JAZZ
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MARIAN MCPARTLAND
The octogenarian pianist plays with the spirit and inquisitiveness of youth; Tuesday through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; $20; 312-670-2473.
JOHN MOULDER
A brilliant Chicago guitarist, Moulder consistently delivers high-energy, intellectually provocative performances; 9 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway Ave; $8; 773-878-5552.
— Howard Reich
ROCK
BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA
The venerable vocal group continues to blend traditional harmonies with adventurous soul, blues and gospel songs; Tuesday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $15; 312-294-3000.
EL-P AND MR. LIF
El-P’s heavy-hitting delivery and Lif’s agit-rap politics make for riveting hip-hop; Tuesday at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St.; $15; 773-549-4140.
COLIN BLUNSTONE AND ROD ARGENT
The founding members of the great British Invasion band the Zombies are sure to play plenty of their lost classics, including “Time of the Season,” in their first tour since the band’s 1968 demise; Thursday at Abbey Pub, 3420 N. Grace St.; $15-$18; 773-478-4408.
— Greg Kot
CLASSICAL
MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
The Chicago orchestra and chorus is wasting no time introducing its newly named music director, Jane Glover. The respected British conductor will open MOB’s 32nd season this week with three performances of George Frideric Handel’s delightful ode to the power of music, the oratorio “Alexander’s Feast.” Soloists will be soprano Mary Nelson and baritone James Maddalena; performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at First United Methodist Church, 1630 Hinman Ave., Evanston, and continue at 8 p.m. Monday at Old St. Patrick’s Church, 700 W. Adams; and 8 p.m. Wednesday at Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 W. Division St., River Forest; $22-$45; 312-551-1415.
CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Daniel Barenboim appears as both pianist and conductor to launch the CSO’s subscription season this week. His program will consist of music inspired by Spain — Falla’s “Miller’s Dance” and “Nights in the Gardens of Spain,” Ravel’s “Rapsodie Espagnole,” “Pavane for a Dead Princess,” “Alborada del Gracioso” and “Bolero”; performances begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday and continue Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. $14-$192; 312-294-3000.
— John von Rhein
ART
JULIE MOOS
A new cycle of large photographic portraits in color of farmers who plant seeds developed by Monsanto; opens today at the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, 5811 S. Ellis Ave.; free; 773-702-8670.
THE OTHERS
Artworks by art historians and other academics; opens Friday at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1926 Exhibition Studies Space, 1926 N. Halsted St.; free; 312-899-5100.
THE LAST EXPRESSION: ART AND AUSCHWITZ
More than 200 artworks by Holocaust victims in concentration camps, ghettos and hiding places; opens Friday at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston; free; 847-491-4000.
— Alan G. Artner
THEATER
JULIUS CAESAR
A lean, smart contemporary take on Shakespeare’s Roman scandals. Among the trench coats, sunglasses and furtive, justifiably paranoid glances of the conspirators, director Nic Dimond finds a “Sopranos”-like fascination in all the power plays at hand; through Oct. 26 at Strawdog Theatre Company, 3829 N. Broadway Ave.; $15; 773-528-9696.
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LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST
Shakespeare’s early comedy is set in a park in southwestern France, where a king and his pals have sworn off women and various other creature comforts; through Nov. 17 at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave.; $38-$48; 312-595-5600.
THE PALMER RAIDS
In 1919, America’s anti-radicalism came to an early peak with the broken strikes, deported Reds and broken bones — all government-sanctioned, by attorney general A. Mitchell Palmer — effected by the Palmer raids. Director Dexter Bullard’s rock-’em-sock-’em quartet of actors, plus Eric Leonardson’s live sound design, are never dull; through Oct. 6 at the National Pastime Theater, 4139 N. Broadway Ave; $15-$20; 312-409-0400.
— Michael Phillips
THE FANTASTICKS
Thanks to the savvy and experienced directing team of James Harms and Rudy Hogenmiller, Pegasus Players’ revival of the long-running off-Broadway musical is a sweet, dignified and intensely moving production of an iconic little show with a gorgeous score; through Oct. 20 at Pegasus Players, 1145 W. Wilson Ave.; $23-$25; 773-878-9761.
DOO WOP SHOO BOP
Jackie Taylor and Jimmy Tillman’s superbly sung revue of innumerable doo-wop classics recorded by African-American artists is far better than “Forever Plaid.” A feast of nostalgia encouraging audience participation, this show in a non-stop party open to all; through Jan. 5 at the Black Ensemble Theatre, 4520 N. Beacon St.; $32.50; 773-769-4451.
— Chris Jones
ARCHITECTURE
9/11 AND BEYOND
Ron Klemencic, chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, will lecture on “Tall Buildings, Structural Design and the Future: 9/11 and Beyond”; 6 p.m. Monday in the auditorium of the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Wishnick Hall, 3255 S. Dearborn St.; free; 312-567-3000.
— Blair Kamin