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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.
773-878-4255Abraham Lincoln: The secrets of American history unraveled
Tue., Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m.Literary Events
A poetry reading that examines the myth of our 16th president.
Accidental Death of an Anarchist
Through 3/2: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, Mon 8 PMTheater & Performance
Inspired by the death of Italian activist Giuseppe Pinelli while in police custody, Dario Fo's 1970, commedia-tinged farce should be a hysterical horror. It's set in a Milan police station where we meet the wily Maniac, who's been pulled in for questioning about his impersonations of important figures. When the Maniac learns that he's in the very room from which an anarchist bombing suspect fell four floors to his death, he poses as a judge charged with investigating the death and ends up exposing appalling police corruption. Director Brad Fuchsen stages the play as an expressionist nightmare--an approach that might give it a fitting gravitas. But his stylistic overhaul results in the loss of nearly all internal logic. This Oracle Productions show generates more confusion than outrage. --Justin Hayford
Action Bronson, Calez, Alex Wiley, Impala Sound Champions
Sun., Jan. 27, 6 p.m.Hip-Hop
Queens rapper and former chef Action Bronson spent most of last year supporting Blue Chips, a Reebok-sponsored mixtape cut with Brooklyn producer Party Supplies. It was one of the most celebrated rap releases of 2012—the Reader’s Miles Raymer praised its boldly sloppy subversion of NYC hip-hop—and a wave of year-end best-of roundups that mentioned it began right around the same time Bronson released the Alchemist-produced mixtape Rare Chandeliers (Vice/Warner). Though Rare Chandeliers doesn’t have the rule-breaking, free-for-all aesthetic that helped make Blue Chips a hit, Bronson preserves the playful energy he demonstrated on the earlier recording, delivering lines about his lothario-foodie lifestyle with a just-blazed attitude that smooths out his rough, sometimes piercingly nasal voice. Alchemist’s beats recall 70s exploitation-film soundtracks, their dramatic horn melodies, burning guitar solos, and buoyant bass lines bolstering Bronson’s outsize rebel-without-a-cause character—together they’re as much fun as a midnight screening of a grindhouse flick with a half dozen rowdy friends. —Leor Galil Calez, Alex Wiley, and Impala Sound Champions open.
$22, $20 in advance, $40 VIP tickets
Admission: One Shilling
Tue., Jan. 29, 7 p.m.Theater & Performance
Attention, Downton Abbey fans, Mrs. Patmore herself, actress Lesley Nicol, appears in Admission: One Shilling. The one-night-only theatrical event "tells the extraordinary story of Myra Hess and her famous World War II National Gallery concerts." Accompanied by pianist Inna Faliks, Nicol will add to the already lengthy Hess legend—Chicago continues to honor the British pianist with the weekly Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, every Wednesday at the Chicago Cultural Center. The event is free, but tickets must be bought in advance; see website for details.
The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs
Through 2/9: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 5 and 8 PMTheater & Performance
Mike Daisey performed a version of this monologue on NPR's This American Life last January, representing it as honest reporting about working conditions in Apple's Chinese supply chain. It wasn't, and TAL subsequently devoted an entire episode to correcting Daisey's fabrications. Here, Lance Baker directs and performs Daisey's "ethically made" revision, pleading in his director's note that we separate it from the scandal. If only that were possible. Staged with a witty, precise touch, the new Agony is a riveting tale about an important issue. But it doesn't come clean about the controversy, explain what makes the revision "ethical," or even remove all of the disputed scenes. Daisey should just give in and call it a fiction based on fact. —Keith Griffith $18
Aktar Aktar, Killer Moon, Gold Web, Kevin Daniels, Umbra & the Volcan Siege, Fatbook
Fri., Jan. 25, 8:30 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
Al Scorch's Winter Slumber
Sun., Jan. 27, 2 p.m.Folk & Country
Local folk hero Al Scorch assembles some of the city's best instrumentalist for a musical revue that promises "alternate instruments and room for improvisation."
The Aliens
Through 3/3: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PMTheater & Performance
Two slacker friends spend their days in a coffee shop discussing art and philosophy. $25-$30
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