The Five

Don’t-miss picks for Wednesday, March 4 through March 10, 2015

1 Shantala Shivalingappa

Dance: Don’t miss a performance by this renowned Kuchipudi dancer who practices the 2,000-year-old Southern Indian art form with particular expertise.
3/5–3/7. $30. The Columbia Dance Center of Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan. colum.edu/dance-center/performances

2 Two Trains Running

Theater: The civil rights movement provides the backdrop for August Wilson’s Tony-finalist tale of a Pittsburgh diner that’s a longtime neighborhood gathering place for the community.
3/7–4/12. $10–$79. Goodman Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn. goodmantheatre.org

3 Bella Voce Camerata

Classical: Singing one voice per part, this chamber-within-a-chamber choir presents two settings of the Stabat Mater text for Lent.
3/6 at 7:30 and 3/8 at 3:30. $15–$38. 3/6: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 939 Hinman, Evanston. 3/8: St. Clement Church, 642 W. Deming. bellavoce.org

4 The Menzingers

Music: Faced with the absurd task of following up its junior effort, ‘On the Impossible Past’—the best punk release of 2012, if not of the past decade—this quartet from Scranton, Pennsylvania strikes a nice balance of self-interrogation and Springsteeny nostalgia on 2014’s ‘Rented World.’ Taking Back Sunday headlines.
3/6 at 7. $27.50. Riviera Theatre, 4746 N. Racine. etix.com

5 Scaped

Art: This exhibition presents six new large-scale immersive sculptural experiences called “artistic ecosystems” by the show’s curator, MK Meador.
3/5–4/11. Free. A+D Gallery, 619 S. Wabash. colum.edu/adgallery

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: violinist Blaise Magniere. The Avalon Quartet performs at PianoForte Studios on Saturday, March 7.

“Friday night, there’s a fantastic restaurant near where I live called Autre Monde. It’s Mediterranean. I’ll go there for dinner; they have great cocktails and I really recommend their wood-grilled octopus.

“Saturday, I’ll go for dim sum at Lao You Ju and bubble tea at Kung Fu Tea. Then I will be getting ready for our quartet’s performance at the PianoForte Foundation. We’ll be performing a piece by our friend the composer Ethan Wickman. Then we’re adding two of our favorite quartets by Tchaikovsky and Debussy.

“Sunday, I plan on going to Navy Pier with my kids for the Neighborhoods of the World festival. They have folk dance and food and do a good job of capturing the atmosphere of each country. And then I definitely don’t want to miss pianist András Schiff at the CSO at 3. He’s a phenomenal artist. He’ll be playing Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert.” —As told to Tomi Obaro

Freebie of the Week

OpenICE at Constellation: Steve Lehman and Cory Smythe

New Music: Saxophonist Steve Lehman and pianist Cory Smythe pair up for a performance of new music inspired by the work of Alvin Lucier.
3/7 at 8:30. Free. Constellation, 3111 N. Western. constellation-chicago.com