GOSPEL
BARRETT SISTERS
The greatest vocal trio in gospel will celebrate the 76th birthday of DeLois Barrett, the lead singer of the group, with a performance at 3 p.m. March 10 at Carter Temple, 7841 S. Wabash Ave.; Free; 773-874-0175.
— Howard Reich
DANCE
YIN MEI DANCE
This New York-based company, making its Chicago debut, draws on ancient Chinese art for its “/Asunder,” an exploration of romantic and spiritual love; Thursday through Saturday at the Dance Center of Columbia College, 1306 N. Michigan Ave.; $20; 312-344-8300.
LIMON DANCE COMPANY
The famed troupe brings a new work featuring choreography by Evanston’s Billy Siegenfeld; at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie; $38; 312-902-1500.
— Sid Smith
ROCK
MEKONS
The great punk survivors reprise the tunes from their reissued mid-’80s masterpiece, “Fear and Whiskey,” with Texas troubadour Alejandro Escovedo; Monday at FitzGerald’s, 6615 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn; $15; 708-788-2118.
SUNSHINE FIX
Spinoff project from the mighty psychedelic-pop collective the Olivia Tremor Control; Monday at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave.; $8; 773-276-3600.
RICHARD THOMPSON
Virtuoso British rock guitarist and singer of the saddest break-up songs this side of Hank Williams Sr.; Monday at Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave.; $28.50; 773-929-5959.
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GORKY’S ZYGOTIC MYNCI
Welsh band spins lovely folk-rock tunes with orchestral colorations; Thursday at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St.; $10; 773-478-4408.
LAMBCHOP
Mini-orchestra of a band blends country and soul influences; Saturday at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St.; $12; 773-478-4408.
— Greg Kot
ARCHITECTURE
JENS JENSEN
A major exhibition devoted to Jens Jensen, the Chicagoan who created the Prairie Style of landscape design before he died in 1951, opens Saturday at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. Titled “A Force of Nature: The Life and Work of Jens Jensen,” the exhibition includes original plans, artifacts, sculpture, historic and contemporary photographs, and a video about Jensen’s life and work; through June 16; Free; 312-744-6630.
MUSEUM DESIGN
Italian architect Gae Aulenti, best known for transforming a Paris train station into the Musee d’Orsay during the 1980s, speaks on “New Directions in Museum Design” at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Rubloff Auditorium on Tuesday at 6 p.m.; $10-$15 (reservations required); 312-443-4751.
— Blair Kamin
CLASSICAL
MUSICNOW
David Robertson, the American conductor who’s directing subscription concerts with the Chicago Symphony this week, takes charge of the orchestra’s popular new music series with a lecture-demonstration at 7 p.m. Sunday in Buntrock Hall, Symphony Center. He will join French composer Philippe Hurel to discuss and perform the latter’s “Six miniatures en tromp d’oeil”; $10-$25; 312-294-3000.
ST. PETERSBURG PHILHARMONIC
Under music director Yuri Temirkanov, the ensemble performs music by three great Russian composers — Mussorgsky (“Khovanschina” Prelude), Rachmaninov (Piano Concerto No. 3) and Shostakovich (Fifth Symphony). Yefim Bronfman is the piano soloist; 8 p.m. Monday at Symphony Center; $31-$79; 312-294-3000.
NEWBERRY CONSORT
“The Musical World of Christina of Sweden” explores the music that surrounded the enigmatic 17th Century Queen Christina, the monarch who gave up her throne at 28, moved to Rome and devoted the rest of her life to the arts. There will be three performances and an open rehearsal, but the concert to catch is at 8 p.m. Friday at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St., when 1933 Greta Garbo’s “Queen Christina of Sweden” will be screened after the music; $5-$10; 312-255-3700.
CUBE CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE
The intrepid new music group will premiere its first commissioned work, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Chicago composer Ilya Levinson’s one-act monodrama based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story, in fully-staged performances starring baritone David Holloway. Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Columbia College Concert Hall, 1014 S. Michigan Ave.; March 17 at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.; and March 20 at North Park University, Anderson Chapel, 3225 W. Foster Ave.; $10-$18; 312-554-1133.
— John von Rhein
ART
ELIZABETH I
Janel Mueller will discuss the style of dress of Queen Elizabeth I of England as recorded in texts and images at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Smart Museum of Art, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave.; $20 (registration required); 773-702-3268.
CUBAN PHOTOGRAPHY
“Shifting Tides: Cuban Photography after the Revolution,” closes Saturday, Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College, 600 S. Michigan Ave.; Free; 312-663-5554.
— Alan G. Artner
JAZZ
DEWEY REDMAN QUARTET
Though not nearly as celebrated as his son, tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman, the elder player remains a towering figure in the jazz avant-garde; Tuesday through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; $20; 312-670-2473.
WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET
Performances by trumpeter Marsalis’ septet have been scant over the past decade, which makes the return of this exceptional band noteworthy; 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $45-$75; 312-294-3000.
— Howard Reich
THEATER
`ANOTHER AMERICAN: ASKING AND TELLING’
A very strong one-man, multicharacter show by the actor Marc Wolf presents a stirring theatrical collage of views on the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy; through March 10 at About Face Theatre, 3212 N. Broadway; $22-$25; 773-549-3290.
`HAMLET’
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Guy Adkins’ dynamic, articulate young prince galvanizes director Charles Newell’s smart, strikingly designed version of the Shakespeare tragedy; through March 31 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.; $28-$40; 773-753-4472.
— Richard Christiansen
`MRS. MACKENZIE’S BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE BLUES’
Poignant and compelling performances from Jenny McKnight and Geoff Rice anchor this rich, complex and blues-infused play about a troubled music-appreciation teacher who falls in love with one of her students; through April 6 at Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield St.;$18-$20; 773-276-3434.
`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’
Lana Turner’s daughter’s alleged murder of Turner’s abusive mobster boyfriend is the subject of Edward Thomas-Herrera’s uneven but absorbing fantasia; through March 31 at Live Bait Theater, 3914 N. Clark St.; $15-$20; 773-871-1212.
`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. The Organic revival is on the pedestrian side, but Norris buoys his cohorts; through March 10 at Organic Theater Company, McGaw YMCA Center, 1420 Maple Ave., Evanston; $25-$30; 847-475-2800.
— Michael Phillips