Chicago Magazine - 09.2019

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PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY OF LAWRENCE & CLARK

124 CHICAGO | SEPTEMBER 2019

gourmet chili cook-off involving chefs like Fat
Rice’s Abe Conlon and Mi Tocaya Antojería’s
Diana Dávila.
Details Various locations. $40–$2,015.

chicagogourmet.org

SEPT. 25–DEC. 15 | THEATER

A Doll’s House
QHenrik Ibsen’s protofeminist drama gets

a new look on the North Shore. Playwright
Sandra Delgado (La Havana Madrid) and
Writers Theatre artistic director Michael
Halberstam streamline their adaptation to a

single act; director Lavina Jadhwani’s cast is
led by Cher Álvarez as Nora.
Details Glencoe. Writers Theatre. $35–$80.

writerstheatre.org

SEPT. 27–29 | FESTIVAL

Oktoberfest
QThis celebration of polka music, bratwurst,
and lager is as good an opportunity as any to

pull your lederhosen out of the closet. Kids can
enjoy face painting and story time at Kinderfest,
while adults get a taste of Bavarian culture at

Craft Beer Night.
Details Lake View. St. Alphonsus Church.
$5–$10. oktoberfestchicago.org

SEPT. 28 | COMEDY

Amanda Seales

QFresh off hosting Bring the Funny, NBC’s
comedy competition show, and debuting
her first HBO special, I Be Knowin’ (only t he

network’s second to star a black woman), the
comedian and cultural critic embarks on her
Smart, Black, and Funny tour, in which she

offers a corrective to the country’s white-

centric historical narratives.

Details Loop. Chicago Theatre. 8 p.m.

$30–$100. ticketmaster.com

SEPT. 28 | ART

OI Centennial Public Celebration

The Oriental Institute has one of the largest

collections of Middle Eastern artifacts in the

world, and in honor of its 100th birthday, the

museum is pulling its most prized items out

of storage. At this kickoff event, the OI will

unveil its yearslong renovation, as well as

commissioned new works by an impressive

roster of artists, including local star Michael

Rakowitz and Syrian-born Mohamad Hafez.

Details Hyde Park. Oriental Institute, University

of Chicago. 1 p.m. $5–$10 suggested donation.

oi.uchicago.edu

SEPT. 28 | DANCE

Then a Cunning Voice and a Night

We Spend Gazing at Stars

QNative Yup’ik Alaskan Emily Johnson’s

unique camping-dance hybrids include a

stargazing sleepover in Calumet Park — and yes,

it’s really all night. This interactive communal

gathering also incorporates dance, poetry,

music, shared meals (by “food futurist” Jen

Rae), and storytelling.

Details East Side. Calumet Cultural Center.

5 p.m. $1–$125. dance.colum.edu

SEPT. 28–OCT. 27 | OPERA

The Barber of Seville

QThe matchless Lawrence Brownlee is down

to play the Count who tries to gallantly and

stealthily woo the young Rosina away from her

guardian, who intends to marry her when she

comes of age. And the limber Adam Plachetka

does Figaro, only a few years after Lyric’s 2015

opener, when he portrayed the other Figaro (as

in The Marriage of).

Details Loop. Lyric Opera House. $39–$299.

lyricopera.org

SEPT. 29 | COMEDY

Eric Andre: Legalize

Everything Tour

QHe may have voiced Azizi in the new The

Lion King, but his comedy rarely is family

friendly. On Andre’s mock talk show on

Adult Swim, he maniacally destroys his desk

(approximately 20 in the first season alone),

participates in provocative faux-hidden-

c a mer a e x per i ment s, a nd e ven cea ses to bat he

until production is complete. Ads for this tour

say Andre will “bring his surreal comedy with

him,” but that shorthand can’t fully convey his

anything-goes approach to getting laughs.

Details Loop. Chicago Theatre. 7 p.m. $35–$199.

ticketmaster.com

SEPT. 30 | FOLK

Weyes Blood

QThere’s a good deal of doom in Titanic Rising,

the latest album from songwriter Natalie

Mering: missed connections, late-capitalist

burnout, climate-induced global apocalypse.

But none of this sounds all that bad in Mering’s

smoky melodies — a little bit Joni Mitchell, a

little bit Kate Bush — which channel glimmers

of hope through pristine chamber pop.

Details Pilsen. Thalia Hall. 8:30 p.m. $20.

eventbrite.com C

Elfin Expo

We’re in a mini moment, one filled with tiny homes and wrist-

fitting phones. Now it’s reached fine art. At Barely Fair, which

runs September 20 to October 20 at East Garfield Park’s

Julius Caesar, gallerists hailing from Milwaukee to Malta will

show only works that fit in booths a little larger than a shoe-

box. Here, Julius Caesar codirector Roland Miller explains.

— CL AIRE VOON

QWhy a scaled-down show?

It’s a creative solution to hosting a fair, since younger artists who

are not financially well off struggle to put on large exhibitions.

When you make the galleries literally miniature, you’re really

lowering the overhead. It costs $25 for a mini booth. We are also

pointing at how art fairs are commercial spectacles.

QWhat’s the tiniest work of art?

Lawrence & Clark is showing matchbooks by Barbara

Kruger that have prints on them. In this context, they’re

massive paintings.

QBarely Fair opens the same weekend as Expo Chicago. Why

should people make time to see your show?

It’s hard to do anything fun and lighthearted at something like

Expo because of the amount of money involved for galleries and

artists. The work here will be way more interesting.

Lawrence & Clark’s booth at Barely Fair

THREE QUESTIONS