14 Of Our Favorite Events In Chicago This Week
By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 2, 2015 4:54PM
Jessica Lang Dance performs at Harris Theater on Thursday and Friday. Photo via Harris Theater's facebook.
It's November! There are lots of arts events, benefits and more on tap in the city this week.
MONDAY NOVEMBER 2
OFRENDA CONCERT: Dia de los Muertos continues with a special themed concert from Chicago Sinfonietta. Columbian guest conductor Andres Franco will lead a true Ofrendas dedicated to the Sinfonietta’s founder, Paul Freeman, who passed away earlier this year. The work is a world premiere written by Chicago based composer Elbio Barilari. Concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at Symphony Center. Tickets start at $18.
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3
FILM PREMIERE: The Midwest Independent Film Festival hosts the premiere of ANGUISH at this month’s First Tuesday event. The Chicago-made thriller tells the story of a teen possessed. Director Sonny Mallhi, who is no stranger to the genre (The House At The End of the Street, The Lake House), will appear for a post-screening discussion. Festivities begin at 6 p.m. at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema and the screening is at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 4
BEER + FARM BENEFIT: A local brewery supports a local farm at Craft Drafts For a Cause from 6 to 9 p.m. Growing Home is an urban farming non-profit and tonight they partner up with Greenstar Brewing to benefit their innovative farm-based job training program. The evening at Uncommon Ground’s Greenstar Brewing in Lakeview will include organic beers, raffles and a crash-course on brewing from their brewmaster, Martin Coad. Tickets are $15 and include two beers.
JAMES BEARD BENEFIT: Salero hosts a benefit dinner for the James Beard Foundation at 6:30 p.m. The six-course menu is prepared by Salero’s Chef Ashlee Aubin along with chefs from The Bristol, Longman & Eagle, Embeya and Perennial Virant among others. Tickets are $175 and can be purchased by calling (312) 466-1000.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 5
Stripe Tease by Chris Schlichting. Photo courtesy of DCASE.
LOCAL CONTEMPORARY DANCE: See new works by emerging and established choreographers at the SpinOff Dance Series presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The series opens today and runs through Nov. 21 at Pritzker Pavilion, Storefront Theater and the Chicago Cultural Dance Studio. Admission to all the events is free. Check the SpinOff website for the complete schedule.
HAPPY HOUR ARTS: MIX at SIX, Harris Theater’s alternative to the typical ol’ happy hour, returns with a performance from Jessica Lang Dance. The New York City-based contemporary group will perform a shortened version of their set while signature cocktails and food trucks make up the nosh. 6 p.m. Tickets are $10.
ARTS PARTY: Links Hall is kicking off preparations for their big spring bash, THAW, with a party at Emporium Arcade Bar Logan Square beginning at 6:30 p.m. Links Hall supports and exposes emerging artists and they’ll bring some of those live performances to Emporium tonight. Tickets are $15 and include a drink ticket and game tokens. 21+
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6
BUT I LOVE THIS ARTIST: One of this year’s biggest breakout music acts, The Weeknd, plays the United Center at 7:30 p.m. The Madness Fall Tour takes us through his debut album, Beauty Behind The Madness, that makes everything bad for you sound so good. Banks and Travis Scott also play. Tickets start at $39.50.
LUNCH PARTY: Wired Fridays, the city’s lunchtime electronic DJ event, has it’s monthly date at the Chicago Cultural center at noon. Derrick Carter, coming off a residency at Smart Bar, will provide the beats. Free.
THEATER: Chicago has plenty of horrific murder tales in it’s history, but only one is called the crime of the century. Never The Sinner, which opens tonight at Victory Gardens Theater, follows the courtroom drama that unfolded after the chilling 1924 murder of Bobby Franks by two wealthy college students. The bizarre relationship between the accused—Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb—is at the center of the story. Tickets are $20-$60. The play runs through Dec. 6.
DANCE LEGEND: Twyla Tharp's 50th Anniversary Tour makes its Chicago stop this weekend on the Auditorium Theatre stage. The theatre and Ravinia Festival have co-commissioned two new works from the renowned ballet and modern dance choreographer that will make their Chicago premiere tonight. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday evening, with two more performances scheduled for the weekend. Tickets begin at $33.
DANCE + ARCHITECTURE: Jessica Lang Dance performs a full length program that includes the premiere of Tesseracts of Time tonight at Harris Theater. The new collaboration between choreographer Jessica Lang and architect Steven Holl was commissioned by the Chicago Architecture Biennial and merges the two worlds in four stages: Under, In, On, and Over. 8 p.m. Tickets start at $35.
MONTY PYTHON COMEDIAN: Actor and The Monty Python co-founder John Cleese performs at Athenaeum Theatre in support of his auto-biography, So, Anyway. The famed Brit will take fans on a walk down memory lane with material from the book. 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $55.
ROCK + AUCTION: Foundations of Music hosts the 27th Annual Rock for Kids Auction at Park West beginning with entertainment and a pre-party at 6:30 p.m. The nonprofit provides music education for underserved students in Chicago Public Schools. There will be a a live auction, silent auction and super silent auction with items up for bid ranging from trip packages for two to the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards, to a Foo Fighters Limited Edition Lithograph signed at Wrigley Field. Tickets are $150 per person or $100 per person for guests under 30.