removing them from Savery Library for the first time. At the Chicago Cultural Center they'll hang alongside other, smaller paintings and prints from throughout Woodruff's career. —Janet Potter
LoganSquarist Fundraiser and Raffle
Sat., May 25, 6 p.m.Other Stuff
Enjoy local music, food, and arts vendors. Raffle prizes include gift certificates to Fleur, Chicago Diner, and New Wave Coffee.
I Saw You
Open run: Wed 8 PM,Theater & Performance
Bruised Orange Theater Company's I Saw You is a charming theatrical interpretation of "I Saw You," "Matches," and "X-Matches" listings from the Reader. Performed in bars, each show features a rotating cast of three actors presenting ads published in the past year, the yearnings of their anonymous characters echoing the banter, flirting, and stares of the patrons. The material is naturally funny--"I backed up your toilet something fierce," "Do you like to churn butter?"--but the actors avoid the trap of easy "sexy" voices and imaginatively embellish the text with a wide range of accents and consistently surprising attitudes (shy to monstrous, robotic monotone to smarmy). —Ryan Hubbard
$5
3033
Open run: Sun 10:30 PMImprov/Sketch
A comedy supergroup consisting mainly of former members of People of Earth, 3033 creates some of the liveliest, most consistently solid improv around. Members Andy St. Clair and Alex Fendrich have been highlights of recent Second City E.T.C. shows; Rush Howell, a lawyer by day, is one of the scene's wittiest performers; and Bill Arnett and Danny Mora are personable comedians with off-beat senses of humor. Unlike most troupes at iO, 3033 doesn't stick with the Harold improv format. Instead, they play it loose, letting an audience suggestion and Jason Chin's playful music and light effects steer them. At a recent show the topic of gangs inspired a hilarious 70s-era game show. --Ryan Hubbard
$5
Cascade Drive-In
OngoingIllinois
The drive-in theater is open seven nights a week in the summer, with first-run double features on weekends. Pets and children under 5 are free, and there is a deal of $14 per carload on Tuesdays. See website for showings. $5-$9, $14/carload on Tuesday
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound listening party
Tue., May 21, 6 p.m.In-Stores
Nothing makes you cooler than getting to hear a record as soon it drops, right? Saki hosts a listening party for JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound's spanking-new album, Howl, out on Bloodshot. Not only will the record be spun, but the soul dudes will play some of the album's cuts live. Festivities include a Q&A with WXRT's Marty Lennartz and DJing by Brooks himself.
2013 Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration
Tue., May 21, 12 p.m.Theater & Performance
Celebrate Asian-American Heritage Month with Chinese music, dance and martial arts performances.
Alleys and Ruins
4/18-7/8.Galleries
Photos of urban ruin by Xavier Nuez. Reception Thu 4/18, 6-9 PM.
Irish Fest
Through 5/27: various timesOther Stuff
It's an established fact that the only true Irish in Chicago are the south-side Irish. Celebrate them this weekend at Irish Fest with a wide range of traditional activities: beer drinking, sausage eating, step dancing, music playing, Connemara horse petting, freckle counting, and, of course, Sunday mass. $10-15 daily, $27 four-day pass
Congrats On Your Success
First Thursday of every monthStand-Up
Rebecca O'Neil hosts this BYOB comedy show that features local stand-ups and is, curiously enough, operated out of a used book store.
Randolph Street Market
Sat., May 25, 10 a.m.Other Stuff
Everybody's into Gatsby these days, including the Randolph Street Market, the city's best source for fabulous antiques, which reopens for the season with an old-school garden party. There will be carnival games, a fashion show, and a beer garden. The games and threads are vintage; the beer, fortunately, is not.
