Monday, May 12 - Thursday, May 15, 2008

Music  | Movies | Food & Drink | Theater & Performance | Lit | Art | Dance | Reader Blogs | This Week's Issue

Clinic

"I've never understood why so many people complain that all Clinic's records sound the same," writes Miles Raymer. "It's like they think that art-damaged dudes in smocks and surgical masks applying avant-garde perversity and tons of melodica to Nuggets-style garage rock is a formula that could actually be improved upon somehow." They play two shows. Monday, 7 and 10 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $15.

Redbelt

Redbelt, a "sour little 70s-style David Mamet play about the lies, calculations, and ice-cold politics of Hollywood," is a "triumphant return to form" for the playwright and screenwriter, writes J.R. Jones. Multiple venues.

What's New

Whole-hog tapas at Jose Garces's Chicago debut, a Ukrainian cafe just west of the village, and Korean "chicken lollipops" at the newest member of the "hot and saucy" family.

Plus: Our guide to dining in Ukrainian Village and East Village

The Ballad of Emmett Till

Ifa Bayeza's eloquent theatrical pageant The Ballad of Emmett Till employs poetic monologues, preaching, and singing to recount the story of the teen whose 1955 murder galvanized the civil rights movement. "Joseph Anthony Byrd electrifies as Emmett, offering up an impetuous, exuberant motormouth who might've been a preacher if history hadn't made him a martyr," writes Albert Williams. Through 6/1: Wed 7:30 PM, Thu 2 and 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 5/11 and 5/18, 2 and 7:30 PM, Sun 5/25 and 6/1, 2 PM, Tue 5/27, 7:30 PM, Thu 5/8, 7:30 PM only, Sat 5/10, 8 PM only, Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, 312-443-3800, $42-$70.

Joffrey Ballet

The Joffrey Ballet performs Paul Taylor's muscular, arch Cloven Kingdom as part of its "American Moderns" series, along with Twyla Tharp's 1994 Waterbaby Bagatelles and more. Opens Wednesday, 7:30 PM. Through 5/25: Friday, 7:30 PM, Saturday, 2 and 7:30 PM, Sunday 2 PM, Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress, 312-902-1500, $25-$140.

Chip Kidd

Graphic designer Chip Kidd came to fame designing book covers, but emerged as a talented novelist in his own right with his 2001 novel The Cheese Monkeys; his latest, The Learners, follows an art student-turned-ad man who gets involved in Stanley Milgram's notorious obiedience experiments. Wednesday, 7 PM, Quimby's Bookstore, 1854 W. North, 773-342-0910.

Galleries and Museums

Our Galleries & Museums page features works by Roberto Matta, Fred Camper, Julie Sulzen, and others. We also offer the city's most comprehensive listings for galleries, museums, and special events.

Free Shit Free fitness classes and breakfast for helmet-wearing cyclists during Andersonville Bike Week, May 12-18

Clout City The wife of a prominent Plan Commission member organizes a PR event for the Chicago Children's Museum.

Crickets Chicago's independent-promoter ordinance: back from the dead

The Food Chain Steve Rhodes on the New Yorker on Grant Achatz.

Also in the May 8 Reader:

Neighborhood Guide: Ukrainian Village and East Village

A Tale of Two Villages 
Eastern Europeans, Latinos, artists, and aldermen have left their mark on the area real estate agents are calling "the new Lincoln Park."
By Martha Bayne

Bye-Bye Big Dan
Dan Rostenkowski kept the villages under his thumb even after he'd gone off to Congress--and jail. Has his era finally come to an end? By Ben Joravsky

Street Level
Ukrainian Village and East Village bars, restaurants, music, movies, theater, art, lit, recreation and education, volunteering, and shopping and services.

and more

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