HARRY BEAST: Visitors to Harry Potter: The Exhibition can ogle Buckbeak, the Hippogriff, among other critters.

THE FIVE

Don’t-miss events for Wed 04.29.09 through Tue 05.05.09

1

theatre The Lieutenant of Inishmore*
Nothing good comes of huffing shoe polish. But in this hyperviolent, hilarious dystopia from Martin McDonagh, the writer of In Bruges, such misguided pastimes yield pitch-black, can’t-look-away comedy. Weak stomachs need not apply.
GO: Previews Apr 29–May 6; $20-$50. Regular run thru Jun 7; $25-$55. Northlight Theatre, 9510 Skokie Blvd, Skokie. northlight.org
2

classical La TragÉdie de Carmen
Speaking of gore, when La Tragédie de Carmen, a wholesale reworking of Bizet’s original opera Carmen, premiered in the early ’80s, The New York Times called it a “raw, brutal tale of mutual self-destruction.” Now COT takes its own stab at the postmodern, überabridged update.
GO: May 2-15. $15-$120. Chicago Opera Theater at Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph Dr. chicagooperatheater.org
3

musuems  Harry Potter: The Exhibition*
Wannabe wizards score a chance to drool over some 200 items—yes, including Harry’s original wand and glasses—from the blockbuster films at this MSI premiere.
GO: Apr 30–Sep 27. Admission, $19-$26, during regular
hours includes museum entry; after hours $15-$19. Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S Lake Shore Dr. msichicago.org
4

concerts  Robbie Fulks*
It only sounds ironic: Chicagoan Fulks’s postmodern take on country music is rooted in a deep appreciation of the deceptively weighty genre.
GO: May 2 at 8. $18-$30. SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave, Evanston. evanstonspace.com. May 3 at 7. $16-$20. Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N Lincoln Ave. oldtownschool.org
5

galleries Art Chicago and NEXT
For years Chicago has played host to a world-class spring art fair, and despite the shaky state of the art market, 2009 looks to be no exception (New York’s Armory Show, from the same organizers, went over with a bang in March). Anyone interested in art, collector or not, should make plans around this show.
GO: May 1-4. See Web site for hours. Tickets allow entry into Art Chicago; its edgier sister show, NEXT; and the Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair: $20 per day; $25 four-day pass. Merchandise Mart, 7th and 12th floors, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza. artchicago.com

FREEBIES OF THE WEEK

galleries Graduate Exhibition and Richard Hunt
Don’t have 20 bucks to blow on browsing fine art? Eye the bold and the beautiful for free at two shows on opposite ends of the establishment spectrum. For a sneak preview of the future of local art, hoof it to the School of the Art Institute’s annual Graduate Exhibition, a cacophony of works in every medium by 120-plus master’s students. And over at Weinberg: gallery-scale works by Richard Hunt, the Chicago sculptor who, in 1971, became the first African American subject of a MOMA retrospective and who, in April, received the prestigious 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center.
GO: SAIC: May 1-15. Sullivan Galleries, 7th floor, 33 S State. saic.edu. Hunt: Thru May 30. David Weinberg Gallery, 300 W Superior St, Ste 203. davidweinberggallery.com

*ET CETERA

Gore, more gore, and weak tea: Read an interview (click “behind the scenes”) with Inishmore director B. J. Jones . . . Geek out, study up on the Harry Potter lexicon . . . Find out what “farthinder” means in English, according to the Sweden-visiting, world-touring Fulks

 

PHOTOGRAPH: TM & © WBEI