FISTS OF FURY: Summer camp goes commando in the new documentary Win or Lose.

THE FIVE

Don’t-miss events for 05.27.09 through 06.02.09

1

farrago Win or Lose: A Summer Camp Story
Sort of like Lord of the Flies. Only more cutthroat. In this documentary premiere by Glencoe filmmaker Louis Lapat, otherwise well-mannered North Shore youths battle it out for the title of color-wars victor at Camp Ojibwa in Eagle River, Wisconsin. A Q&A with the director and several kids featured in the flick follows both screenings.
GO: May 31 at 11 and 12:15. $10-$12. Highland Park Movie Theater, 445 Central Ave, Highland Park. winorlosemovie.com
2

concerts Unwigged & Unplugged
Even if the volume doesn’t go up to 11, we predict laughs aplenty. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer—the comedians behind the mock metal band Spinal Tap and the faux Folksmen—play an acoustic concert as themselves.
GO: May 30 at 8. $35-$55. Chicago Theatre, 175 N State. ticketmaster.com
3

concerts Do-Division Street Fest & Sidewalk Sale*
One of the first festivals on the summer circuit, Do-Division has the good sense to book good bands, earning the street cred most street fests lack. The local DJ duo Flosstradamus headlines Sat at 8:30, and the indie-rock outfit Menomena closes Sun at 8:30.
GO: May 30, 31: noon-10. $5 donation. Division and Damen. do-divisionstreetfest.com
4

farrago You Oughta Be in Fangs
There will be blood! This creeptastic bash, a fundraiser for the local arts collective Three Walls, reimagines the International Museum of Surgical Science as a 1920s speakeasy-gone-sinister, with mystery, burlesque, and medicine shows; free-flowing booze; and plenty of zombies skulking in the shadows. Costumes encouraged.
GO: May 29 at 8:30; VIP entry at 7:30. $35-$120. 1524 N Lake Shore. three-walls.org
5

theatre Love Person
Can true love conquer all? Suppose, for instance, a translator of Sanskrit poetry falls in love via e-mail with a deaf lesbian posing as someone else. Playwright Aditi Brennan Kapil uses English, Sanskrit, American Sign Language, and projected text to tell a memorable love story tied up in linguistic knots.
GO: Through June 14. $30-$48. Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N Lincoln. victorygardens.org

FREEBIES OF THE WEEK

We’re three-for-three when it comes to Tuesday freebies. First, the cast of the hit musical Million Dollar Quartet—about the singular day in 1956 when Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley convened for a storied recording session—plays a free concert in Millennium Park. For a less roof-raising but equally compelling concert, lend an ear to Mozart’s “Gran Partita,” the opener of this year’s summertime Rush Hour series (Daley dubbed Tuesday “Rush Hour Concerts Day” in the series’ honor). Finally, and this is a biggie, the McArthur fellow and 2008 National Book Award winner Aleksandar Hemon joins slate.com honcho Jacob Weisberg for a free lit chat.*
GO: Million Dollar Quartet: June 2 at 6:30. Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph. milliondollarquartetlive.com. Rush Hour: June 2. Reception at 5:15; concert at 5:45. St James Cathedral, 65 E Huron. rushhour.org. Hemon and Weisberg: June 2 at 6. Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington. Reservations recommended: 312-742-0821

*ET CETERA

Josh “J2K” Young, one half of the hipster-approved DJ duo Flosstradamus, was among Chicago’s top 20 singles of 2008. Who will make our hot list this year? You’ll have to stay tuned for our July issue to find out, but you can get tickets to Summer Lovin’—our annual singles-studded bash at the MCA—now. … For the back story behind Hemon’s award-winning The Lazarus Project, read Geoff Johnson’s compelling The Lost Boy, from the May issue of Chicago.

 

PHOTOGRAPH: Courtesy of Louis Lapat