The Ten

Don’t-miss picks for March 1 through March 7, 2018

1 Time Is on Our Side

Theater:History, some say, is written by the victors. Not so in this R. Eric Thomas comedy about a pair of Philadelphia podcasters who reinterpret local lore through a queer lens. Their endeavor gets thrown for a loop when one of them finds a family diary that unveils a link to the early fight for LGBTQ rights. Megan Carney directs the Midwest premiere of a story that spans from the Underground Railroad to the pop culture of the present day.
3/1–4/7. $15–$38. About Face Theatre at Theater Wit. aboutfacetheatre.com

2 Beautiful/Night

Auction:Mana Contemporary hosts the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s winter party and art auction, part of the school’s new public fundraising campaign. Up for sale: 30-plus works by SAIC alumni and faculty members, including LaToya Ruby Frazier, Nick Cave, and Sanford Biggers.
3/2 at 7 p.m. $100–$400. Mana Contemporary. sites.saic.edu/beautifulnight

3 Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

Dance:This New Taipei City company’s artistic director Lin Hwai-min has long been considered one of the most influential East Asian choreographers of his generation. Here, Cloud Gate performs his latest piece, Formosa, named for the Taiwanese republic that declared independence from China only to be overrun by Japanese troops five months later. The dance draws on legends and lore from Hwai-min’s home country to blend Eastern and Western movement.
3/2–3 at 7:30 p.m. $15–$65. Harris Theater. colum.edu/dance-center

4 Tyler, the Creator

Hip-Hop:Seven years after this L.A. emcee broke out with his scrappy rap collective, Odd Future, the thorny performer continues to deliver compelling new records. It’s increasingly tough to tell whether some of the musician’s lyrics are a further extension of his signature trolling or a slow, subtle revelation of his private life. (Take his recent single “Flower Boy,” on which the rapper, who once leaned heavily on gay slurs in his lyrics, alludes to his own bisexuality.) Ambiguity aside, his fans remain committed as ever.
3/2–3 at 6:30 p.m. Sold out; see resellers. Aragon Ballroom.

5 Empire

Art:Brooklyn photographers Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber create digital prints imagining a world after human extinction—cities overgrown with foliage; skyscrapers, freeways, food carts, and street signs melting into the natural world.
FREE 3/2–4/28. Catherine Edelman Gallery. edelmangallery.com

6 Gun Ballet: The Aestheticization of Violence in Video Games

Art:This exhibit about violence in video games, in Chicago’s only gallery dedicated to the art form, reveals why blood and gore have been so ubiquitous in entertainment since the 1990s. “It’s an outlet for the pent-up anger and frustration of Generation X,” says the exhibit’s curator, Jonathan Kinkley. The show includes classic games like Mortal Kombat alongside reflective perspectives on game violence by Chicago artists and designers.
FREE 3/2–6/3. Video Game Art Gallery. videogameartgallery.com

7 Keith Haring: The Chicago Mural

Art:Artist Haring came to Chicago in 1989 to paint a mural with 500 public school students. Here, a portion of that work is displayed. Read more here.
FREE 3/3–9/23. Free. Chicago Cultural Center. cityofchicago.org

8 Skeleton Crew

Theater:Dominique Morisseau continues her series of Detroit-set dramas with this story of an auto plant hit by the 2008 recession. The action unfolds in the break room of the floundering business, as four coworkers contend with the prospect of losing their jobs, homes, and dignity.
3/4. $35–$70. Northlight Theatre at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. northlight.org

9 Miguel

R&B:It’s puzzling that Miguel’s War & Leisure failed to catch fire in 2017, a year with few groundbreaking albums. Brimming with cross-genre experimentation and lyrics about fear and paranoia sparked by contemporary politics, War & Leisure is an album lost in conversation with the present. Miguel’s athletic live shows, always a treat, remain just as compelling as his recorded music.
3/5 at 8 p.m. Sold out; see resellers. Riviera Theatre.

10 Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Classical:The University of Chicago’s season-long exploration of the work of Hungarian composer (and Kubrick favorite) György Ligeti concludes with a recital by the 20th-century specialist Aimard, delivering Ligeti’s lickety-split, conceptual etudes for solo piano.
3/6 at 7:30 p.m. $10–$38. Logan Center, University of Chicago. chicagopresents.uchicago.edu