Events on Thursday, July 15

<em>Cantankerous Hellfighter</em>

Art

Cantankerous Hellfighter

Thursday 7/15 @ The Family Room

The Post Family, the brains behind the smart, eponymous design blog and the Family Room Gallery, presents a new show this... 

<em>SUCK</em>

Film

SUCK

Thursday 7/15 @ Lincoln Hall

Lincoln Hall says: A rock 'n' roll vampire spoof about a down-and-out band, the Winners, who will do anything for a... 

Ongoing Events

Paula McCartney: <em>Birdwatching</em>

Art: Photography

Paula McCartney: Birdwatching

Thursday 7/15 @ Museum of Contemporary Photography

Concurrent with her first monograph of the same name, Paula McCartney's show Birdwatching features a provocative series of beautifully composed, lush... 

<em>A Guide for the Perplexed</em>

Theatre

A Guide for the Perplexed

Thursday 7/15 @ Victory Gardens Biograph Theater

Based on cast and crew alone, Victory Gardens' A Guide for the Perplexed is perhaps the most anticipated show of the... 

Prairie Avenue House Museums

Get Social

Prairie Avenue House Museums

Thursday 7/15 @ Glessner House Museum

Chicago's historic Prairie Avenue district — the site of the 1812 Fort Dearborn Massacre — became known after the Great Chicago... 

John Baldessari: <em>A Print Retrospective From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation</em>

Art: Photography

John Baldessari

Thursday 7/15 @ Museum of Contemporary Photography

The influential American conceptual artist John Baldessari — gadfly to contemporary art theory and master of image-text paintings — is represented... 

Jason Middlebrook: <em>LESS</em>

Art

Jason Middlebrook

Thursday 7/15 @ moniquemeloche gallery

Don't just live with less; make art with less. Jason Middlebrook, a pioneer of sustainability art, has focused in the past... 

<em>Cherrywood</em>

Theatre

Cherrywood

Thursday 7/15 @ Angel Island

Storefront-theatre company Mary-Arrchie consistently delivers provocative, innovative work. Their latest, the Midwest premiere of a show originally concocted by Austin's Rule... 

Summer Residents: Cauleen Smith and Adia Millett

Art

Cauleen Smith and Adia Millett

Thursday 7/15 @ threewalls

threewalls says: This July and August threewalls again hosts their summer residency, this year in conjunction with the Studio Chicago programming.... 

<em>Sound & Vision</em>

Art

Sound & Vision

Thursday 7/15 @ The Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute's mashup of art and music through a wide grouping of photo and video is an untidy combination —... 

<em>The Absolute Best Friggin' Time of Your Life</em>

Comedy

The Absolute Best Friggin' Time of Your Life

Thursday 7/15 @ The Second City e.t.c.

The electric defibrillator paddles that briefly appear onstage during the Second City e.t.c.'s new sketch revue are an apt metaphor for... 

Theater on the Lake: <em>Red Noses</em>

Theatre

Red Noses

Thursday 7/15 @ Theater on the Lake

After a remarkably successful and critically acclaimed first run this spring, Strawdog remounts Red Noses — their 18-actor comedy about a... 

<em>Rewind: 1970s to 1990s Works from the MCA Collection</em>

Art

Rewind: 1970s to 1990s

Thursday 7/15 @ Museum of Contemporary Art

No better excuse to clear the dust bunnies from a collection of old favorites than to put together a best-of show.... 

<em>About Face</em>

Art

About Face

Thursday 7/15 @ Thomas Robertello Gallery

A spectacular lineup, ranging from emerging artists to Chicago institutions, graces this summer group exhibition at Thomas Robertello Gallery, where the... 

Ox-Bow 2010 Centennial Exhibitions

Art

Ox-Bow Exhibitions

Thursday 7/15 @ Various Chicago locations

It's the 100-year anniversary of Ox-Bow, the art school and artists' residency in Michigan; and to celebrate the centennial, there are... 

<em>Chicago Stories: Prints</em> and H.C. Westermann: <em>See America First</em>

Art

Chicago Stories and H.C. Westermann

Thursday 7/15 @ The Art Institute of Chicago

This AIC exhibition charts the wild terrain of the Chicago post-war art scene — the adverse eccentrics, stylists, and self-taught artists... 

<em>Orestes</em>

Theatre

Orestes

Thursday 7/15 @ Dream Theatre

A stylish, poetic adaptation with the kind of dark, hip edge that classic Greek theatre seems to require now. The final... 

Lifeline Theatre: <em>Neverwhere</em>

Theatre

Neverwhere

Thursday 7/15 @ Lifeline Theatre

Even for a company as reputable as Lifeline, which is poised to go Ben Hur on the Jeffs with 13 nominations,... 

<em>Here/Not There</em>

Theatre

Here/Not There

Thursday 7/15 @ MCA Chicago

The first week of the MCA's returning Here/Not Here series opens with Club Nutz, a tiny mobile nightclub dubbed "the world's... 

Ray Noland: <em>Sweet Tea & American Values</em>

Art

Ray Noland

Thursday 7/15 @ Chicago Urban Art Society

In Sweet Tea, Ray Noland reminds us once again that overtly political art can still be fresh and vigorous, not to... 

Works on Paper from the MCA Collection

Art

Works on Paper from the MCA Collection

Thursday 7/15 @ Museum of Contemporary Art

In the MCA's latest exhibit, an astutely chosen collection of works on paper depict exaggerated conflict, addressing various allegorical, emblematic, and... 

<em>Almost There: A Portrait of Peter Anton</em>

Art

Peter Anton

Thursday 7/15 @ Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

Intuit's new Peter Anton show provides a productive and evocative foil for the museum's overlapping show of drawings by Charles Steffen,... 

<em>Exit Through the Gift Shop</em>

Film: Documentary

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Thursday 7/15 @ Landmark Century Centre Cinema

Exit Through the Gift Shop is a film about Thierry Guetta, a graffiti stalker who chronicled Shepard Fairey and other key... 

Lora Fosberg: <em>You Can't Fall Off the Floor</em>

Art

Lora Fosberg

Thursday 7/15 @ Linda Warren Gallery

Epic in scale and addressing issues that in other hands could have become sanctimonious — deforestation, advertising speak — Lora Fosberg's... 

<em>The Girl Who Played with Fire</em>

Film

The Girl Who Played with Fire

Thursday 7/15 @ Various Chicago locations

If it weren't for a little lady named Lisbeth Salander, and her creator Stieg Larsson, Americans might forever think of Sweden... 

<em>This Train</em>

Theatre

This Train

Thursday 7/15 @ Steppenwolf Garage Theatre

16th Street Theater, now in its third season, keeps proving its robustness and strong eye for talent and collaboration — it's... 

<em>Roger Brown: Calif USA</em>

Art

Roger Brown

Thursday 7/15 @ Hyde Park Art Center

Chicago Imagist Roger Brown is perhaps nearly as famous in Chicago now as a collector of art, particularly for the Roger... 

<em>Life Lines</em>: The Drawings of Charles Steffen

Art

Life Lines: The Drawings of Charles Steffen

Thursday 7/15 @ Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

In many ways a beau ideal figure of "outsider art," Charles Steffen studied art at IIT before suffering a mental breakdown... 

<em>New Icon</em>

Art

New Icon

Thursday 7/15 @ Loyola University Museum of Art

Icons, by their very definition, can be difficult to understand. They act as signifiers, suggesting a meaning outside of themselves that... 

<em>George Grosz in America 1933-1958</em>

Art

George Grosz

Thursday 7/15 @ The Arts Club of Chicago

George Grosz, brutal caricaturist of the Weimar Republic and important member of Dada and New Objectivity in 1920s Germany, emigrated in... 

<em>Everyday Adventures Growing Up: Art From Picture Books</em>

Art

Everyday Adventures Growing Up

Thursday 7/15 @ The Art Institute of Chicago

AIC says: The world is an exciting and frightening place for a young child. It's fun to make a new friend,... 

<em>Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies</em>

Performing Arts: Comedy

Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies

Thursday 7/15 @ The Second City

Does the title of this sketch comedy show refer to the cast or the audience? The answer, of course, is both.... 

<em>Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy</em>

Art

Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy

Thursday 7/15 @ MCA Chicago

The Alexander Calder exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art tries to reposition the artist's legacy. The selections from Calder's work... 

<em>Dogtooth</em>

Film

Dogtooth

Thursday 7/15 @ Gene Siskel Film Center

Over-protective parenting is given new meaning in this mesmerizing, surreal satire from Greece. As Dogtooth unfurls, you discover that the three... 

<em>Earthworks</em>: Robert Smithson, Sam Durant, and Mary Brogger

Art

Earthworks

Thursday 7/15 @ Museum of Contemporary Art

When a Modern Wing museumgoer accidentally stepped on Robert Smithson's floor-displayed Chalk-Mirror Displacement last month, jokes about the artist's pet themes... 

<em>Life Lines</em>: The Drawings of Charles Steffen

Art

Charles Steffen

Thursday 7/15 @ Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

Intuit says: This retrospective features 30 pieces of Charles Steffen's work, covering a variety of imagery he knew in his limited... 

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and Daniel Albrigo: <em>Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is&hellip; A LOVE STORY</em>

Art

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and Daniel Albrigo

Thursday 7/15 @ Western Exhibitions

The fact that Genesis P-Orridge had his teeth removed and replaced with gold casts — the act which inspired this exhibit... 

<em>A Parallelogram</em>

Theatre

A Parallelogram

Thursday 7/15 @ Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre

A Parallelogram, the final play in one of Steppenwolf's strongest seasons in recent years, pairs longtime Steppenwolf collaborator, actor, and playwright... 

<em>Good Design</em>

Art

Good Design

Thursday 7/15 @ Smart Museum of Art

Mid-Century: "Good Design" in Europe and America, 1850–1950 Between 1850 and 1950, progressive artists, designers, and architects decisively reshaped the everyday... 

<em>Land Without End and Other Works</em> by Theo Leffmann

Art

Land Without End and Other Works by Theo Leffmann

Thursday 7/15 @ Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art and Block Cinema

The fiber art of Chicagoan Theo Leffmann (1911–1996) evokes the ancient and the exotic, echoing pre-Columbian and non-Western processes and forms... 

Rewind: 1970s to 1990s - Works from the MCA Collection

Special Event

Rewind: 1970s to 1990s - Works from the MCA Collection

Thursday 7/15 @ MCA Chicago

  During its forty-year history, the MCA has distinguished itself with groundbreaking exhibitions that have contributed substantially to the evolving history... 

<em>Almost There</em>: A Portrait of Peter Anton

Art

Almost There: A Portrait of Peter Anton

Thursday 7/15 @ Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

[if... 

GIRLS RULE! with DJ GT & guests at Coup d'état @ The Shrine

Music: DJ

GIRLS RULE! with DJ GT & guests at Coup d'état @ The Shrine

Thursday 7/15 @ The Shrine

GIRLS RULE! With DJ GT and Special Guest...Get the weekend poppin' early! Ladies free ALL NITE. Gents: just five bucks.  ... 

ComedySportz

Comedy

ComedySportz

Thursday 7/15 @ The ComedySportz Theatre

Our long running main stage show "ComedySportz" offers a unique blend of fast funny improv comedy that is appropriate for all... 

Art

People Wasn't Made to Burn

Thursday 7/15 @ Smart Museum of Art

Ben Shahn and the Hickman Story In early 1947, a fire ripped through the one-room attic of a tenement building on... 

Henri IV of France: The Vert Galant and His Reign

Special Event

Henri IV of France: The Vert Galant and His Reign

Thursday 7/15 @ The Newberry Library

Four centuries ago this May, a religious radical assassinated Henri IV as he rode through Paris. This small exhibition marks... 

Fuerza Bruta: Look Up

Performing Arts

Fuerza Bruta: Look Up

Thursday 7/15 @ Auditorium Theatre

FUERZA BRUTA: LOOK UP is a non-stop collision of dynamic music, visceral emotion, and kinetic aerial imagery. Featuring mind-blowing visual effects... 

I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot

Special Event

I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot

Thursday 7/15 @ Chicago History Museum

A new costume exhibition shows the colorful history of wedding attire! I Do! presents 45 dresses, plus accessories, corsets, men's attire,...