Arts & Entertainment
A Symphony and an Art Walk: 4 Arts Picks for Your Week
Actors Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood in “Topdog/Underdog.” (Joel Moorman / Steppenwolf Theatre)
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 officially fall. It’s time to wear comfortable layers, grab a hot coffee and stroll around the neighborhood taking in the brisk air. It’s also a good opportunity for planning out your weekends, which hopefully include several culturally enriching events. Whether it’s an orchestra honoring great composers, an acclaimed play hitting an iconic theater, a director Q&A at an arthouse cinema, or a casual, art-filled neighborhood stroll, you have tons to choose from this weekend.
Theater: “Topdog/Underdog” — Steppenwolf Theatre
Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Topdog/Underdog” returns to Chicago stages at Steppenwolf. The play follows two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, who navigate an intense sibling rivalry (true to their names) and the American dream. It’s raw and tragic, but not without humor and heart. Buy tickets for the show, which ends its run Nov. 1, here.
Music: “Mäkelä Conducts Sibelius & Shostakovich” — Symphony Center
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the iconic Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Conductor and Zell music director designate Klaus Mäkelä will lead CSO through Sibelius’ Seventh Symphony and Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony. Buy tickets here.
Film: “The Oldest Person in the World” — Gene Siskel Film Center
Documentarian Sam Green has long been fascinated by aging and people who become the oldest person in the world. Since 2015, he’s been interviewing those who’ve claimed that oft-changing title to discover their secrets, but instead he found far deeper truths about what it means to be alive. “The Oldest Person in the World” hits the Gene Siskel Film Center this weekend, and the director will attend two screenings with a Q&A. Buy tickets here.
Art: 13th Annual Beverly Art Walk — Multiple locations
Head to the South Side for the 13th annual Beverly Art Walk. Organized by the Beverly Area Arts Alliance, it features more than 150 artists from 11 a.m.-to 5 p.m. Saturday. To plan your trip and see all the participating venues and locations, check here.
WTTW News arts coverage is supported by the JCS Arts, Health & Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
