5 best dance club events this week
Porter Robinson
1. Spring Awakening Did you have a blast last August at Lollapalooza? Well, lucky you, you can relive it all with the second installment of the Spring Awakening Festival. There's plenty of déjà vu to go around: Bassnectar, Calvin Harris, Porter Robinson, Zedd and Zed's Dead (yes, they're different) all got fists pumping on Perry's Stage in 2012. Look, there are only so many EDM acts to go around, and with Chicago now hosting four major summer fests that cater to the untz, we're bound for a bit of musical chairs. Dubstep chairs. The Soldier Field venue is apt—this fete aims for aggressive body contact. This year Spring Awakening also offers more than a dozen killer after-parties, with names like Moby, Harris, Dirty South and Nervo working clubs late into the night. See our complete list. Soldier Field. Jun 14, 3:30pm; Jun 15, 16 noon. 3-day pass $190; Fri $65, Fri VIP $100; Sat $90, Sun $85, Sat, Sun VIP $130. 3-day VIP sold out.
2. Loops and Variations: FaltyDL The city's free summer series Loops and Variations, which weds electronic and chamber acts in architectural music to suit the metal swoops of Pritzker Pavilion, returns with a rather stunning lineup. Kicking off the Thursday-evening events is FaltyDL, a musician who crafts thoughtful kaleidoscopic techno filled with bells and chimes for the stalwart Ninja Tune label. Drew Lustman, a.k.a. FaltyDL, released the wonderful Hardcourage earlier this year. Millennium Park, Pritzker Pavilion. Jun 13 at 6:30pm. Free.
Steppenwolf's Virginia Woolf takes three Tony Awards
Tracy Letts, Carrie Coon, Amy Morton and Madison Dirks in the Steppenwolf production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Steppenwolf Theatre Company's revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? took three of the five categories in which it was nominated for Broadway's Tony Awards tonight. It was widely expected that Steppenwolf's production, which premiered in Chicago in December 2010, would win the Tony for best revival of a play.
Less certain was the award for best direction of a play, which went to Woolf's Pam McKinnon. Even more of a dark horse was the award for best actor in a play, which went to Steppenwolf ensemble member Tracy Letts for his revisionary work as George in Woolf. Hollywood star and two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks, who made his Broadway debut this season in Nora Ephron's final work, Lucky Guy, was favored to win, with strong competition from Nathan Lane, who got strong reviews for his performance in The Nance. Letts won a Tony as playwright in 2009 for August: Osage County, for which he'll also be credited as screenwriter when the film adaptation opens this fall.
Steppenwolf's Woolf cast members Amy Morton and Carrie Coon were also nominated for acting awards; the fourth cast member, Madison Dirks, was not, though Letts, in his acceptance speech tonight, referred to Dirks as "criminally undersung." Morton had been previously nominated in 2009 for her leading role in Letts's Osage County, losing to her castmate Deanna Dunagan.
Both Coon and Dirks made their Broadway debuts in this revival of Woolf; Coon lost the Tony tonight to Judith Light, who took her second consecutive Tony as best featured actress in a play for The Assembled Parties, but Coon revealed in an interview last week that she and Letts have recently become engaged.
Another big winner at tonight's Tony Awards was the musical Kinky Boots, which had an early tryout in Chicago last fall. That show, which reportedly went through many revisions between its Chicago iteration and opening on Broadway in April, took home Tonys for best orchestrator Stephen Oremus, best actor Billy Porter, best composer Cyndi Lauper and best musical, winning over the reported favorite and British import Matilda the Musical.
5 things to do today: Monday, June 10
Kate Boy
CLUBS
Porn and Chicken Chicago loves throwing the word rage around when talking up rock-fueled DJ parties. It also likes throwing said parties on Mondays. Tatted-up residents Phives, Dan Dwyer and Orville Kline keep the raging Monday tradition alive, spinning banging electro and bass music while revelers gnaw on chicken wings and ogle skin flicks. Evil Olive. 10pm. $5.
COMEDY
Kill All Comedy West The Kill All Comedy producers bring their night of anything-goes sketch comedy to Logan, but they throw stand-up into the mix. Quenchers Saloon. 8pm.
5 things to do today: Sunday, June 9
Printers Row Lit Fest, 6/10/12
AROUND TOWN
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum National Tour The 20th anniversary tour of D.C.'s Holocaust Museum stops in Chicago to honor area Holocaust survivors and World War II veterans. The day of events features rare films and historic footage, the opportunity for survivors and their families to consult with researchers, and workshops and panel discussions on topics including "What if Hitler had access to the Internet?" (We're guessing he would've been a serious troll.) Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. 10am–5pm.
BOOKS
Printers Row Lit Fest It's back: the annual bookstravaganza on the storied streets of Printers Row. Authors from around the country participate in readings and panel discussions, and a slew of publishers and bookstores hawk their wares—everything from rare books and signed first editions to the latest releases from local indie presses. Prominent guests include graphic novelist/cartoonist Art Spielgelman, young adult author Judy Blume (be still, my 11-year-old heart), Colum McCann, Julia Sweeney and more. Printers Row. 10am–6pm.
Printers Row Lit Fest: Sunday
Kathleen Rooney, author of Robinson Alone.
Our picks for what to see on Sunday, June 9, at Printers Row Lit Fest:
Hot Doug's Doug Sohn
The wizard behind Chicago's favorite fake meats emporium discusses Hot Doug's: The Book. 1pm at Good Eating Stage.
Tribute to David Hernandez and Roger Ebert with Kevin Coval and Rick Kogan
Coval (author of Schtick) and Kogan (senior writer for the Chicago Tribune) pay tribune to two beloved cultural figures who passed away this year. 1:30pm at Mash Stage.
Kathleen Rooney
Rooney, author of the dazzling novel in poems, Robinson Alone, converses with Courtney Crowder of the Chicago Tribune's Printers Row literary supplement. 2:15pm at University Center/River Room.
826CHI
Members of the nonprofit writing/tutoring center present a new collection, Longform Journalism and Creative Nonfiction by High School Students. 2:30pm at Mash Stage.
Nathan Englander
The What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank author sits down for a convo with Booklist's Donna Seaman. 2:30pm at Harold Washington University.
CM Burroughs
The poet and Columbia College professor shares her writing. 4:15 at the Arts & Poetry Stage.
Robbie Q. Telfer
The poet, Encyclopedia Show co-founder, author of Spiking the Sucker Punch and (last but not least) former poetry correspondent for TOC reads from his work. 4:15 at Center Stage.
5 things to do today: Saturday, June 8
Schubas' Backyard Bash
AROUND TOWN
World Naked Bike Ride As Jerry Seinfeld once said, there's good naked and there's bad naked. Letting it all hang out while cycling through the city probably qualifies as the latter. Don't want chafed butt cheeks? Swimwear and costumes are acceptable gear. The body-painting party at 6pm helps calm nerves. Sat 8pm–Sat 11pm. Check in starts at 6pm at 1025 W Randolph St.
BOOKS
A City So Real It's a literary weekend in Chicago, so prepare for your schedule to be BOOKED (heh heh). In addition to the Printers Row Lit Fest, Northwestern stages an adaptation of Alex Kotlowitz's Never a City So Real, the current One Book One Northwestern selection. Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art. 7pm.
Best festivals in Chicago this weekend
Ribfest Chicago
Bellwether This city can't get enough shopping-and-food-and-booze bashes, and the newest of the bunch seems poised to be a big hit. Produced by the same folks who put on Vintage Bazaar and Renegade Craft Fair, Bellwether promises furniture, home goods, artwork, vintage finds and records, along with beer from Revolution Brewing, wine from Oliver Winery, cocktails from Death's Door and fare from food trucks and artisanal producers. Learn how to make a terrarium with Logan Square flower shop Fleur, and catch live performances from Tortoise’s Jeff Parker, the Paulina Hollers, Abraham Levitan, Ami Saraiya and the Outcome, Black Bear Combo and the Low Down Brass Band, plus DJ sets by Damon Locks, Tony Sarabia, Peter Margasak, Reckless Records and more. On Saturday, stick around for the after-hours party from 8–10pm featuring sketch-comedy show NED Talks. On Sunday, there's Adventure Sandwich for the kids and a "drunken spelling bee" for the adults. Tickets go on sale May 21 for Sunday's $50 Bellwether-hosted beer brunch at Ada St, with Revolution beer pairings. Hideout. Jun 8, noon–10pm; Jun 9, noon–8pm. Suggested donation $10, kids under 12 free; after-hours party $10.
Chicago Blues Festival 2013 Shemekia Copeland kicks off the 30th iteration of Blues Fest, expanded back to four days with a theme of "Rollin' Up the River." The body of water, of course, is the Mississippi, and the lineup traces the music migration from the delta to Chicago. Which is a roundabout way of saying "the blues." After Copeland's Thursday evening set in Millennium Park, the groove moves to its regular "joint," Grant Park. Scene regulars Bobby Rush (Friday); Otis Clay and the Bar-Kays (Saturday); and James Cotton (Sunday) headline in the Music Shell. Other locals like Big Time Sarah, Linsey Alexander, Eddie Shaw and John Primer fill up four other stages. Millennium Park, Pritzker Pavilion: Jun 6, 6:30pm; Grant Park: Jun 7–9, 11am–9:30pm.
Doughnut Day | It's been real
Sprinkles doughnut from Dat Donut
I have no idea how you personally celebrated Doughnut Day, but here's how we did it at Time Out Chicago:
We tasted pretty much every doughnut in Chicago and named our favorites.
We taste tested the new Dunkin' Donuts doughnut breakfast sandwich.
We rounded up the zaniest doughnut-imprinted products on the Interwebz.
We asked two expert copy editors to decide whether the spelling is doughnut or donut.
We reimagined our favorite movie scenes as doughnut puns.
We made a plea to bring Tim Hortons to Chicago.
We judged 15 doughnut-like pastries to determine whether they were, in fact, doughnuts.
We made a Doughnut Day playlist.
We found 15 Chicago restaurants that have doughnuts on their menus.
Thanks for reading! You can find all this coverage together in our Doughnut Day feature. And remember, if you dream it, any day can be Doughnut Day.
Man of Steel destroys Chicago, rural Illinois on the big screen
Warning: This post contains spoilers to the plot of Man of Steel.
What is it about Chicago that makes it so attractive to filmmakers bent on destruction? Is it the location, nestled in the unassuming, generically American Midwest? All those gleaming skyscrapers just begging to be smashed by extraterrestrials? Or is it simply the sweet tax credit producers get for filming here?
During one of the many fight sequences in Man of Steel, the highly anticipated (and high-octane) Superman reboot in theaters June 14, our chiseled hero is thrown through the glass roof of Chicago's Union Station. In his spandex-meets-chainmail suit and blood-red cape, Henry Cavill's Superman plummets to the floor of the train hub's magnificent Great Hall, which on a normal afternoon is quiet, save the whispers of a docent leading an architectural tour.
What to see at Printers Row Lit Fest: Saturday
Author Julia Sweeney
I wish my 10-year-old self could accompany my adult self to the Printers Row Lit Fest this weekend. That was the age I stole a copy of Judy Blume's Just as Long as We're Together from my fourth-grade classroom, read and reread it until I could quote certain lines ("I broke off a sprig of forsythia and rang Alison's bell") and decided I wanted to be a writer because of it. Well, that and Bridge to Terabithia and everything by Roald Dahl.
Ms. Blume is a special guest at this year's bookstravaganza, conversing with journalist Julia Keller on Sunday at 2pm at Harold Washington Library. (BYO inner child.) There's a lot of notable talent at this year's festival, in fact, and a slew of great literary events—from readings to panels to a more-elaborate-than-a-spelling-bee vocab quiz: "The American Heritage Dictionary Define-a-thon" (Sunday at 3:15pm on the Center Stage). When not browsing new and used books or waiting in line at Pockets, check out these events:
Saturday
The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival
Author James Kennedy hosts this screening, featuring the winners of the film fest he founded, in which kids make 90-second movies telling the entire story of a Newbery Award–winning book. 10:30am at Jones College Prep Auditorium.
