Friday 2/27 – Thursday 3/4
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There’s very little science involved in SonicVision, a “digitally animated alternative-rock music show” that opens at the Adler Planetarium today–but who needs astronomy when you’ve got dancing aliens? Other visuals including fireworks and trippy special effects will play across the planetarium’s 9,500-square-foot StarRider dome tonight, set to songs by the likes of Radiohead, Stereolab, the Flaming Lips, and Moby (who helped design the extravaganza). The 38-minute show screens Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30 at the planetarium, 1300 S. Lake Shore Dr. Tickets are $10; call 312-322-0548.
Chinese acrobatics like dagger juggling, stilt walking, and table-and-chair balancing developed some 27 centuries ago out of the ceremonial rituals of Taiwanese laborers. Later it became common for performers to exhibit their talents to travelers and traders along the Silk Road. These days the status of acrobatics in China is on a par with that of ballet in the West. Tonight the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats demonstrate the ancient art starting at 7 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. On Saturday and Sunday, February 28 and 29, there are shows at 2 and 5 PM. Tickets are $20, $16 for children 12 and under. Call 847-673-6300.
It’s that night again, and you can hoot at the stars and groan at the speeches on the big screen at FitzGerald’s Oscar Party, which will also include an Oscar ballot contest and a movie trivia quiz. There’s no cover; doors open at 6 at FitzGerald’s, 6615 W. Roosevelt in Berwyn. Call 708-788-2118.
4 THURSDAY With Ditka doing Viagra ads, you’d think athletes could lighten up a bit about sexuality–straight or gay. But sexism and homophobia are still rampant in the world of sports, says Columbia College history lecturer Erin McCarthy. Her talk today, Sport and Sexuality: (Nearly) the Last Bastion of Sexism and Homophobia, takes a look at what’s behind the barriers. It’s at 6 PM in the fifth floor east meeting room of the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, and it’s free. Call 312-744-6630 for more.
