Friday 1/21 – Thursday 1/27
Irish theater darling Joe Dowling directs Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Dowling says his version–which partly takes place atop a giant motorized electric-blue flower–was inspired by the works of Hieronymus Bosch. Preview performances begin tonight at 7:30 at the CST, 800 E. Grand. Tickets are $23; call 312-595-5600.
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22 SATURDAY Two authorities on another genius of the arts hit town today for a symposium called An Afternoon’s Insight…Mozart. Biographer Maynard Solomon and musician Neal Zaslaw will discuss myths about Amadeus as well as the ways he changed music. Afterward members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform some of his chamber music. It’s from 2 to 5:30 at Symphony Center’s Grainger Ballroom, 220 S. Michigan. Admission is $5, which also gets you into a preconcert conversation with Daniel Barenboim at 6:45. For $16 more you can preorder a box dinner. The Mozart and Bruckner concert at 8 requires a separate admission. Call 312-294-3000.
23 SUNDAY In the late 60s several cutting-edge shows at the Hyde Park Art Center introduced the work of a new generation of painters who combined a pop sensibility with a mocking coarseness. Their figurative, physical style of painting–featured in shows with rock-band titles, such as the Hairy Who, Non-Plussed Some, and False Image–came to be associated with Chicago. Eighty-five works from 15 artists with connections to the imagist school, including Jim Nutt, Gladys Nilsson, and Ed Paschke, make up Jumpin’ Backflash: Original Imagist Artwork, 1966-1969. The free show also includes posters, photos, and other artifacts from the time. It opened yesterday and runs through April 2 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington (312-744-6630). Hours are from 11 to 5.
27 THURSDAY The Year of the Dragon doesn’t start until next month, but the Art Institute is getting an early start on the celebration. The dragon, “a creature of a very superior order of being,” according to the mythical zoology of Japan, will wake up today at Silent Thunder: Ancient Japanese Dragon Dance, an event inspired by dances in honor of the creature that date back to the 15th century. The performance, which is in conjunction with an exhibit of the dragon in art, is at 12:15 in the Art Institute’s Rubloff Audi-torium, Michigan and Adams. Ad-mission to the program is free. Call 312-443-3600.
