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KAI ALTHOFF
“Kai Althoff: Kai Kein Respekt (Kai No Respect),” an exhibition of watercolors, drawings, collages and paintings in the first museum survey for the Cologne artist; opens Saturday; Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; $10; 312-280-2660.
`DAY OF THE DEAD’
The annual show, said to be the largest in the United States; opens Friday; Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, 1852 W. 19th St.; free; 312-738-1503.
MEDIEVAL ART
“Devotion and Splendor: Medieval Art at the Art Institute of Chicago” is an exhibit of 30 of the most important works from the Middle Ages in the museum’s permanent collection; opens Saturday; Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave.; $12; 312-443-3600.
— Alan G. Artner
CLASSICAL
CHICAGO CHAMBER MUSICIANS
The city’s flagship chamber ensemble kicks off its 18th season with Mendelssohn’s String Quintet, Opus 87; Janacek’s “Mladi”; and Dvorak’s Piano Trio in E Minor (“Dumky”). 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Pick-Staiger, Northwestern University, 50 Arts Circle Drive; and 7:30 p.m. Monday at DePaul University Concert Hall, 804 W. Belden Ave.; $18-$36; 312-225-5226.
MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
The organization’s first full season at the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance begins with Haydn’s “The Creation,” conducted by music director Jane Glover. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the theater, 205 E. Randolph Drive. Joining the orchestra and chorus will be vocal soloists Susan Gritton, John Tessier and Kyle Ketelsen. $35-$50; 312-551-1414.
NORTHWEST INDIANA SYMPHONY
Music director Kirk Muspratt’s solid professional orchestra will open its season at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Star Plaza Theatre, Interstate Highway 65 and U.S. Highway 30, Merrillville, Ind. The concert will include Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 and Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major, with principal cellist Mark Lekas as soloist; $25-$40; 219-836-0525.
ELIZAWETA STEPANOWA
The young competition-winning pianist will present a recital at 3 p.m. Sunday at the DePaul University Concert Hall, 804 W. Belden Ave. Her program, co-sponsored by DePaul’s AmerKlavier Studio and the Goethe-Institut Chicago, holds works by Brahms, Debussy, Stravinsky, Bach and Beethoven; free; 773-325-7260.
— John von Rhein
JAZZ
NEW HORIZONS
Ernest Dawkins’ ferocious band — now including trumpeter Maurice Brown — celebrates the release of “Mean Ameen” on Delmark Records; 9 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway; $10; 773-878-5552.
DAVID SANCHEZ
One of the most skillful improvisers in jazz, Puerto Rican saxophonist Sanchez leads a quartet; Tuesday through Sept. 26 at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; $20; 312-670-2473.
— Howard Reich
ROCK
ESTROJAM 2004
Among the dozens of performers at this celebration of women artists (Monday-Sept. 26, details at www.estrojam.org) is rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson, Thursday at Martyrs, 3855 N. Lincoln Ave.; $15; 773-404-9494.
DIAMANDA GALAS
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With her multioctave vocals ranging between operatic swoops and bluesy shrieks, GalaS sounds nearly as extreme as her subject matter; Saturday at Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave.; $30; 312-559-1212.
HIDEOUT BLOCK PARTY
The three-day festival at this blue-collar landmark is family friendly, with a kids stage as well as headlining performances by Bobby Bare Jr., Mouse on Mars, Marah and Califone, Friday-Sept. 26 at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave.; $10; 773-227-4433.
CHAKA KHAN
Embraced by everyone from Prince to Kanye West, Khan remains the soul sister of choice for a new generation of listeners; Thursday at Congress Theatre, 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave.; $35; 312-559-1212.
TORTOISE
The jazzy grooves of this Chicago instrumental combo are about as close as we’ll get this season to seeing a rock band in the city’s new lakefront jewel; Monday at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park; free; www.millenniumpark.org.
— Greg Kot
THEATER
`MATT AND BEN’
Unknowns Ben Affleck and Matt Damon sit around Ben’s apartment working on a screenplay adaptation of “The Catcher in the Rye.” Then, a completed script titled “Good Will Hunting” falls from the heavens. Can these two demi-talents deal with celebrityhood and Oscardom? “Matt and Ben” isn’t as mean-spirited as you’d expect, but it’s a wry and nicely sustained gender-bent goof. The Chicago premiere stars Jennifer R. Morris and Quincy Tyler Bernstine; through Oct. 3 at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.; $25; 773-327-5252.
— Michael Phillips
`THE 4TH GRADERS PRESENT AN UNNAMED LOVE-SUICIDE’
This play from Sean Graney is a genuinely painful pageant performed by actors playing 4th graders who are putting on a show in honor of a former classmate whom, we are told, killed himself directly after writing the play we are now seeing. The point is to trace the reasons for that suicide — the consequence of nasty tricks by other children that slowly but surely render a pair of empathetic young sweethearts asunder; through Sept. 26 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave.; $12-$15; 312-902-1500.
— Chris Jones