The Five
Don’t-miss picks for Wednesday, August 6 through Tuesday, August 12
1 All Our Tragic
Theatre: Theatrical events don’t get much more ambitious than The Hypocrites’ season opener: a 12-hour marathon (with breaks for meals) of all 32 surviving Greek tragedies by Aeschylus, Euripedes, and Sophocles, adapted and directed by Sean Graney. If you’re worried about your backside turning numb, you can also see the plays divvied up into smaller chunks of time.
8/12–10/5. $30–$75. Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee. the-hypocrites.com
2 Frequency
New Music: Terry Riley’s minimalist fun fest In C, a piece for a “group of about 35 players,” including one the score says is “traditionally a beautiful girl” gets the reprise in the wake of the influential work’s 50th anniversary year. Frequency’s planners set the course for making In C an annual thing.
8/10 at 8:30. $10. Constellation, 3111 N. Western. constellation-chicago.com
3 Bud Billiken Parade
Parades: Expect to see a host of local celebs, the mayor, and several dance and drill teams at the nation’s largest African American parade.
8/9 at 10. Free. Martin Luther King from Oakwood to Washington Park. budbillikenparade.org
4 Northalsted Market Days
Festivals: Singer Mary Lambert and new wave band Neon Trees are among the headliners this year at this sprawling gay-oriented fest.
8/9–8/10. Suggested $10 donation. N. Halsted between Belmont and Addison. northalsted.com
5 Grant Park Music Festival
Classical: The first of two world premieres at this year’s festival, Christopher Theofanidis composed Northern Lights to accompany astronomical photography selected by Jose Francisco Salgado of the Adler Planetarium. The orchestra will also perform Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony and Drip, a riotous piece by the contemporary composer Andrew Norman.
8/8–8/9. Free. Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Michigan and Washington. grantparkmusicfestival.com
What I’m Doing This Weekend
Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals—a.k.a. people we like: Lyra Hill, cartoonist and filmmaker. Brain Frame 19: 3rd Anniversary and Grand Finale takes place on Saturday, August 9.
“Thursday, I’ll be projecting a screening of two historic 16mm films at the Gene Siskel Film Center. They are both made from the perspective of Vice Lords gang members; they came out in 1963 and 1970. The second film, Lord Thing has never been screened in the US; it was pretty controversial.
“Friday, I’ll be preparing for my show, Brain Frame, on Saturday, which is the culmination of three years of hard work. It’s the final event in a series of performative comics readings. There’s a digital projection of the comic and then the artist reads along—sometimes doing voices, maybe wearing costumes or using props. I encourage people to be as weird and ambitious as possible.
“Saturday is our grand finale; we’ll be playing ambient music and releasing our yearbook. And then there will be seven performances and a big party afterwards. I’m really looking forward to it.
“Sunday, I’m going to an event at Constellation. They’re doing a now annual tradition of performing Terry Riley’s piece In C. It’s very polyrhythmic, very hypnotic, and beautiful. My partner and I went last year and it felt like everybody woke up from a dream after the piece was over.” —As told to Tomi Obaro
Freebie of the Week
Chicago Hot Dog Fest
Festivals: The Chicago History Museum celebrates the iconic summertime food with this free festival. Connie’s Pizza, Wishbone, Select Cut Steakhouse, and Greek Delight among others offer samples while local tribute bands provide some background music.
8/9–8/10. Free. Clark and LaSalle. chicagohotdogfest.com