Arts & Entertainment
A Documentary on a Fearless Journalist and a Classic Musical: 4 Arts Picks for Your Weekend
Left: José Lozano, “La sonámbula (The Sleepwalker),” 1998, (NMMA Permanent Collection). Right: Nick Wesley, “View from the Wild Mile,” 2021 (Urban Rivers)
Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
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It’s getting to the part of spring where you likely feel totally thawed out from winter and are ready to go out, explore the city and take in all the cultural offerings on the calendar. That said, the weather hasn’t quite caught up yet. While it’s thankfully not still snowing, it’s been mostly cloudy and mild. For a seasoned Chicagoan, you’re used to it. Gloomy and gray weather aren’t enough to keep you inside. Below, we’ve compiled a small smattering of options, from film to art and theater to keep you busy until we finally get regular sunshine and warmth.
Film: “Steal This Story, Please!” — Music Box Theatre
For the past 30 years, journalist Amy Goodman has been the host of the popular news program “Democracy Now! The War and Peace Report.” A veteran of broadcast, radio and investigative journalism, Goodman has highlighted global conflicts, workers’ movements and uprisings with a fearlessness and moral clarity that’s been necessary and refreshing, whether it’s the 1999 WTO protests, her reporting on the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor, Occupy Wall Street or the war in Gaza. She’s the subject of a new documentary called “Steal This Story, Please” that premieres this weekend at the Music Box. Goodman, alongside producers and directors of the doc, will be at select screenings on Friday and Saturday. Tickets can be found here.
Market: Spring Makers Market — Downtown Forest Park
On Saturday afternoon, head to downtown Forest Park for a market and craft fair inside Madison Street businesses like Robert’s Westside, Brown Cow, Table and Lain and 7410 Madison Street. Vendors include local artists who specialize in “paintings, drawings, prints, photography, comics, multimedia arts, fiber arts and crafts, pottery, jewelry, woodworks and more.” It’s free and runs from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. For more details, click here.
Art: “Xochicago: Floating Gardens of the Chicago River and México” — National Museum of Mexican Art
A new exhibit at Pilsen’s National Museum of Mexican Art “draws parallels between chinampas built by the Mexica (Aztec) and the floating gardens being installed in Chicago by Urban Rivers.” The exhibit, which was curated by the museum’s Rebecca D. Meyers and Urban Rivers, uses “historic, nostalgic, and contemporary images” to draw the connection between both Chicago and interpretations of the city and Xochimilco, an ancient settlement that is now near modern-day Mexico City. For more details on the exhibit opening Saturday, click here.
Theater: “Chicago: The Musical” — Auditorium Theatre
Since it premiered more than 50 years ago, “Chicago: The Musical” has been an enduring classic and one of Bob Fosse’s most beloved productions. Its 1996 revival is now the longest-running show currently on Broadway, and another production has hit Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. It runs from May 5-10. Tickets can be found here.
WTTW News arts coverage is supported by the JCS Arts, Health & Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
