Yankee Doodle Daughter
The women of What’s Your Point, Honey? including Rockford’s Patrice Woods, second from left Photo by Shahar Azran |
Hillary Clinton won’t be the next female president, via this election cycle anyway, but the new documentary What’s Your Point, Honey? aims to figure out who might bring a little estrogen to the task of leading the free world. The film, from codirectors Susan Toffler and Mad Hot Ballroom’s Amy Sewell, chronicles seven young women, including 23-year-old Rockford native Patrice Woods, who hope to lay the groundwork for inaugurating a female president by 2024. The film makes its Chicago premiere 8:15 p.m. Thursday the 10th at the Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State St.; 312-846-2600), with the filmmakers and Woods in attendance. Tickets are $9. Get a sneak peek at whatsyourpointhoney.com.
Best Bets for Things to Do This Week:
Jam
Can’t stomach the thought of yet another July 4th spent elbow-to-elbow at Taste of Chicago? Hop over to Berwyn, where one of the best parties of the year is heating up. FitzGerald’s American Music Festival (6615 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn; 708-788-2118) rocks continuously from 4:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday the 3rd, and 1 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th. Highlights of the unparalleled folk, zydeco, jazz, gospel, soul, country, and pretty much every other genre fest include honky-tonk hero Joe Ely with Joel Guzman (7:30 p.m. Saturday) and local alt-country rocker Robbie Fulks (11:30 p.m. Saturday). Admission is $25 to $30 per day at the door; see the full schedule at fitzgeraldsnightclub.com.
Listen
Or head inside for some air conditioning and enlightenment. The Booker Prize-winning novelist Salman Rushdie reads from his latest book, The Enchantress of Florence, 6 p.m. Thursday the 10th at the Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State St.; 312-747-4050). A book signing follows. The event is free, and no reservations are required.
Scream
If gas prices have made the traditional summer road trip too horrific to contemplate, stay in town and get a thrill of a different stripe: The Neo-Futurists’ It Came from the Neo-Futurarium, 8 p.m. Thursday the 10th at, yes, The Neo-Futurarium VII (5153 N. Ashland Ave.; 773-275-5255). In the ongoing series, performers enact staged readings of B movies; Thursday’s installment is the 1980s flick Masters of the Universe. Tickets are $10.
Ogle
As long as we’re on the topic of critters from dubious origins, G-Fest XV—yes, there have been 14 previous Godzilla Festivals—runs Friday the 4th through Sunday the 6th at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare (5440 N. River Rd., Rosemont; 847-671-6350). Activities include a costume parade, a video game tournament, and film screenings. Tickets run $5 to $29 at g-fan.com.
See
The excellent and irreverent but not so kid-friendly Funk It Up About Nothin’ is playing upstairs now at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave.; 312-595-5600). Don’t spend the entire performance with your hands over Junior’s ears. Get a babysitter and see it on date night, and save the family outing for the Courtyard stage offering: Willy Wonka, a new take on Roald Dahl’s classic story that owes more to Gene Wilder than Johnny Depp. The show premieres 11 a.m. Tuesday the 8th. Tickets run $18 to $23.