Friday 9/24 – Thursday 9/30
Before Our Bodies, Ourselves, some women got their information from a series of books aimed at housewives called Woman Alive. The guides explained “things like how to deal with a husband who does a lot of business travel; how to feed the kids, clean the house, and think about a career; and what to do if your husband leaves you,” says writer Allen Conkle, who started collecting the books after tripping across one in a thrift store several years back. He based his new show, Woman Alive: A Mockudrama, on their contents. The play opens tonight at 8:30 at SweetCorn Playhouse, 5113 N. Clark. Tickets are $8; call 773-665-0126.
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25 SATURDAY Comedian Margaret Cho, star of the short-lived sitcom American Girl, lost 30 pounds in two weeks and ended up in the hospital with kidney failure after a network exec complained her face was “too round.” The obligatory battle with drugs and alcohol that followed added to the material for her subsequent comeback, which culminated in an off-Broadway show. She’ll perform tonight at 7:30 and 10:30 at the Vic, 3145 N. Sheffield. Tickets are $21.50 to $36.50; call 773-472-0449. See the Critic’s Choice in Section Two for more.
Cartoonist Lynda Barry’s new book, Cruddy, is told from the point of view of 16-year-old Roberta Rohbeson, an awkward teenager with a dad who is an alcoholic serial killer and a navy man “every goddamned inch right down to the end of my pecker.” Barry, whose Ernie Pook’s Comeek has appeared in the Reader since 1980, will read and sign copies of her books today at 3 at Borders Books & Music, 1629 Orrington in Evanston (847-733-8852). It’s free.
A lecture about “the psychodynamic interplay of ego and subconsciousness,” a story called “New and Used,” and a treatment for something called the “Oprah Opera” are a few of the things on the menu for tonight’s Cheryl Trykv Explosion. Altogether the sardonic performance artist will unveil five new stories and a radio skit. Andrew Kingsford, Laura Dame, and Katherine Chronis also perform. It’s at 8 at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia (773-227-4433). Admission is $10.
