ART
`HIROSHI SUGIMOTO: SEA OF BUDDHA’
Black-and-white photographs of dawn light illuminating 1,000 statues of an enlightened being of boundless compassion in a 13th Century Buddhist temple; final week, David and Alfred Smart Museum, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave.; free; 773-702-0200.
`THE ARTFUL TEAPOT’
More than 100 artists create 250 teapots and related materials from the Kamm Collection; final week, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.; free; 312-744-6630.
— Alan G. Artner
CLASSICAL
BARTON AND ROZENDAAL
Chicago’s own Rachel Barton, violin, will team up with cellist John Mark Rozendaal to present a program of duos — works by Biber and Tartini, plus noels and Christmas concertos — at 3 p.m. Sunday in Preston Bradley Hall of the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.; free; 312-744-6630.
SALUTE TO VIENNA
Viennese conductor Karl Sollak will lead the Strauss Symphony of America, more than 75 professional players, singers and dancers of the Ballet Chicago Studio Company and the Hungarian National Ballet in favorite waltzes, polkas and quadrilles by Johann Strauss Jr. and others. Soloists include soprano Ingrid Mankhof and tenor Otoniel Gonzaga; at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 4 in Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $25-$105; 312-294-3000.
CHICAGO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Founder and music director Dieter Kober returns to the podium to lead his ensemble. Charles Pikler of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be soloist in Vivaldi’s “Winter” concerto from “The Four Seasons.” Kober’s wide-ranging program also holds works by Telemann, Von Koch, Scott Joplin, Johann Strauss Jr. and John Philip Sousa; at 3 p.m. Jan. 4 in Preston Bradley Hall of the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.; free; 312-922-5570.
— John von Rhein
JAZZ
PATRICIA BARBER
Barber remains a jazz singer-songwriter of distinction; 9 p.m. Monday at the Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway; $7; 773-878-5552.
BOBBY BROOM
The deft Chicago guitarist fronts the Deep Blue Organ Trio, with organist Chris Foreman and drummer Greg Rockingham; 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway; $6; 773-878-5552.
— Howard Reich
MOVIES
`MODERN TIMES’
Charlie Chaplin takes a whimsical view of modern industry and labor unrest in this digitally restored 1936 classic. No MPAA rating; At the Music Box Theater, 3733 N. Southport Ave.; $8; 773-871-6604.
`THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE’
This wacky feature cartoon hilariously explores Tour de France bicycle racers, the French wine Mafia and dauntless old ladies. MPAA rating: PG-13. Select theaters.
`GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING’
The creation of Johannes Vermeer’s (Colin Firth) “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” told from the viewpoint of the fictitious house-servant Griet (Scarlett Johansson), who poses for him. With images modeled on Vermeer’s work, director Peter Webber’s debut feature film is a resplendent and sad study of how society entraps artists and lovers. MPAA rating: PG-13 Select theaters.
— Michael Wilmington
THEATER
`CAMELOT’
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This revival of the 1960 King Arthur musical is directed by and stars Ray Frewen. In Alan Jay Lerner’s unwieldy libretto, the Round Table always was loaded down with too much stuff, but people tend to forgive the show’s problems once Lancelot cranks up “If Ever I Would Leave You,” or Arthur and queen Guenevere trade queries in “What Do the Simple Folk Do?” There’s strong and seasoned work from Frewen, Cory Goodrich’s fervent queen, and Joe Van Slyke and David Lively as Merlin and Pellinore, respectively; through Jan. 4 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace; $22-$25, dinner theater packages start at $38.50; 630-530-0111.
`CELEBRATION ON ICE’
It has ice. It has skaters. It has Circus Boy, who juggles and walks on ladders. It has impressionist Frank Pisani, as well as skating, dancing tributes to everything from “Chicago” to “Ghostbusters” to “God Bless the U.S.A.” It is the final show in the history of Drury Lane Evergreen Park; in January, this haven of architectural kitsch and various, cherished show business traditions — from star-driven dinner theater to musicals to variety shows such as this one — is razed to make way for a Wal-Mart. If that isn’t a bad trade, nothing is; through Jan. 11 at Drury Lane Evergreen Park, 2500 W. 95th St., Evergreen Park; $26, lunch or dinner and show, $46; 708-422-0404.
`HAIRSPRAY’
Lotta lotta fun, propelled by a strong Motowny score and a generally exhilarating brand of retro pop silliness. Last year’s deservedly Tony Award-laden musical takes its title and story from the John Waters movie about a plus-size 1962 Baltimore teen, Tracy Turnblad, who changes the course of civil rights history and becomes a local idol in the bargain. In director Jack O’Brien’s fine touring edition, Tracy’s mom is played by Bruce Vilanch. For the Chicago engagement, the supporting role of Seaweed’s played by Chester Gregory II, and that is kinetically happy news indeed. Through Feb. 15 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theater, 24 W. Randolph St.; $37-$87; 312-902-1400.
`JAMES JOYCE’S THE DEAD’
Set on a single evening, the show ushers the audience into the Morkan sisters’ annual yuletide party, full of song, regrets and family feeling. Director Charles Newell’s intimate revival is back again, and it’s as satisfying as last year. Topping a strong cast of singing actors, Deanna Dunagan returns to the role of ailing Aunt Julia; through Jan. 4 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Hyde Park; $26-$50; 773-753-4472.
— Michael Phillips
`DOORS OPEN ON THE RIGHT’
Joshua Funk’s stellar, daring and frequently hilarious new revue on the Second City mainstage blames poor Steve Bartman (of Cubs choke infamy) for everything from fire to the lack of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The cast is young but the material is hot, and Funk’s formative mastery of the Second City genre is without recent peer; open run at Second City, 1616 N. Wells St., $17-19; 312-337-3992.
`GREAT SOCIETY’
Set in 1964, the Chicago-themed comedy focuses on the smaller, paranoid cogs in the Richard J. Daley machine. It’s sharp, carefully researched, and penned with panache by Barbara Wallace and Thomas R. Wolfe. It has plenty of good belly laughs; through Jan. 4. at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave; $16-32. 773-327-5252.
`JOB OPPORTUNITY’
In Michael Fossberg’s noiresque crime-caper show, the dramatic action takes place in the moving front seat of a 1985 Oldsmobile. All seating for the audience, maximum of four, is in the car, which roams the city streets. The real fun is that one has no idea which street denizens are in the cast and who is simply roaming the streets. There’s a whiff of danger here, especially if you go for one of the late-night road trips; through Jan. 25; maximum audience size is four; car leaves from the Mercury Theatre, 3745 N. Southport Ave.; $38.50-$44.40; 773-325-1700.
`OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS’
Now remounted at the Mercury Theatre in proscenium form, Joe DiPietro’s proudly retro play is a shamelessly sentimental piece of emotional realism about an initially ungrateful young fellow who comes to understand the worth of his quartet of New Jersey grandparents only when he decides to move to Seattle to pursue his selfish career. Michael Weber’s production cuts the treacle with performances from a splendid quartet of veteran Chicago actors unafraid to wrestle with the meanness and insularity of old age, as well as the wisdom it imparts; through Jan. 25 at the Mercury Theatre, 3745 N. Southport Ave.; $38.50-44.50; 773-325-1700.
`PANTS ON FIRE’
Mendacity may be older than the republic, but this still is an unusually fertile time for this lively, exuberant and very funny new comedy revue at the spunky Second City e.t.c., which, thanks to an especially talented current cast, continues to beat the pants off the more staid Second City mainstage. Director Joshua Funk and his youthful coterie see and debunk liars everywhere; open run at Second City e.t.c., 1608 N. Wells St.; $17-$19; 312-337-3992.
`ROSE RAGE’
Edward Hall’s wildly revisionist and controversial but indisputably vital and clear-eyed reduction of Shakespeare’s three “Henry VI” plays imagines a juicy butcher’s abattoir replete with a bloody floor. Deaths are accompanied by the live-onstage slicing of real offal and animal flesh. And the red-hot, two-part, six-hour show has actors both stomping happily on the flag of St. George and playing merry hell with the original text. The fascinating, thrilling end result — directed with oft-dazzling sizzle and superbly performed throughout — is Elizabethan history recast as bastard, blood-infested Jacobean tragedy; through Jan. 18 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier; $70; 312-595-5600.
— Chris Jones