theatre An Iliad
Consider it Cliffs Notes for the exceptionally literate: Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare compress a decade of battle and thousands of warriors into a 90-minute one-man recounting of Homer’s classic story of slaughter. (How does it feel to be the only guy up there for curtain call? Read our interview with An Iliad’s sole cast member, Timothy Edward Kane, and find out.)
GO: Previews through 11/18; $30–$40. Run continues through 12/11; $40­–$60. Court Theatre, 5535 S Ellis. courttheatre.org

ALSO THIS WEEK: Before there was Rick Perry or Dubya, there was another plain-talking, larger-than-life governor of the Lone Star State, albeit from the other side of the aisle—and she was a she. Whatever your politics, Holland Taylor’s one-woman play about Ann Richards, 11/13–12/4 at Bank of America Theatre, should be fascinating.

jazz John Scofield Quartet, Ravi Coltrane Trio
The jazz-guitar chameleon Scofield touches on everything from straight-ahead bebop to gutbucket blues; here, he’ll likely lean toward his softer side, drawing from his new ballads collection, A Moment’s Peace. Sharing the bill is the saxophonist Coltrane, who returns in the wake of the Chicago Jazz Festival to further prove himself a worthy heir—to both his family name and his storied instrument.
GO: 11/11 at 8. $26–$86. Symphony Center, 220 S Michigan. cso.org

pop Bell X1
Just because the Irish are brooding doesn’t mean they can’t be funky. Bell X1 sets poignant melodies to spacy electronics, with a dash of U2-esque grandeur. It’s a different sort of concert than Lincoln Hall’s other big gig this week—the sold-out Tune-Yards—but Chicago’s pop critic, Kevin McKeough, gives the band two thumbs-up. Those who lean toward the eclectic and lament missing Tune-Yards tickets, see “ALSO THIS WEEK,” below.
GO: 11/13 at 8. $15–$18. Lincoln Hall, 2424 N Lincoln. lincolnhallchicago.com

ALSO THIS WEEK: The Swedish indie-pop singer Lykke Li plays the Vic 11/14, while the Japanese kitsch-punk trio Shonen Knife pays tribute to its greatest influence with songs from its new album, Osaka Ramones, 11/12 at Empty Bottle.

theatre Season’s Greetings
Do we really need another story of a dysfunctional family Christmas? If the premise sounds unimpressive, the cast—featuring the Steppenwolf ensemble member Francis Guinan, the Chicago Shakespeare regular Matt Schwader, and, freshly escaped from The Playboy Club, John Hoogenakker—is anything but.
GO: Previews 11/11–17; $10–$45. Run continues through 12/18; $10–$65. Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie, Skokie. northlight.org

ALSO THIS WEEK: Three more originals that should provide a breather from the typical seasonal treacle: Playwrights Tanya Saracho (Our Lady of the Underpass), Rohina Malik (Unveiled), and novelist Elizabeth Berg each contribute a tale to 16th Street Theater’s Our Holiday Stories, on stage 11/10–12/4. And just a nudge: Both Steppenwolf’s outstanding Clybourne Park and Chicago Shakes’s razzle-dazzle Follies close 11/13.

museums Crime in Chicago
The Chicago History Museum’s month-long exploration of the city’s seedy underbelly gets its hands dirty with a lineup of November events. Coming up: a duo of bus tours into the North and South Sides’ checkered past (11/12 and 19 at 1; $45), an after-hours prowl through Bohemian National Cemetery (11/20 at 3:30; $30), and a talk on street gangs past and present by UIC’s John Hagedorn (11/15 at 7; $10).
GO: Related events continue through 11/19; full schedule and details: chicagohistory.org