Arts & Entertainment
A Family-Friendly Film and a Women’s Suffrage Musical: 4 Arts Picks for Your Week
Cast members of "Suffs" (Photo by Joan Marcus)
Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
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I don’t need to tell you that it’s been oppressively hot in Chicago this week. With an extreme heat warning and swampy humidity affecting the city, you would not be at fault for wanting to spend your time indoors surrounded by air conditioning. It’s also a holiday weekend: You’ll probably be grilling and hanging out with friends and family to watch the fireworks. Those are all good plans, but you still have an opportunity to take in some cultural events over the next few days. Here’s what we recommend.
Film: Chicago Film Office Presents: Family Matinees — Chicago Cultural Center’s Claudia Cassidy Theater
Want to escape the heat? At noon Thursday, the Chicago Cultural Center is hosting a family-friendly screening of 2014’s “The Lego Movie” at its Claudia Cassidy Theater. This is part of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events “Family Matinees” series, where DCASE is programming Thursday showings of all-ages films like “Paddington 2,” “The Princess Diaries,” “Black Panther” and more. Screenings are free to attend, with no RSVP required, but feel free to check the website for the full calendar and more details.
Literature: “Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t” — Empty Bottle
Armed with a thick Chicago accent, a proclivity for cursing and an infectious love for the natural world, La Grange, Illinois, native Joey Santore has translated his passion for botany into a successful YouTube channel called “Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t.” Remember the massive local snapping turtle “Chonkosaurus”? Santore, who has been interviewed by WTTW News before, and his frequent collaborator Al Scorch were the ones to find him. On Sunday afternoon, Santore is promoting a new book, “Concrete Botany,” at the Empty Bottle. Buy tickets here.
Art: “Presence and Absence: The Space Between” — Evanston Art Center
The acclaimed sculptor, artist and nonviolence educator Indira Freitas Johnson curates a new exhibit at the Evanston Art Center called “Presence and Absence: The Space Between.” The collection, which includes sculpture, painting, performance and other installations, “explores the dual reality of death—the physical disappearance of those we love and the enduring emotional, spiritual, and cultural traces they leave behind.” Despite the morbid subject matter, these works allow the viewer to “reflect on legacy, remembrance, and the ways we remain present even in our absence.” It opens Monday and is on view until Aug. 2. For more information, click here.
Theater: “Suffs” — CIBC Theatre
Shaina Taub’s “Suffs” premiered on Broadway in 2024. It was created, written and starred by Taub, who made a musical based on the many activists and pioneers in the women’s suffrage movement. It won two Tony Awards that year, one for Best Book and the other for Best Score, which made Taub the first woman to win both categories in the same year. Now, it’s making its Chicago premiere at the CIBC Theatre. Starring Maya Keleher and Danyel Fulton, this production runs from Tuesday through July 19. Buy tickets here.
WTTW News arts coverage is supported by the JCS Arts, Health & Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
