THEATER
`LA LUNA MUDA’
A sweet little wisp of a romance, based by director David Kersnar on a tale by Italo Calvino, about a fantastic trip to the moon, its story fleshed out by five acrobatic actors; through March 24 by Lookingglass Theatre at the Ruth Page Center, 1016 N. Dearborn St.; $28.50-$33.50; 773-477-8088.
`THE PRICE’
The actors John Judd, Lee Roy Rogers, Jeff Still and Howard Witt electrify director David Cromer’s high-voltage staging of Arthur Miller’s 1968 drama of a family’s troubled history; through March 31 at Writers’ Theatre at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe; $38; 847-835-5398.
— Richard Christiansen
`BEING BEAUTIFUL’
This daring and moving new musical from a local composer and lyricist tells the forgotten story of African-American drag queens on the South Side of Chicago in the 1940s; through March 31 at Bailiwick Arts Center, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., $20-25; 773-327-3830.
— Chris Jones
`DEATH ON A PINK CARPET’
The alleged murder of Lana Turner’s abusive mobster boyfriend by her daughter is the subject of Edward Thomas-Herrera’s uneven but absorbing fantasia. It’s like an E! “Mysteries and Scandals” episode but more inventive, thanks largely to Jay Paul Skelton’s staging; through March 31 at Live Bait Theater, 3914 N. Clark St.; $15-$20; 773-871-1212.
`MUDDY WATERS (THE HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN)’
Ron Hytower returns as the blues man, in Black Ensemble Theater’s third edition of the Waters tribute. Not a lot of meaty biography here; the show’s mostly — and happily — indebted to various hues of the blues, and director/co-writer Jackie Taylor has the cast (and a fine five-piece band) to do them justice; through March 24 at 4520 N. Beacon St.; $30; 773-769-4451.
`ROSA LUBLIN’
What does surviving the Holocaust mean for the rest of one’s ravaged life? Honest and skillful performances by Celeste Lynch, Laura Scott Wade and Carmella Mulvihill, make this faithful (to a fault) adaptation of Cynthia Ozick’s “The Shawl” and “Rosa” worth seeing; through March 10 at Piven Theatre, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston; $17-$22; 847-866-8049.
`A SKULL IN CONNEMARA’
Terrific rendition of Martin McDonagh’s Irish nasty, about a gravedigger (Si Osborne) who exhumes his late wife’s remains only to find . . . trouble; through March 10 at Northlight Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie; $32-$45; 847-673-6300.
`THE SUBSTANCE OF FIRE’
As Isaac Geldhart, playwright Jon Robin Baitz’s stern publishing scion at odds with his family, William J. Norris is first-rate, subtly delineating the character’s darker shadows; through March 10 at Organic Theater Company, McGaw YMCA Center, 1420 Maple Ave., Evanston; $25-$30; 847-475-2800.
— Michael Phillips
JAZZ
PAT MARTINO
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The veteran guitarist remains a restlessly innovative player; Tuesday through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; $20; 312-670-2473.
CHUCHITO VALDES
The son of legendary Cuban musician Chucho Valdes leads the Afro-Cuban Ensemble from the piano; 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Mambo Cafe, 3336 N. Milwaukee Ave.; $14; 773-481-2050.
— Howard Reich
CLASSICAL
BLACK MUSIC REPERTORY ENSEMBLE
“The Black Composer in the 16th to 18th Centuries” is the subject of a free concert presented by the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble in collaboration with Ars Musica Chicago. The program at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 South Shore Drive, includes works by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges and Jose Nunes Garcia. Repeat performance at 2 p.m. March 10 at St. Vincent DePaul Church, 1010 W. Webster Ave.; free; 312-344-7559.
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC
The period instruments orchestra under Christopher Hogwood returns to Symphony Center at 8 p.m. Wednesday with a program of Mozart favorites; $22-$44; 312-294-3000.
ELGIN SYMPHONY
Robert Hanson leads the orchestra, Elgin Choral Union and vocal soloists Elizabeth Norman and Robert Orth in Carl Orff’s colorful cantata, “Carmina Burana.” Performances are at 8:30 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. March 3 in Hemmens Theatre, 150 Dexter Court, Elgin; $10-$42; 847-888-4000.
— John von Rhein
ARCHITECTURE
MIES IN AMERICA
“Mies in America,” the traveling exhibition about the American work of master modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, appears at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., through May 26. The show includes 220 drawings; 60 photographs of Mies, his colleagues and projects; models of key buildings such as the New National Gallery in Berlin; and videos by Chicago artist Inigo Manglano-Ovalle. The curator was Phillis Lambert, chair of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal; $10; 312-280-2660.
BUILDING SYMPOSIUM
In conjunction with the Mies show, there will be a symposium on the relationship between technology and the art and craft of building. The event will be held on March 8 at Crown Hall, 3360 S. State St. (registration not required) and on March 9 at the MCA Theater (registration required). The March 9 event includes a roundtable discussion with Chicago architects George Danforth, Joseph Fujikawa and Gene Summers, all of whom worked with Mies; Free; 312-397-4010.
— Blair Kamin
ROCK
BOTTLE ROCKETS
They rock and boogie like Lynyrd Skynyrd crossed with ZZ Top; they write comical, heart-wrenching lyrics; and they’ll be playing a whole bunch of Doug Sahm covers; Saturday at Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St., $10-$12; 773-478-4408.
ART
CHINESE PHOTOGRAPHY
“Recent Chinese Photography from the Smart Museum’s Collection,” photographs and photo-based installations; closes Sunday, Smart Museum, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave.; free; 773-702-0200.
`OUR BACK PAGES’
An archival exhibition of oddities from Columbia College Chicago’s Center for Book & Paper Arts; opens Friday, Center for Book & Paper Arts, 1104 S. Wabash Ave.; Free; 312-344-6650.
`TAKEN BY DESIGN’
“Taken by Design: Photographs from the Institute of Design, 1937-1971,” the first exhibition to examine the school’s contributions to photography during its formative and peak years; opens Saturday, Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave.; $10; 312-443-3600.
— Alan G. Artner