08/31/07

Summer Saver

This Means War
Irish playwright and novelist Roddy Doyle (The Commitments) is hugely famous in his native land—but if there’s one thing that rivals his popularity among his countrymen, it’s pub trivia. Doyle takes on the game, and 16 working-class characters devoted to it, in the comedy War. The play, in a production by Seanchai Theatre Company, makes its U.S. début Friday, August 31st at 7:30 p.m., with shows continuing 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, through October 7th, at Storefront Theater (66 E. Randolph; 312-742-8497). Tickets run $15 to $20.

Best Bets for Things to Do This Week

Scrimp
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08/24/07

Thrill of the Chase

Let the Games Begin
Bust out the comfy sneakers—and maybe a little bravado. City Chase, an urban adventure race that’s hugely popular in Australia, Canada, and Europe, comes to Chicago Saturday the 25th. Teams of two compete in challenges throughout the city, with tasks ranging from an obstacle course to hugging a stranger. “People should expect to get wet, expect to get dirty, expect to get off the ground, expect to eat gross things, and [expect] some kind of nudity,” says Jason Erkes, president of Chicago Sport & Social Club, which helped bring the event to Chicago.

Participants take off with a clue sheet and a CTA pass; GPS units and cell phones are optional. The five-hour race is “intended to push people’s...

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08/17/07

Marquee: Everybody Cut Footloose

Dancing with the All-Stars
Think of it as the Pro Bowl of Chicago dance—with extra calf muscle and a better cause. A selection of the city’s top troupes team up for the 16th annual Dance for Life benefiting HIV/AIDS organizations. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, River North Chicago Dance Company, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, BAM!, and Luna Negra Dance present styles from ballet to contemporary, with WGN’s Dean Richards emceeing. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday the 18th at the Harris Theater (205 E. Randolph Dr.; 312-922-5812). Tickets range from $75 to $150, with the high end including a buffet at 5 p.m.

Don’t know first position from fifth?...

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08/10/07

Marquee: Pop Goes the Weekend

Survival of the Hippest
Call it the power of Paris: Not even the Harvard set can resist the allure of pop culture lately. At least, that's the case with Henry Tollman, the protagonist of the play Evolution, a social satire on the glitz of fame. Tollman is a Darwinian scholar whose ivory-tower upbringing leaves him ignorant of the mainstream. But when his thesis hits a snag, he abandons the Ivy League for Hollywood, pursuing a career in television instead of academia. The play, which integrates video projections and a pop soundtrack, runs Thursdays through Sundays through September 16th at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater (2257 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-871-3000). Tickets are $16.

And...

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08/03/07

Yada, Yada, Yada

From a Show About Nothing to a Show About Everything
Carol Leifer has a pretty cool claim to fame. The Emmy-nominated comedy writer and producer was the inspiration for the character Elaine Benes on a little show you may have heard of called Seinfeld. Leifer's years in TV with Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show were preceded by stand-up, and she returns to her roots for her new one-woman show, When You Lie About Your Age, the Terrorists Win, also the title of her forthcoming book. Subject matter includes aging as a Baby Boomer, the tragedy of her father's death, and adopting a baby at 50. Leifer performs 8 p.m. Saturday the 4th at Lakeshore Theater (3175 N. Broadway;...

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