Need some ideas for what to do this weekend? Chicago Tonight knows what’s going on!
ReptileFest
Ever wanted to make friends with a frog? Get cozy with a boa constrictor? The Chicago Herpetological Society makes that easy with ReptileFest this Saturday and Sunday at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Billed as the nation’s largest reptile and amphibian show, ReptileFest lets visitors see, touch and even take pictures with hundreds of animals on display. Tickets are $7.00 for children 11 and under, while adult admission is $10.00. You can go online for a coupon to get $1 off admission. Check out some of the reptiles that visited Chicago Tonight.
University of Illinois-Chicago, P.E. Building
901 W. Roosevelt Rd.
Chicago, IL 60658
The March
Based on E.L. Doctorow’s Civil War book, The March follows Union General William Tecumseh Sherman as he leads more than 60,000 troops through Georgia during President Abraham Lincoln’s reelection campaign. The play, which made its national debut at Steppenwolf last week, features a cast of characters from different backgrounds -- black and white, rich and poor, Union and Confederate -- and chronicles the physical and emotional damage reaped upon everything touched by war. “It’s a story about love against the backdrop of carnage, unthinkable loss and heartbreak, and a kind of confusing madness -- a fire that swept the nation and engulfed the entire population,” said Tony Award winner Frank Galati, who adapted and directed the play. The March runs through early June. Tickets are $45-$55.
The Steppenwolf Theatre
1650 N. Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60614
Architecture and Design Film Festival
Chicago has always been considered a bastion of architectural wealth. That reputation makes it the ideal destination for a film festival dedicated exclusively to the art of design. Music Box Theatre holds its third-annual Chicago Architecture and Design Film Festival, happening this weekend and wrapping up Monday. The festival showcases more than 30 feature-length films, documentaries, and shorts from 13 different countries, many of which are making their Chicago debut. Some post-showings also feature Q&As and panel discussions with the filmmakers, architects and designers. Tickets are $11 per program for general admission and $45 for a package of five tickets. Architecture enthusiasts can purchase 13 tickets for $90.
Music Box Theatre
3733 N. Southport Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
ENRON
Though the 2001 Enron scandal has all but faded from the forefront of business topics of discussion, morally-corrupt CEOs and financial mismanagement fueled by greed are far from irrelevant in the wake of the Wall Street bailout, the housing crisis and Madoff Ponzi scheme. That’s why more than 10 years after the Texas-based energy giant’s collapse, ENRON, a play chronicling the financial back-dealings that ultimately led to the company and its leaders’ demise, still resonates with audiences today. After runs in London and on Broadway, the comedy written by Lucy Prebble wraps up its three-month run at TimeLine Theatre this weekend. Tickets are $32-$42.
TimeLine Theatre Company
615 W. Wellington Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
Rashid Johnson: Message to our Folks
Chicago native and sculptor/photographer Rashid Johnson’s first major solo museum project opens this weekend at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Billed as a retrospective of Johnson’s early years as an artist, the exhibit features pieces in which Johnson takes mundane objects from his childhood – think mirrors, tiles, and old radios – and works them into masterful sculptures meant to engage viewers “in a conversation about shared cultural references.” The MCA calls Johnson’s work a simultaneous challenge to “traditional ways of thinking about black identity and the plurality of black experience” and homage to “creative and intellectual figures who are integral to American history, music, and culture.” The gallery runs through Aug. 5.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
220 E. Chicago Ave.
Chicago IL 60611
