ARCHITECTURE
GWATHMEY LECTURE
New York architect Charles Gwathmey lectures at the Art Institute of Chicago Tuesday at 6 p.m. on his recent projects, including a plan for the former World Trade Center site that was prepared with Richard Meier, Peter Eisenman and Steve Holl; $10 for members of the museum’s Architecture and Design Society, $15 for non-members; 312-443-4751.
— Blair Kamin
ART
JOELLE TUERLINCKX
This is the first American museum exhibition for the Belgian artist and will focus on the formal properties of the space as well as the institution’s relationship to the larger Chicago community; opens Sunday at the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, 5811 S. Ellis Ave.; free; 773-702-8670.
PAUL PFEIFFER
A selection of video and sculptural works from an artist recognized for his use of computer and video technology; through Aug. 31; Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; $10; 312-280-2660.
— Alan G. Artner
CLASSICAL
OLLI MUSTONEN
The unconventional Finnish pianist returns to Chicago to perform an unconventional recital program that holds Busoni arrangements of a Bach Fantasia and four Chorale Preludes, Paul Hindemith’s Sonata No. 1 (1936) and excerpts from Prokofiev’s “Cinderella.” 3 p.m. Sunday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $14-$32; 312-294-3000.
ARS VIVA SYMPHONY
The orchestra under Alan Heatherington’s baton closes its season with an all-Beethoven program. The esteemed Chicago pianist Jorge Federico Osorio will perform the Fourth Piano Concerto on a program that includes the Fourth Symphony. 4 p.m. Sunday at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. $15-$45; 847-673-6300.
HANDEL’S MUSE
The Forces of Virtue period-instruments ensemble, in collaboration with Chicago Opera Theater and Ars Antigua, presents a concert of operatic excerpts by the rarely heard German Baroque composers Reinhard Keiser and Johann Mattheson, both of whom influenced George Frideric Handel’s musical style. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton; $10-$30; 312-255-3700.
— John von Rhein
JAZZ
BOBBY SHEW
The venerable trumpeter appears with one of the best collegiate ensembles, the DePaul University Big Band; Tuesday through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; $20; 312-670-2473.
More Top Picks Best Dehumidifiers For Basements
— Howard Reich
THEATER
THE BUBBLY BLACK GIRL SHEDS HER CHAMELEON SKIN
Kirsten Childs grew up in L.A. bubbly, black and wanting to become a dancing star like Gwen Verdon in “Damn Yankees.” After moving to New York, Childs was cast by director Bob Fosse in, among other shows, “Chicago.” This charming show, in which Childs’ life becomes a breezy coming-of-age tale, gets a very snazzy local premiere at Apple Tree Theatre. It’s good-looking and sharply choreographed, with director Mark E. Lococo’s 11-person cast led by Harriet Nzinga Plumpp as Viveca, a.k.a. “Bubbly,” with great comic support from Norissa Pearson as Emily, paragon of looking-cool-at-a-party; through May 4 at 595 Elm Pl., Highland Park; $33-$38; 847-432-4335.
THE WINTER’S TALE
Two sides of a willfully improbable coin, this mood-swinging Shakespearean adventure begins as a monomaniacal study in jealousy embodied by King Leontes of Sicilia and ends with a family reunion 16 years later, minus one son. No easy trick, “The Winter’s Tale” is nonetheless tantalizing, and director Michael Bogdanov’s free-floating take on the text has its payoffs. The production perhaps is too leisurely — three hours-plus — too full of atmospheric and musical frills. But a solid cast keeps it grounded; through June 1 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand St., Navy Pier; $48-$58; 312-595-5600.
— Michael Phillips