Each Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali has dutifully and thoughtfully highlighted the city’s must-see cultural events. This is his final Artbeat column. Marc Vitali: After 37 years, I’m leaving WTTW (amicably, I’m glad to say), but my relationship with PBS started much earlier. In the fall of 1969, I was in kindergarten. The teachers gathered all classes into the one room with a TV, and we watched “Sesame Street” early in its first season. Before long, I was hooked on “The Electric Company” and “Zoom.” Later, I discovered “Monty Python,” “Nova,” “Sneak Previews,” “American Masters,” “Antiques Roadshow” and a thousand others. Take it from a PBS lifer: public media is absolutely essential in reflecting who we are and shaping what we can be. Support it – our country and culture depend on it. Wishing you happy trails and quality
programming ... “The Disappointed Tourist” - Chicago Architecture Center300 paintings depict places that aren’t there anymore. This ongoing project by artist Ellen Harvey is a tapestry of artwork that connects nostalgia, memory and preservation. The sites were nominated by the public and include many Chicago locales (Chicago Stadium, Mecca Flats, and the old Prentice Women’s Hospital). While you’re at the Center, sign up for a tour to visit places that are still with us. Opens Monday, Sept. 29. “Big White Fog” – Court TheatreCourt Theatre kicks off their fall season with a nearly forgotten Chicago play from the 1930s. A family drama set on the South Side, it’s a potent dose of American realism. Ron OJ Parson directs a big cast in this Depression-era story of hope and despair. Theodore Ward wrote the play supported by funds from the Federal Theatre Project. Can you believe it? The economy was a wreck, and we had a government that trusted artists and funded them. Through Oct. 12. Dia de Muertos: A Celebration of Remembrance – National Museum of Mexican ArtBlending Indigenous and Catholic beliefs, the Mexican “Day of the Dead” is the tradition of celebrating loved ones who have passed away during the year. This 39th annual exhibition features artwork and ofrendas – offerings on altars that keep alive the memory of those who are gone. This collective tribute is a dependably colorful and moving show that changes year to year. Through Dec. 14. “Ava: The Secret Conversations” – Studebaker TheaterEvanston native Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Cora in “Downton Abbey”) stars as Hollywood legend Ava Gardner. McGovern also wrote the show. She based it on a series of interviews given by the star that were initially barred from publication. Ava Gardner recounts her complex and turbulent life – including marriages to Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra –in this two-hander (theater-speak for “there are only two actors onstage”). Through Oct. 12. “Rome Sweet Rome” – Chicago Shakespeare TheaterA new show from the Q Brothers Collective is always reason to celebrate. This time, it’s a wild satire of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” complete with ‘90s hip hop beats and tons of onstage energy. Political power struggles and ludicrous executive orders add up to a stabby assassination. If you know a young person that you’d like to introduce to Shakespeare, look no further. Through Oct. 19. Chicago Architecture Biennial – Chicago Cultural Center & other locationsThe theme and title this year is “SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change.” It’s an opportunity to explore how architecture engages with the profound transformations shaping the world today. Featuring 100 projects from artists and architects around the world, the biennial is centered at the Chicago Cultural Center with other works at the Stony Island Arts Bank, the Graham Foundation and the Museum of Science and Industry. Through Feb. 28,
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