Time Is So Outdated
Time and space? Bah, humbug. Teatime at Golgotha isn’t inhibited by such pesky constraints. A mixture of three intertwining, century-spanning stories inspired by Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan, Edgar Allen Poe’s Al Aaraaf, and the 22nd Psalm, Teatime covers the death of the star chart­–pioneer Tycho Brahe, the crucifixion of Christ, and the killing of a modern-day dog. Co-produced by Prop Thtr and Found Objects Thtr, Teatime is part of the New Play 2007 Festival, which, in past years, has launched such successful works as Hizzoner, the long-running play about the first Mayor Daley. The show opens Friday the 13th at Prop Thtr (3502 N. Elston Ave.) and plays 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through August 11th. Tickets are $15; call 773-539-7838.

You think you’ve been on some interminable dates? In Overnight Lows, an imaginative new play from Chicago contributor Mark Guarino for Walkabout Theater, a couple launches into one long date; they’re kept in limbo by their fears and insecurities while the world continues around them-until they come to terms regarding the future of their relationship, and morning dawns. Staged in The Hideout (1354 W. Wabansia Ave.; 312-458-0566), the play opens Monday the 16th, and runs 7 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays through August 14th. Tickets are $10; reservations recommended.

Best Bets for Things to Do This Week

Listen
• Seems no event wants to be constrained by rules this week. Series A dedicates a night to experimental writing, 7 p.m. Tuesday the 17th at the Hyde Park Art Center (5020 S. Cornell Ave.; 773-324-5520). Eckhard Gerdes, fiction writer and editor of The Journal of Experimental Fiction, reads from his work, and poet Jennifer Karmin performs her “text-sound” composition Aaaaaaaaaaalice. Admission is free.

• Pitchfork Music Festival is sold out, but you can still satisfy your live-music jones at the 10th annual Chicago Folk and Roots Festival. The fest runs noon to 9:30 p.m. Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th in Welles Park (4400 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-728-6000) with back-to-back music. Highlights include alt-country group The Knitters Saturday at 8:15 p.m., and Sunday tributes to Woody Guthrie (1:30 p.m.), the Grateful Dead (4:30 p.m.), and the Beatles (6 p.m.). Dance and workshop tents help fest goers learn the basics of salsa and jazz, and the gazebo offers a spot where anyone can stop by and jam. Tickets are $3 to $7.

• Also this weekend: The Irish American Heritage Festival runs Friday the 13th through Sunday the 15th, featuring music on four stages, Irish dancing, a potato-eating contest, and readings by author Malachy McCourt. Friday performances start at 6 p.m. (the band The Tossers takes the stage at 9 p.m.); Saturday starts at noon (Malachy McCourt reads at 6:30 p.m., and Black 47 performs at 9 p.m.); Sunday kicks off at noon with another McCourt reading, followed by Irish dance lessons and traditional music. All events take place at the Irish American Heritage Center (4626 N. Knox; 773-282-7035, ext. 10). Tickets run $7 to $12.

See
• Anyone whose pleasant stroll along Michigan Avenue has been hijacked by the phalanxes of families armed with American Girl bags will love this one. The Refugee Girls Revue, a musical parody of the American Girl dolls, depicts the story of two new dolls who join the crew: Rita and Katrina. The show runs 10:30 p.m. Saturdays through August 11th at Apollo Theater (2540 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-935-6100). Tickets are $10 to $20.

• This is the perfect opportunity to check out NPR’s frequently sold-out quiz show Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me without having to plan ahead for tickets. Host Peter Sagal, scorekeeper Carl Kasell, and the week’s panelists tape the show live at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park (100 N. Michigan Ave.) Thursday the 19th at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are free. Call 312-742-1168 for more information.

Bike
• When they say “L.A.T.E.,” they mean late. The 25-mile annual L.A.T.E. Ride (Long After Twilight Ends) starts at Buckingham Fountain (500 S. Lake Shore Drive) and cycles through Greektown, River North, West Loop, and Lincoln Park before concluding with a lakefront cruise back to Buckingham Fountain for breakfast. Sign-in begins at midnight Sunday the 15th (a.k.a. Saturday night), and the ride ends at 6 a.m. Sunday morning. With live music, and best-lit bike and best-decorated helmet contests. Diehards be warned: This is a leisurely ride, not a race. Sign up at lateride.org or call 773-918-7433 for more information. Registration runs $35 to $40.

PLEASE NOTE: Events may be postponed or simply canceled. Please call ahead to make sure they are still scheduled to take place. Send tips or comments to marquee@chicagomag.com.