Ballet
Joffrey Ballet of Chicago concludes its fall season in the Auditorium Theatre Thursday through next Sunday with a program of four works created by its artistic director, Gerald Arpino.
The dances include the romantic 1968 pas de deux, “Secret Places,” set to the second, “Elvira Madigan,” movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21; “Reflections,” from 1971, set to Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations”; “Suite Saint-Saens,” which, since its debut in 1978, has become one of the troupe’s signature works; and the choreographer’s striking 1998 tribute to the late Robert Joffrey, “Footnotes for RJ,” set to music by Teo Macero.
The company winds up its first week of dance honoring composer Aaron Copland at 3 p.m. Sunday with a program of Eugene Loring’s “Billy the Kid,” the company premiere of Martha Graham’s landmark “Appalachian Spring,” Randy Duncan’s “Copland Motets,” and the brand- new “Lyric Discourse,” with music (inspired by Copland) and choreography by Tony Powell, a composer-choreographer based in Washington, D.C.
Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, through Oct. 29 at the Auditorium Theatre, 70 E. Congress St.; 312-902-1500.
— Richard Christiansen
Rock
Roots: All-star lineup of progressive rap-soul headlined by hip-hop’s finest live band; Monday-Wednesday at House of Blues; 312-923-2000.
Screeching Weasel: There would be no Green Day or Blink-182 without this legendary snotcore band’s influence; Saturday and Oct. 29 at House of Blues; 312-923-2000.
Kelly Hogan/Neko Case: The nitro and glycerin of alternative-country chanteuses; Saturday at FitzGerald’s, 708-788-2118; Oct. 29 at the Hideout, 773-227-4433.
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— Greg Kot
Dance
The 58 Group: An ensemble of seven Chicago dancers and jazz musicians led by Ginger Farley and Cameron Pfiffner performs a new, intermissionless piece; Wednesday through Oct. 29 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St.; 773-388-0558.
“The Move Project”: New York-based choreographer David Dorfman returns home to Chicago to create a new work celebrating the opening of the new Dance Center of Columbia College, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Participants include Dance Center staff, students and members of community outreach programs; Thursday through Saturday; 312-344-8300.
— Richard Christiansen
Art
Isaac Julien: A video installation and photographs from the black British filmmaker; through Jan. 7; Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; 312-280-2660.
“Margaret Burroughs: A Lifetime in Art”: A 40-year retrospective honoring the museum’s founder; through March 30; DuSable Museum of African American Culture, 740 E. 56th Pl.; 773-947-0600.
— Alan G. Artner
Jazz
Sonny Fortune: The alto saxophonist plays homage to John Coltrane; Tuesday through Oct. 29 at Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; 312-670-2473.
Lee Lessack: An accomplished interpreter, Lessack will sing repertoire of Johnny Mercer; Wednesday through Saturday, Davenport’s, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-278-1830.
Franz Jackson: The octogenarian reedist-vocalist embodies vintage swing tradition; Saturday at Pops for Champagne, 2934 N. Sheffield Ave.; 773-472-1000.
— Howard Reich
Theater
“The Convulsions of Mr. K”: The Tokyo experimental theater group OM-2 joins with Chicago performers in a multimedia work relating the adventures of a contemporary Everyman suffering from neuroses and phobias; Thursday through Oct. 29 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; 312-397-4010.
“Early and Often”: Premiere of a riotously funny, shrewdly insightful comedy, at once cynical and sentimental, about Chicago-style politics in the election year of 1960, peopled by Famous Door Theatre with brash, tough characters and filled by authors Barbara Wallace and Thomas R. Wolfe with smart, rude dialogue; through Dec. 3 at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.; 773-327-5252.
“Police Deaf Near Far”: David Rush’s gritty, gripping tale of a tragic breakdown in communication between deaf and hearing people has been further refined by Drew Martin for its encore at the Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St.; through Oct. 29; 312-742-8497.
— Richard Christiansen
Classical music
Concertante di Chicago: Hilel Kagan conducts the orchestra and vocal soloists from the Hungarian National Opera in season-opening concert saluting little-known 19th Century Hungarian composer Ferenc Erkel; 3 p.m. Sunday at DePaul University Concert Hall; 312-658-5799.
Jubilate Opera Benefit: Ninth annual concert features Lyric Opera stars supporting Bonaventure House; 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Old St. Patrick’s Church, 77 W. Monroe; 773-327-9921, ext. 335.
Pacifica Quartet: Outstanding young ensemble, fresh from its recent impromptu Carnegie Hall debut in New York, favors us with two concerts — 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation and 8 p.m. Friday in Mandel Hall, University of Chicago, where it is quartet in residence; 847-676-0491 (Lincolnwood) and 773-702-8068 (U. of C.).
“Dracula,” the Music and Film: The 1931 Bela Lugosi horror classic with a new score composed by Philip Glass and performed live by Glass and the Kronos Quartet; 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Chicago Theatre; 312-263-1138, 312-782-4141.
— John von Rhein
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