The Five

Don’t-miss picks for Wednesday, April 30 through Tuesday, May 6

1 Snow White

Dance: Partial nudity, acrobatics, and costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier: French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj spares no dramatic effect in his Snow White, which features a challenging pas de deux between a prince and the protagonist Snow. 
5/2 to 5/4. $10–$75. Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph. harristheaterchicago.org

2 Wanda Jackson

Rock: It doesn’t get much better than a good old-fashioned jamboree with the 76-year-old Queen of Rockabilly.
5/3 at 8. $17–$35. SPACE, 1245 Chicago, Evanston. evanstonspace.com

3 Graham Foundation

Design: “Tip the world over and everything loose will land in Los Angeles,” architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said. Inspired by these words, curators at the Graham Foundation mount this L.A.-themed exhibition that focuses on the city’s architecture boom in the 1970s.
5/1–7/26. Free. 4 W. Burton. grahamfoundation.org

4 The White Snake

Theatre: Tony-winning director Mary Zimmerman brings fantastic visuals and ingenious puppetry to an ancient Chinese fable about a serpent who transforms into a beautiful woman.
5/3–6/8. $25–$86. Goodman Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn. goodmantheatre.org

5 Cassandra Wilson

Jazz: Wilson caused a sensation with her 1994 debut, Blue Light ’til Dawn, an unclassifiable hodgepodge of blues, jazz and R&B sung in her signature alto. Wilson performs songs from the album here.
5/4 at 6 and 8:30. $30–$65. SPACE, 1245 Chicago, Evanston. evanstonspace.com

What I’m Doing This Weekend

Julie Rodrigues Widholm
Julie Rodrigues Widholm Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals—a.k.a. people we like: Julie Rodrigues Widholm, curator for the Museum of Contemporary Art.

“Friday we have a preview for the lenders and donors of [Unbound: Contemporary Art After Frida Kahlo]. It opens Saturday, May 3. It’s been amazing for me; it’s a rare opportunity to do Frida Kahlo in a contemporary art exhibition. People have lost sight of the real subversive, powerful effect of her paintings.

“Saturday, in the morning, my children and I will probably walk to Oak Park Bakery. It has amazing fresh donuts. I think it’s been there for fifty years or something. Then there’s this great place in Riverside called Empanadus; they have amazing Argentinean empanadas and alfajores—Argentinian cookies. If the weather’s good, we’ll swing by Brookfield Zoo. If not, we’ll probably do some baking; there’s this blog I love called the Minimalist Baker. She makes vegan gluten-free desserts. Later that night, I’m going to Anthony Pearson’s opening at Shane Campbell Gallery. If I’m not too tired, I’ll see Wanda Jackson at Space.

“Sunday, I want to swing by Terrain Exhibitions; they do exhibitions on the roof and in the front yard.” —As told to Tomi Obaro

Freebie of the Week


Zack Wirsum

Art: Too much is never enough in the canvases of this emerging local painter who leaves no corner untouched and no color unused in his immersive, highly detailed artwork.
5/2 to 6/21. Free. Jean Albano Gallery, 215 W. Superior. jeanalbanogallery.com