Friday 12/17 – Thursday 12/23
Music critics have waxed hyperbolic about “techno fox” DJ Rap, who before becoming a spinning and singing sensation was a London paralegal named Charissa Saverio. After her first rave experience she chucked the straight life and joined the techno revolution. Tonight she’ll be at Aura, 640 N. Dearborn, to promote her debut album, Learning Curve. Doors open at 10 and the cover is $15. Call 312-266-2114.
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18 SATURDAY The Hyde Park Art Center’s new solstice ritual, Howl, has its roots in a South American tradition of symbolically ridding the community of evils for the New Year. For HPAC’s version, a group of artists will combine performances with the burning of effigies representing “some of the darker ghosts of the past 2,000 years.” Audience members can write down what they want to purge on a piece of paper and burn that too. Fausto Fernos of the Radical Faeries emcees the proceedings; artists include the Ever-So-Secret Order of the Lamprey, Katherine Chronis, Alan Bolle, Michael Bancroft, and Partners in Art. The free spectacle runs from 4:30 to 6:30 on the steps on the south side of the Museum of Science and Industry, 57th and Lake Shore Drive. Call 773-324-5520.
Solstice celebrations continue with Redmoon Theater’s eighth annual Winter Pageant, which focuses on the cycles of life and the seasons. This year the festival of puppetry, masks, and live music is based in part on a Logan Square mural that honors firefighters who died rescuing children. Performances are at 2 and 5 today (there are also performances on Thursday, December 16, Friday, and Saturday) at the Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie. Tickets are $8. Call 773-388-9031.
23 THURSDAY Over the past 16 years the Music Box’s annual Christmas Sing-along and Double Feature has turned into what theater co-owner Chris Carlo has dubbed “the Rocky Horror Christmas show.” He cites regulars who adorn themselves with lightbulb earrings and strap-on antlers and say the lines with the actors–not to mention the enthusiastic, Santa-led caroling that takes place between the movies. The sing-along runs Tuesday through today; screenings of It’s a Wonderful Life start each day at 4 and 9:45 and White Christmas is at 7. Tickets are $10 and available in advance by calling 312-559-1212 or on the day of the show at the Music Box, 3733 N. Southport (773-871-6604).
