Arts & Entertainment
From ‘White Christmas’ to an Acclaimed Novelist and Local Songwriter Teaming Up, Here Are 5 Arts Picks For Your Week
Kaveh Akbar (left) and Jamila Woods (right) will appear on the SongWriter Podcast. (Provided)
Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
Josh Terry: There are three inevitabilities in life: death, taxes and Christmas. The good news is that, no matter your mileage, one of those things is much more fun than the other two. While we’re not even at Thanksgiving yet, holiday cheer already feels ubiquitous. You’ll hear a carol or a jingle out and about, commercials are telling you to act now on present shopping and your neighbors are already putting up the lights. If you’re in the mood for good tidings and yuletide, you’ll find something to love in the roundup below. If you’re more like Scrooge, don’t worry, several events are not at all related to this season.
Theater: “The Taming of the Shrew” — Court Theatre
With a tagline promising that “this is not your standard Shrew,” director Marti Lyons brings a fresh take on the Shakespeare comedy at the South Side’s Court Theatre. The production is already open and runs through Dec. 14. Buy tickets here.
Theater: “White Christmas” — Paramount Theater
Yes, the Christmas season is officially here thanks to Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” opening at Aurora’s Paramount Theater. The production runs until Jan. 11. You can buy tickets here.
Art: Winter Arts & Crafts Expo — Evanston Art Center
The Evanston Art Center has been hosting its annual Winter Arts & Crafts Expo for 23 years now. The event features “one-of-a-kind pieces of work by over 160 selected artisans.” It opens Saturday and runs through Dec. 20, but you can buy tickets to the Friday preview party here.
Comedy: Kyle Kinane — Thalia Hall
Hailing from Addison, Illinois, Kyle Kinane is one of stand-up comedy’s foremost storytellers. His jokes are long, winding, self-deprecating and wholly relatable. You may have seen him on Judd Apatow’s “Love,” Comedy Central’s “Drunk History,” or maybe you recognize him from a Chicago punk show. He returns to Thalia Hall for two shows Monday and Tuesday. Monday isn’t yet sold out.
Podcast: SongWriter: Kaveh Akbar + Jamila Woods — Metro Chicago
SongWriter is a long-running podcast that “explores the connections between the written word and the lyrical.” While previous guests have included people like Questlove, Joyce Carol Oates, David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), George Saunders, Amanda Shires and others, on Tuesday evening the acclaimed novelist and poet Kaveh Akbar will be in conversation with musician, songwriter and Chicagoan Jamila Woods at Metro. The podcast taping will also include an exclusive poetry reading from Akbar, a new song from Woods and host Ben Arthur interviewing scientist Dr. Eman Abdelhadi. Buy tickets here.
WTTW News arts coverage is supported by the JCS Arts, Health & Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
