DANCE
RIVER NORTH CHICAGO DANCE COMPANY
From the Chicago show dance company, seven works from the repertory, including several pieces by retiring co-artistic director Sherry Zunker; Sunday at Centre East Theatre in the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie; $25; 847-673-6300 or 312-902-1500.
BALLET CHICAGO STUDIO COMPANY
Young dancers trained by Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair in a spring repertory program of works by George Balanchine, Duell and Blair; Thursday through Saturday at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave.; $5-$15; 312-902-1500.
— Richard Christiansen
ROCK
OH SUSANNA
A star in the making? She’s a torch singer from the wrong side of the tracks, with touches of soul, blues and Appalachia; Wednesday at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave.; $7; 773-227-4433; Saturday at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave.; $10; 773-525-2508.
COMMON
The South Side native has emerged as one of hip-hop’s most authoritative voices; Friday at House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St.; $25; 312-923-2000.
IGGY POP
The former James Osterberg of Ypsilanti, Mich., is to live rock ‘n’ roll what nitro is to glycerin; Friday at the Vic, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave.; $28.50; 312-559-1212.
THOMAS MAPFUMO
Rare local appearance by “the Lion of Zimbabwe,” whose driving, politically tinged songs span 30 years; Saturday at Hothouse, 31 E. Balbo Dr.; $20; 312-362-9707.
— Greg Kot
ART
EXHIBIT
Sharon Lockhart photographs and films; final week; Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; free with museum admission; 312-280-2660.
`SPROING’
Sculpture incorporating springs are at nine sites — from the Loop to O’Hare Airport; through June 20; free; 773-352-6777.
EXHIBIT
“Celebration and Vision: The Hewitt Collection of African-American Art,” nearly 60 two-dimensional works by 20 artists from the last two centuries; through July 22; DuSable Museum of African American Culture, 740 E. 56th Pl.; 773-947-0600.
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— Alan G. Artner
JAZZ
MMW, 8 BOLD SOULS
Medeski, Martin and Wood will play funk-tinged jazz in an acoustic show, while Chicago’s 8 Bold Souls will represent the South Side avant-garde; 8 p.m. Friday in Symphony Center; $20-$43; 312-294-3000.
CLARK TERRY
A seasoned big-band trumpeter and early champion of the flugelhorn, Terry is guest soloist with Jeff Lindberg’s excellent Chicago Jazz Orchestra; 3 p.m. May 20 at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St.; $25; 312-409-3947.
— Howard Reich
CLASSICAL
RICHARD GOODE
No question about it: Among artists of his generation, Richard Goode stands as the finest exemplar of the American piano school. His recital, 3 p.m. Sunday at Symphony Center, is generous — a Bach French suite and Partita No. 1 in B-flat, a Chopin group including six Mazurkas, and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 31 in A-flat, Opus 110; $20-$37; 312-294-3000.
JOHN HARBISON
The distinguished American composer introduces his newest song cycle, “North and South,” commissioned by the Chicago Chamber Musicians and performed by CCM with the wonderful mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson; 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Museum of Contemporary Art Theater; $24 and $30; 312-397-4010.
NORTH PARK CHAMBER PLAYERS
John Callaway joins the North Park University faculty ensemble as narrator for Saint-Saens’ whimsical “Carnival of the Animals,” part of the North Park chamber series’ 20th anniversary season finale, 7:30 p.m. Friday in Anderson Chapel, 3225 W. Foster; $10 and $15; 773-244-5625.
— John von Rhein
THEATER
`HARD TIMES’
Director/adaptor Heidi Stillman’s version of the Charles Dickens novel meshes a gifted ensemble of designers and actors into an extraordinarily imaginative theatrical experience; through June 3, by Lookingglass Theater at the Ruth Page Center, 1016 N. Dearborn St.; $25 and $28.50; 773-477-8088.
`A LIFE’
Daniel J. Travanti appears as Desmond Drumm, a stringent Irishman who reflects on the past and tries to settle accounts as he nears the end of his career; through May 20 by Irish Repertory at Victory Gardens Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.; $32.50-$42.50; 773-871-3000.
— Richard Christiansen