Friday | October 21
What happens when three young adults graduate from Brown in the ’80s? Well, they get married and a plot ensues. Jeffrey Eugenides, Pulitizer Prize-winning author of Middlesex, will discuss his much-anticipated novel The Marriage Plot as the next speaker in the Chicago Tribune’s Author Talks series. Also, stay tuned for the incomparable (not to mention devastating) Umberto Eco, who wraps up this superstar-writer shindig on November 13. (50 East Erie Street, 6:30 p.m., $30—price includes a copy of The Marriage Plot).
The 25th Generation of Off-Off Campus spontaneously performs its premier all-improv play Slaughterhouse Five-O. Will the actors roast Vonnegut? Occupy University Church? Even they don’t know. (5655 South University Avenue, show starts 9 p.m.–pre-glow at 8:30 p.m., $4)
Saturday | October 22
The Humanities Division of the U of C presents its 33rd annual Humanities Day. The day’s festivities include a keynote address by Shadi Bartsch on “The Wisdom of Fools: Christianity and the Break in Classical Tradition,” and a tour of the Smart Museum’s latest exhibit Vision and Communism with Robert Bird. Registration is required and not all activities may still be available. (5835 South Greenwood Avenue, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., free)
If you simply must get something off your chest, then Life Lessons, an evening of storytelling performances, music, and wine, could be just the ticket. The event, presented by 2nd Story and sponsored by the Book Cellar, will take place at the Wilmette Theatre. (1122 Central Avenue, 9 p.m., $15)
The Chicago History Museum strikes a strong pose with the opening of its latest exhibit, Charles James: Genius Deconstructed. As the title suggests, the show will feature iconic designs from one of the few American creators of haute couture who worked in the early to mid-twentieth century (or ever, really). (1601 North Clark Street, 12–5 p.m., $14)
If you don’t have school spirit, or just can never get your fill, get some this Saturday (and fill up on grilled food while you’re at it)! At 11 a.m. there will be a Homecoming tailgate lunch at Stagg Field, followed directly by the big game against Kenyon. No point in painting your face and screaming your voice away on an empty stomach.
Sunday | October 23
Phantogram, a band straight out of Saratoga Springs, New York that gives dream-pop some electricity and punch, are playing at Metro. The duo, who recently released its fresh and feisty EP Nightlife, rock out and knock out with just a guitar, a keyboard, and vocals. (3730 North Clark Street, doors open at 7 p.m., must be 18+, $15)
