Things to do in Chicago today
The day's best things to do in Chicago—including free and cheap activities, concerts, screenings, shows, parties and more. It's your social emergency savior.
Looking for something to do this evening? Have a friend coming into town who wants to see the sights? You're in luck, because Chicago is a city filled with attractions and things to do (including some that cost absolutely nothing). Seize the moment with our list of today's best concerts, shows, activities and more.
Distance
Gradually losing one’s wits to Alzheimer’s is somber business. Ask anyone who’s had to witness—and care for—a parent whose mind has withered away. In Jerre Dye’s Distance, receiving its world premiere by Strawdog Theatre Company at the Factory Theater, Irene’s descent into mental exile could have led to a melodrama on the fragility of aging, the loss of identity and the rancor of family life. But as staged by director Erica Weiss, Dye’s searing, lyrical exposition is in turn infused with folksy charm and a rollicking comedy, elements that keep the subject matter engaging. As portrayed by actor Janice O’Neill, Irene’s Alzheimer’s takes a stark turn for the worse early on, and as she becomes more disoriented, she transitions between episodes of anger and moments of vulnerability. In an early scene, she takes comfort in the familiarity of a light bulb as she struggles with symptoms of confusion; hidden behind her blank stares and recurrent poetic soliloquies she expresses anguish about life’s ephemerality. Caring for her are her daughter, Luvie (Anita Deely); her nurse, Dolly (Loretta Rezos); Dolly’s son, Dylan (Caleb Fullen); and her hairdresser, Leonard (Stephen Rader). As Irene’s mind diverges more from herself, the superb ensemble assumes more prominence throughout the show, building closer relationships with one another and connecting through humor. There’s much to applaud in Dye’s dramatization. He artfully constructs dialogue that articulates the rising tension as Irene
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Reeling Film Festival
The festival will screen nearly 40 features and over 60 short films from home and abroad and is proud to include many Chicago premieres. Features and a full lineup of screenings will be available mid-August.
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"Parsons & Charlesworth: Spectacular Vernacular"
British husband and wife design duo Tim Parsons and Jessica Charlesworth team up to present their first major exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center. "Spectacular Vernacular" is an exploration of how objects are designed and the ways in which they can be employed to confront issues ranging from global warming to the pursuit of happiness. Divided into three distinct sections, the exhibit collects objects designed by the duo, comprised of repurposed everyday items sourced from all around the world.
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Fool Me Twice, Déjà Vu
By intermission of the Second City’s 104th mainstage revue, it seemed like a lot of the company’s recent flagship shows: a mostly strong collection of unrelated sketches—some with razor-sharp fangs, others a little gummier—that made a decent showcase for returning cast members Chelsea Devantez, Paul Jurewicz and Daniel Strauss to mesh with mainstage newcomers Rashawn Nadine Scott, Sarah Shook and Jamison Webb. But the bits about family relationships, modern technology and some nicely ballsy topical commentary would come without any apparent throughline or theme. But as the second act got underway, it became clear that director Ryan Bernier and his cast had pulled one over on me. The show’s concept is right there in the title, and it pushes Fool Me Twice, Déjà Vu into the ranks of Second City’s strongest revues of recent years. Most of the first set’s sketches—including a so-so opener about office workers in 1990 who seem to know all too much about the future; a delightfully over-the-top scene among the women about hyper-competitive übermoms; and an inventive bit about a Schaumburg mom (Devantez) who secretly moonlights as a stand-up comic—get revisited from new angles after the break. That kind of déjà vu might appear to have danger written all over it: You’re going to reprise the same jokes we just saw? But Bernier and company are cannier than that—these aren’t rinse-and-repeat takes. In some cases, the two versions might be different takes on a physical-comedy pairing t
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Naperville
Playwright Mat Smart grew up in Naperville, Illinois, and he wrings a surprising amount of metaphor out of the western suburb’s history in this charming 2014 piece, set entirely in a Caribou Coffee shop there. The patrons include Anne (Abby Pierce), flailing from the collapse of her marriage and desperately seeking to create something meaningful; Candice (Laura T. Fisher), a Caribou regular newly blinded by a home accident and being tended to by her son Howard (Mike Tepeli), who turns out to have been a high school classmate of Anne’s; and Roy (Charlie Strater), an obsequious oddball whose friendliness toward Candice raises Howard’s hackles. The quirks of Smart’s characters and contrivances of his plot can feel overly diagrammed if you look at them too closely, but in Theater Wit’s Chicago premiere, a warm and carefully attuned cast (which also includes Andrew Jessop as the nervous new store manager) achieve a balanced brew. I found myself reminded of Griffin Theatre’s 2015 production of Samuel D. Hunter’s Pocatello, another ensemble portrait of an accidental community in a very precisely rendered small-town space; not coincidentally, Joe Schermoly designed both that show’s quasi–Olive Garden and Naperville’s on-the-money Caribou, which holds a few surprises. For all its writerly mannerisms, Smart’s play is a loving appreciation of an underappreciated place to call home. Theater Wit. By Mat Smart. Directed by Jeremy Wechsler. With ensemble cast. Running time: 1hr 35mins; no
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Wonderful Town
Worry not for the Sherwood sisters of Columbus, Ohio. Newly arrived in New York City, their early misadventures form the basis of this sweet (and occasionally sardonic) 1953 musical love letter to a town that was probably never so wonderful as it’s depicted here. Ruth (Bri Sudia) and Eileen (Lauren Molina) may hit a few speed bumps and potholes on “Christopher Street,” but Leonard Bernstein’s evocative score, Betty Comden and Adolph Green’s snappy lyrics and book writers Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov’s brisk banter practically telegraph a happy ending from the opening number. Mary Zimmerman’s new revival at the Goodman amps up that effect in its visuals, with sunrise-bright lighting by TJ Gerckens, jewel-toned costumes by Ana Kuzmanic and a shifting 2-D skyline by scenic designer Todd Rosenthal that reminded me of a Chris Ware cartoon (but is actually based on an illustration by Steven Duncan). Rosenthal and Zimmerman have a few whimsical surprises up their sleeves, too, though they’re oddly confined to the scenic transitions; you might wish to see a bit more of that inventiveness applied to the scenes themselves. Music director Doug Peck brings an 18-piece orchestra beautifully to bear on Bernstein’s highly eclectic score, which includes pastiche takes on conga, ragtime, Irish love ballads and hep-cat swing, among other moods. And the cast is, well, pretty wonderful; the supporting roles are for the most part underwritten, but a number of actors give their all to fi
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Mia Madre
There’s never a good time to lose a parent, but Nanni Moretti has transformed the toxic experience of shooting We Have a Pope (2011) during his mom's terminal illness into material for this potent serio-comic examination of facing up to the inevitable. Actor Margherita Buy excels as the noted socially-conscious filmmaker having a nightmare on her latest production with a clearly unhinged American lead (John Turturro, in full-on batshit mode). But her simmering frustration is merely an echo of the larger picture, where—unlike her calm and comforting sibling (Moretti, effectively subdued)—her innate control-freakery prevents her accepting the reality of her mother’s imminent passing. The blend of on-set comedy and private anxiety seems discordantly counterproductive at times, yet the laughter allows some light into the proceedings, building to an indictment of Buy’s flailing life skills. The saturation of Arvo Pärt instant-melancholia on the soundtrack feels a bit too pushy, but otherwise this is a confidently controlled, accessible yet piercing look at the insidiousness of grief. It's Moretti at his best.
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"Parsons & Charlesworth: Spectacular Vernacular"
British husband and wife design duo Tim Parsons and Jessica Charlesworth team up to present their first major exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center. "Spectacular Vernacular" is an exploration of how objects are designed and the ways in which they can be employed to confront issues ranging from global warming to the pursuit of happiness. Divided into three distinct sections, the exhibit collects objects designed by the duo, comprised of repurposed everyday items sourced from all around the world.
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The Feast
Aristocratic hostess Wendy gets a lot of inspiration from sitting on the toilet. She lives in a post-meat apocalypse in Celine Song’s grippingly voyeuristic—if a bit meandering and sensational—The Feast, where there’s no bacon, steak or chicken fingers. With no meat available, Wendy admits it’s on the john that she veers into hypothetical thoughts of sautéing her own Yorkshire Terrier; even more, it’s there that she ponders the limits of eating a fellow human. This cannibalistic imagery marks a zany and screwball production that kicks off Red Theater’s season-long residency at the Den Theatre. And yet all seems polite even before the production begins: As you enter into the theater, you pass slightly through the set, designed for a posh dinner party at Wendy’s (Alejandra Vivanco) home. (Mike Mroch designed the cavernous dining room.) Classical music plays in the background, and Wendy’s three guests—Sam (Shelby Garrett), Rhett (Carl Wisniewski) and Xander (Henry Greenberg)—are already seated, drinking red wine and beckoning Wendy’s butler (Pavi Proczko) for refills. The show begins and, as conjured by director Gage Wallace, their conventions of human propriety give way to an atavistic take on carnivorous desire, sexual objectification and salivating gluttony while they wait for Wendy’s husband, Francis (Ricky Quintana), to come home to start dinner. Song’s text intersperses impolite dinner conversation (topics include mice euthanasia, brain surgery and an exotic affair) with
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Red Bull Illume
Red Bull brings a traveling exhibition of action sports photography to Wrigley Square in Millennium Park, displaying more than 55 images in a gigantic light boxes. The striking exhibition is free and open to the public each evening, allowing visitors to view illuminated photography collected from all over the world.
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Kubo and the Two Strings
A mature and gorgeous stop-motion–animated film about feudal Japan and a family’s mythical legacy? Summer movies should always be this smart
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Pete's Dragon
Here's a solid remake of Disney's 1977 adventure story about a boy and his pet dragon
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Hell or High Water
The spine of this dusty Texas crime story is well-worn and cracked, but its simple pleasures hold up
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Florence Foster Jenkins
Meryl Streep squawks and warbles through this amusing biopic of a legendarily awful singer
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Sausage Party
Think you're headed for indigestion with this talking-food sex comedy? Healthy toppings go a long way.
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Jason Bourne
Matt Damon returns to his signature role for an undistinguished sequel nobody wanted or needed
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Star Trek Beyond
This one’s for the fans: The sequel hits warp speed with a minimum of complications
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Ghostbusters
Go in with an open heart, and you won’t get slimed: Yesterday’s summer blockbuster is today’s brainiac guilty pleasure
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I'm visiting from San Diego with my husband and found something we will both like to do! Thank you for the informative calendar!
To Hank, Now we know what the A stands for Hank.
Really....you can only tell me one thing to do today, May 16th in Chicago, DOH!!!
Good luck in your future endeavors.