Arts & Entertainment
‘Bleak’ Movies and a Vampire Play: 4 Arts Picks for Your Week
"Untitled Vampire Play:" Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Alicia), Kareem Bandealy (Louie), Courtney Ricki Green (Val), & Jordan Arredondo (Dom). (Justin Barbin)
Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
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With this week’s inclement weather and the World Cup kicking off Thursday, you might want to take a breather and hunker down indoors. You wouldn’t be at fault for wanting to spend your weekend by the TV, but what if I told you you could stay inside and still experience the city’s wealth of cultural options? These events will shield you from any storms, but they’ll also enrich your artistic life.
Literature: Meaghan Garvey’s “Midwestern Death Trip” — Quimby’s
Chicago’s Meaghan Garvey might be the most talented music journalist in the city. Her profiles on artists like Lana Del Rey and T-Pain are always riveting and evocative. The same goes for her newsletter Scary Sad Cool Goodbye. Last month, she released “Midwestern Death Trip,” a road trip memoir that finds the writer traversing dive bars, rural highways and her own histories throughout Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere. She’s promoting the book Thursday at Quimby’s Bookstore in Wicker Park. For more info, click here.
Theater: “Untitled Vampire Play” — The Joan and Paul Theatre at Lookingglass
Vampires have long been a pop culture fascination, but lately they’ve been ubiquitous. There’s the Oscar-winning film “Sinners,” the popular TV show “What We Do in the Shadows,” and in the theater world, there are recent productions of “Dracula” (starring Cynthia Erivo) and at the Lookingglass Theatre, a new play called “Untitled Vampire Project.” Written by Kevin Douglas, this Devon de Mayo-directed performance is making its world premiere in Chicago. It promises to be a “romantic-comedy-meets-horror-story” that “explores love, commitment, family … and, of course, vampires.” Buy tickets here.
Film: “Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair” — Music Box Theatre and Siskel Film Center
Whenever I’m having a rough day, for whatever reason, watching feel-good movies only makes it worse. Instead, I choose to watch some of the saddest, most upsetting films imaginable and then I’ll get over what was putting me in a bad mood. Two of the city’s best theaters, the Music Box and the Siskel Film Center, are putting on an unconventional film series this week called “Bleak Week.” As expected, the programming mines the darkest depths of humanity and tragedy for a can’t-miss slate of depressing cinema. You can find the live action selections at the Music Box (click here for screenings), while the Siskel (click here for showtimes) has a packed roundup of animated movies.
Art: “The Soccer Show: A Celebration of The World Cup” — Elise Seigenthaler Gallery
The World Cup kicks off Thursday and will run until July 19. You won’t be alone if you choose to watch as many games as possible, but you should carve out some time to experience some art. If you’re a soccer fanatic, why not check out this World Cup-themed gallery exhibit in West Town’s Elise Seigenthaler Gallery? “The Soccer Show: A Celebration of The World Cup” has an opening reception Friday from 5-8 p.m.; the exhibit runs until Aug. 22. For more information and a list of the artists featured, click here.
WTTW News arts coverage is supported by the JCS Arts, Health & Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
