I just returned from a terrific vacation in Munich, Bordeaux and Dublin, yet thought several times while away that “there’s no place like home.” Chicago is ‘home,’ and has so much to offer this month.
For example, Chicago-area native, Grammy-nominated violinist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird makes his Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut, “Andrew Bird & the CSO,” to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of his album “The Mysterious Production of Eggs,” November 13-14. It’s also the first time Bird performs the entire album with a full orchestra.
Chicago-born artist Rashid Johnson is the subject of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s look at his work over the past three decades. “Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers” runs November 7-April 25, 2027.
The Art Institute of Chicago presents “Beatriz González: In Series and Full Color,” a six-decade retrospective of the work of the Colombian artist, curator and art historian (1932-2026), November 14-March 1, 2027.
The last neighborhood festival day, University of Chicago Arts & Humanities Day, of this season’s Chicago Humanities Festival is November 7 and includes guided tours and performances as well as conversations and lectures on a wide array of topics such as art, music, photography, and politics.
This month’s benefits and fundraisers also cover a wide array of interests. Since 1952 the Chicago-based Sarah Siddons Society has presented an award to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding artistic achievement in the theater. Actress and director Victoria Clark will receive this year’s award at a benefit at the Arts Club of Chicago, November 9. Proceeds from the benefit fund scholarships for theater students at local universities.
Many years ago, I attended the Winnetka Community House’s Antiques + Modernism Show and overheard a woman tell her friend that a mid-century modern glass coffee table on offer with sharp edges was “a mother’s worst nightmare.” The show, in its 54th year, has been rebranded. The Winnetka Edit runs November 6-7 at the Winnetka Community House. The show funds the Community House’s programs.
Pre-COVID, I attended two series of classes given by historian and preservationist Julia Bachrach at the Chicago Architecture Center. One was on the history of Chicago apartment buildings and the other about lesser-known Chicago architects. She did a brilliant job with both. Bachrach is one of the honorees at the Society of Architectural Historians’ annual SAH Celebrates award program and fundraiser at a private club in the Gold Coast on November 13. The society’s headquarters is in the Charnley-Persky House (Louis Sullivan with Frank Lloyd Wright, 1891). Chicago hosts the 80th Annual International Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, April 14-18, 2027.
Richard H. Driehaus was an advocate for preservation. The Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards ceremony, honoring leaders and projects that preserve and restore historic places in Illinois, is at Rubloff Auditorium and Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room at the Art Institute of Chicago, November 6. Driehaus meticulously restored the Nickerson Mansion (Burling and Whitehouse, 1883), which now houses the Driehaus Museum. The museum features decorative arts from the Gilded Age, so it’s fitting that the name of the museum’s annual gala is The Gilded Gala. This year’s gala is November 17 at the museum and honors Mansueto Office, Inc. The gala chair is Suzette Bross Bulley.
Chicago-based dance and music ensemble House of DOV led by Drew Lewis hosts Matinee, a fundraiser at Fabrik Chicago on November 15, for the group’s New York City debut.
I don’t have a black fedora, but I do have a ticket to Ballet Jazz Montréal’s “Dance Me: The Music of Leonard Cohen” at the Auditorium on November 7. The performance is a tribute to the poet, songwriter and singer who died on November 7, 2016. Compagnie Hervé Koubi makes its Chicago debut at the Harris Theater on November 14 with “Sol Invictus,” which blends contemporary dance, hip-hop and capoeira.
Two of our local dance troupes that tour extensively are in town this month: Giordano Dance Chicago performs “untamed passion” at the North Shore Center, November 6-7, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s “Fall Series” is at Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater, November 13-22.
The Studebaker Theater, P3 Productions and Audible, in collaboration with Teatro Vista Productions, present the Chicago premiere of the award-winning hip-hop musical “Mexodus” at the Studebaker Theater, November 7-21.
Northlight Theatre presents the world premiere of Lauren M. Gunderson’s “All the World,” November 11-December 20. A description of the play says that it’s set during the holidays, aka “the most emotionally charged time of the year.” The Chicago premiere of Will Arbery’s “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” opens A Red Orchid Theatre’s 44th season, November 12-December 6. It’s about the clashes of four recent graduates during a reunion. TimeLine Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere of Laura Wade’s satire and 2019 winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, “Home, I’m Darling,” November 11-December 13.
Gary Sinise, Hollywood star (“Forrest Gump,” “Apollo 13”) and Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s co-founder, discusses the history of Steppenwolf and his new memoir “Graceful Warrior” at “Graceful Warrior: An Evening with Gary Sinise,” at Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater, November 24.
The Music Box Theatre’s annual “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music Sing-a-Long” is a lot of fun and a Thanksgiving holiday tradition for many, November 21-December 3.
Thanksgiving is November 26 and Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa will soon be upon us. Wildly popular holiday light shows start this month: the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lightscape on November 13; Illumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum on November 14; the Lincoln Park Zoo’s ZooLights on November 20; and Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Holiday Magic, billed as “Chicagoland’s largest and longest-running holiday lights festival,” on November 21. Filmed during last season’s Holiday Magic, “Christmas at the Zoo” debuts on Tubi, November 10.
The opening of the Christkindlmarkets in Daley Plaza, Aurora and Wrigleyville on November 20 coincides with the 113th Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony in Millennium Park that same day. The 35th annual Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival®, featuring the largest nighttime parade in the United States, is the following evening.
Dates, times, locations and availability are subject to change.
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