ART
Standing Up for Landmarks: Protests, Posters & Photographs
March 1- Sept 4 @ City Gallery, 806 N. Michigan Avenue
A remounted and revised exhibition exploring the public activism, outreach campaigns, and municipal legislation associated with architectural preservation efforts in Chicago from the 1950s to today. Featuring photographs by noted photographer Richard Nickel, ephemera, protest posters, and architectural artifacts from lost structures.
Bouquet
On display until April 8 @Produce Model Gallery, 1007 W 19th St Suite 1
Liana Finck is an up-and-coming cartoonist frequently contributing to the New Yorker. Omar Velazquez is an MFA candidate at The School of the Art Institute. This exhibit is about gift giving and how intentions can be misleading.
MUSIC
Willie Nile @ Space
Friday, March 17, at 8pm at 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Willie Nile, New York-based rocker with Jersey Shore music roots, will play a gig at Space in Evanston while touring on his 15th album, World War Willie. The 12 tracks includ
e “Grandpa Rocks” and “When Levon Sings,” a tribute to Levon Helm, the late drummer for The Band. Nile has been called “a rocker’s rocker” and a combination of the Clash and Pete Seeger. Nicholas Tremulis is also on the bill. Tickets are $17-32.
Spektral Quartet
March 11th, 6:00 pm to Midnight @ Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
Spektral Quartet performs the Chicago premiere of Morton Feldman's String Quartet No. 2, which, at 5-6 hours of continuous music, is the longest string quartet ever written. Tickets are $12.
LIT
Chicago Ideas
March and April, various locations
Chicago Ideas Week is in October, but Chicago Ideas has a slew of great events taking place in March and April. Standouts include a discussion on the future of gender at the Chicago Design Museum on March 3, and a discussion led by satirist Bassem Youssef on politics and comedy at the MCA on March 27th. Scoop up tickets while they last!
The Queen: Christina of Sweden, the Girl King, with the Newberry Consort
Friday, March 3, 8pm, at the Newberry Library
Saturday, March 4, 8pm, at Galvin Recital Hall, Evanston
Sunday, March 5, 3pm, at Logan Center for the Arts, Hyde Park
Chicago author Sara Paretsky narrates the story of Queen Christina of Sweden, the 17th century monarch who modeled herself after Elizabeth I. She ran the state, patronized artists and scholars, and refused to abide by traditional sex roles. The early music group, the Newberry Consort, will play works by Lully, Corelli, Rossi and Carissimi. Tickets are $35-55; save $5 by buying online.
BEYOND
Postcards of Persistence
Sunday March 5, 2017 12:00p.m. - 2:00p.m.
The Chicago Printmakers Collaborative (CPC) and DailyActivists, a progressive action smartphone app and website present Postcards of Persistence, a project featuring CPC artists creating and sharing a variety of postcard and poster designs for the community to use to contact legislators, hoping to mail at least a million postcards from around the country on March 15, to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW,
Washington, DC 20500. Please bring the supplies and snacks.
SCREENS
Chicago Feminist Film Festival @ Film Row Cinema, Columbia College, 1104 S Wabash, 8th Floor
March 1-3, various showtimes
This festival showcases independent works, international film, and shorts, spanning documentary, fiction, and experimental genres, aiming to address issues of gender, sexuality, race, and other forms of inequality often missing from mainstream media. This in turn means creating inclusive public spaces for under-represented artists to share their work—particularly women, people of color, queer, and transgender folks—given their struggle for visibility in the mainstream film industry. Another goal is to forge connections between local, national, and international film. The over-arching assumption behind the festival is that art plays a vital role in bringing people together and encouraging them to think deeply about issues of equality and social justice. The festival opens with the all-female-helmed horror anthology XX, with filmmaker Roxanne Benjamin on hand for a post-screening Q&A.
18th Chicago Irish Film Festival @ The Logan Theatre & Gallery Theatre
March 2-5, various showtimes
This festival is dedicated to presenting the works of Irish filmmakers to the Chicago film community. Since 1999, the festival has screened more than 500 features, documentaries and short films by many of Ireland’s most talented and award-winning filmmakers. Each year, the festival strives to include a broad representation of current Irish cinema and encourages submissions that highlight the extraordinary diversity and creativity that is the mark of Irish filmmaking wherever in the world it may occur.
20th Chicago European Union Film Festival @ Gene Siskel Film Center
March 3-20, various showtimes
The largest festival in the nation showcasing films of the European Union nations, this anniversary festival presents Chicago premieres of 62 new feature films representing all 28 EU nations.
Directors featured include Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper); the Dardennes brothers (The Unknown Girl); Doris Dörrie (Greeting from Fukushime); Bruno Dumont (Slack Bay); Eugène Green (The Son of Joseph); Szabolcs Hajdu (It’s Not the Time of My Life); Joachim Lafosse (After Love); Sergei Loznitsa (AUSTERLITZ); François Ozon (Frantz); and João Pedro Rodrigues (The Ornithologist). On Friday, March 3, the evening is hosted by Pierre Clive Agius, Ambassador of the Republic of Malta, and by Herbert Quelle, Consul General of Germany, Chicago. The opening night presentation is the romantic-comedy 20,000 Reasons, representing Malta’s newly emerging film industry.
JCC Chicago Jewish Film Festival @ various locations
March 9-19, various showtimes
Over 10 days at 7 venues, CJFF is back with a 25-film line-up of Jewish-inspired films that will entertain, educate and inspire audiences of all ages. Last year, more than 3,000 moviegoers attended the festival at locations around the city and suburbs. This year, the festival will feature a range of cinematic works, including a 2017 Oscar-nominated film (Life, Animated), the exclusive Chicago screening of one of the year’s most anticipated blockbusters (The Zookeeper’s Wife), and the chance to experience one of the greatest film masterpieces of all time (The Wizard of Oz) on the big screen. Also new this year is the Student Filmmaker Competition, in which student filmmakers of all experience levels shared previously created or new narrative or documentary short films that thematically align with the festival.
Peace on Earth Film Festival @ Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport
March 10-12, various showtimes
POEFF, the primary project of Transcendence Global Media, is a not-for-profit festival established to celebrate and encourage the work of independent filmmakers from around the world on the themes of peace, nonviolence, social justice and eco-balance. POEFF aims to contribute to a culture of peace through international cinema, dialogue and programming, highlighting individuals on the vanguard of peace activism and social change. POEFF endeavors to enlighten and empower individuals, families, and communities to step out of the ignorance of conflict, violence and divisiveness, into the light of communication, consideration, tolerance and understanding.
The festival opens with a screening of the 1987 prison drama Weeds, in which San Quentin lifer Lee Umstetter (Nick Nolte) is inspired by a traveling theater group to write and direct his own play with his fellow prisoners. There will be a post-screening Q&A with Weeds co-star Rita Taggart, co-writer Dorothy Tristan, and director/co-writer John Hancock.
FOOD
St. Patrick's Day Celebrations @ The Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N Knox Ave.
March 11th & 17th 12:00p.m. - 12:00a.m.
There's nowhere else to be for St. Patty's Day! The Irish American Heritage Center will have a festival on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, and they'll host live music, dancing, drinking and more at their bar on the holiday itself.
Fish Fry Fridays
It's the season for greasy fried fish. Even if you're not Catholic, enjoy the plentiful helpings of fried fish served up with cold beers throughout the city. We recommend Chief O'Neill's, Mac's American Pub, and Pleasant House Pub.
STAGES
20th annual Chicago Improv Festival
Monday, March 27, thru Sunday, April 2, @ Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, and Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont.
The theme of this year’s improv festival is “No Ban on Fun! Everyone Welcome! With Liberty and Laughter for All!” Performers will include 150 improv groups from all over the United States, as well as Amsterdam, Canada, Germany and India and other countries. Festival co-founder Frances Callier will return to perform with Angela Shelton their improv duo, Frangela. The pair are pop culture critics on NBC, CNN and Fox News shows. Tickets for $5 to $25 go on sale March 1.
Tom Stoppard’s The Hard Problem @ Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.
March 9 thru April 9 at 5535 S. Ellis Ave.
Court Theatre will stage renowned playwright Tom Stoppard’s latest play, The Hard Problem, directed by Charles Newell. The play concerns a young psychologist working on brain science who struggles with a troubling issue in her research. Stoppard is known for his complex plays combining issues of science, math, technology and the arts. Tickets are $38-48 for previews and $48-68 for the regular run.
The Source @ Route 66 Theatre Company
March 2 to April 2 at the Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave.
The Source is a psychological drama by Gabriel McKinley about two journalists who are summoned to meet with the unidentified leaker of hacked documents potentially damaging to the U.S. government. The world premiere is directed by Jason Gerace. Tickets are $20-35. 
The 3CR Staff Guide to a Better March
ART
Standing Up for Landmarks: Protests, Posters & Photographs
March 1- Sept 4 @ City Gallery, 806 N. Michigan Avenue
A remounted and revised exhibition exploring the public activism, outreach campaigns, and municipal legislation associated with architectural preservation efforts in Chicago from the 1950s to today. Featuring photographs by noted photographer Richard Nickel, ephemera, protest posters, and architectural artifacts from lost structures.
Bouquet
On display until April 8 @Produce Model Gallery, 1007 W 19th St Suite 1
Liana Finck is an up-and-coming cartoonist frequently contributing to the New Yorker. Omar Velazquez is an MFA candidate at The School of the Art Institute. This exhibit is about gift giving and how intentions can be misleading.
MUSIC
Willie Nile @ Space
Friday, March 17, at 8pm at 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Willie Nile, New York-based rocker with Jersey Shore music roots, will play a gig at Space in Evanston while touring on his 15th album, World War Willie. The 12 tracks includ
e “Grandpa Rocks” and “When Levon Sings,” a tribute to Levon Helm, the late drummer for The Band. Nile has been called “a rocker’s rocker” and a combination of the Clash and Pete Seeger. Nicholas Tremulis is also on the bill. Tickets are $17-32.
Spektral Quartet
March 11th, 6:00 pm to Midnight @ Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
Spektral Quartet performs the Chicago premiere of Morton Feldman's String Quartet No. 2, which, at 5-6 hours of continuous music, is the longest string quartet ever written. Tickets are $12.
LIT
Chicago Ideas
March and April, various locations
Chicago Ideas Week is in October, but Chicago Ideas has a slew of great events taking place in March and April. Standouts include a discussion on the future of gender at the Chicago Design Museum on March 3, and a discussion led by satirist Bassem Youssef on politics and comedy at the MCA on March 27th. Scoop up tickets while they last!
The Queen: Christina of Sweden, the Girl King, with the Newberry Consort
Friday, March 3, 8pm, at the Newberry Library
Saturday, March 4, 8pm, at Galvin Recital Hall, Evanston
Sunday, March 5, 3pm, at Logan Center for the Arts, Hyde Park
Chicago author Sara Paretsky narrates the story of Queen Christina of Sweden, the 17th century monarch who modeled herself after Elizabeth I. She ran the state, patronized artists and scholars, and refused to abide by traditional sex roles. The early music group, the Newberry Consort, will play works by Lully, Corelli, Rossi and Carissimi. Tickets are $35-55; save $5 by buying online.
BEYOND
Postcards of Persistence
Sunday March 5, 2017 12:00p.m. - 2:00p.m.
The Chicago Printmakers Collaborative (CPC) and DailyActivists, a progressive action smartphone app and website present Postcards of Persistence, a project featuring CPC artists creating and sharing a variety of postcard and poster designs for the community to use to contact legislators, hoping to mail at least a million postcards from around the country on March 15, to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW,
Washington, DC 20500. Please bring the supplies and snacks.
SCREENS
Chicago Feminist Film Festival @ Film Row Cinema, Columbia College, 1104 S Wabash, 8th Floor
March 1-3, various showtimes
This festival showcases independent works, international film, and shorts, spanning documentary, fiction, and experimental genres, aiming to address issues of gender, sexuality, race, and other forms of inequality often missing from mainstream media. This in turn means creating inclusive public spaces for under-represented artists to share their work—particularly women, people of color, queer, and transgender folks—given their struggle for visibility in the mainstream film industry. Another goal is to forge connections between local, national, and international film. The over-arching assumption behind the festival is that art plays a vital role in bringing people together and encouraging them to think deeply about issues of equality and social justice. The festival opens with the all-female-helmed horror anthology XX, with filmmaker Roxanne Benjamin on hand for a post-screening Q&A.
18th Chicago Irish Film Festival @ The Logan Theatre & Gallery Theatre
March 2-5, various showtimes
This festival is dedicated to presenting the works of Irish filmmakers to the Chicago film community. Since 1999, the festival has screened more than 500 features, documentaries and short films by many of Ireland’s most talented and award-winning filmmakers. Each year, the festival strives to include a broad representation of current Irish cinema and encourages submissions that highlight the extraordinary diversity and creativity that is the mark of Irish filmmaking wherever in the world it may occur.
20th Chicago European Union Film Festival @ Gene Siskel Film Center
March 3-20, various showtimes
The largest festival in the nation showcasing films of the European Union nations, this anniversary festival presents Chicago premieres of 62 new feature films representing all 28 EU nations.
Directors featured include Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper); the Dardennes brothers (The Unknown Girl); Doris Dörrie (Greeting from Fukushime); Bruno Dumont (Slack Bay); Eugène Green (The Son of Joseph); Szabolcs Hajdu (It’s Not the Time of My Life); Joachim Lafosse (After Love); Sergei Loznitsa (AUSTERLITZ); François Ozon (Frantz); and João Pedro Rodrigues (The Ornithologist). On Friday, March 3, the evening is hosted by Pierre Clive Agius, Ambassador of the Republic of Malta, and by Herbert Quelle, Consul General of Germany, Chicago. The opening night presentation is the romantic-comedy 20,000 Reasons, representing Malta’s newly emerging film industry.
JCC Chicago Jewish Film Festival @ various locations
March 9-19, various showtimes
Over 10 days at 7 venues, CJFF is back with a 25-film line-up of Jewish-inspired films that will entertain, educate and inspire audiences of all ages. Last year, more than 3,000 moviegoers attended the festival at locations around the city and suburbs. This year, the festival will feature a range of cinematic works, including a 2017 Oscar-nominated film (Life, Animated), the exclusive Chicago screening of one of the year’s most anticipated blockbusters (The Zookeeper’s Wife), and the chance to experience one of the greatest film masterpieces of all time (The Wizard of Oz) on the big screen. Also new this year is the Student Filmmaker Competition, in which student filmmakers of all experience levels shared previously created or new narrative or documentary short films that thematically align with the festival.
Peace on Earth Film Festival @ Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport
March 10-12, various showtimes
POEFF, the primary project of Transcendence Global Media, is a not-for-profit festival established to celebrate and encourage the work of independent filmmakers from around the world on the themes of peace, nonviolence, social justice and eco-balance. POEFF aims to contribute to a culture of peace through international cinema, dialogue and programming, highlighting individuals on the vanguard of peace activism and social change. POEFF endeavors to enlighten and empower individuals, families, and communities to step out of the ignorance of conflict, violence and divisiveness, into the light of communication, consideration, tolerance and understanding.
The festival opens with a screening of the 1987 prison drama Weeds, in which San Quentin lifer Lee Umstetter (Nick Nolte) is inspired by a traveling theater group to write and direct his own play with his fellow prisoners. There will be a post-screening Q&A with Weeds co-star Rita Taggart, co-writer Dorothy Tristan, and director/co-writer John Hancock.
FOOD
St. Patrick's Day Celebrations @ The Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N Knox Ave.
March 11th & 17th 12:00p.m. - 12:00a.m.
There's nowhere else to be for St. Patty's Day! The Irish American Heritage Center will have a festival on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, and they'll host live music, dancing, drinking and more at their bar on the holiday itself.
Fish Fry Fridays
It's the season for greasy fried fish. Even if you're not Catholic, enjoy the plentiful helpings of fried fish served up with cold beers throughout the city. We recommend Chief O'Neill's, Mac's American Pub, and Pleasant House Pub.
STAGES
20th annual Chicago Improv Festival
Monday, March 27, thru Sunday, April 2, @ Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, and Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont.
The theme of this year’s improv festival is “No Ban on Fun! Everyone Welcome! With Liberty and Laughter for All!” Performers will include 150 improv groups from all over the United States, as well as Amsterdam, Canada, Germany and India and other countries. Festival co-founder Frances Callier will return to perform with Angela Shelton their improv duo, Frangela. The pair are pop culture critics on NBC, CNN and Fox News shows. Tickets for $5 to $25 go on sale March 1.
Tom Stoppard’s The Hard Problem @ Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.
March 9 thru April 9 at 5535 S. Ellis Ave.
Court Theatre will stage renowned playwright Tom Stoppard’s latest play, The Hard Problem, directed by Charles Newell. The play concerns a young psychologist working on brain science who struggles with a troubling issue in her research. Stoppard is known for his complex plays combining issues of science, math, technology and the arts. Tickets are $38-48 for previews and $48-68 for the regular run.
The Source @ Route 66 Theatre Company
March 2 to April 2 at the Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave.
The Source is a psychological drama by Gabriel McKinley about two journalists who are summoned to meet with the unidentified leaker of hacked documents potentially damaging to the U.S. government. The world premiere is directed by Jason Gerace. Tickets are $20-35.