Things to do in Chicago Sept. 14-20: The Mix

Theater

Joe Mazza/Brave Lux

• Told in three parts, “The Lehman Trilogy” is Stefano Massini and Ben Power’s Tony Award-winning drama that weaves together nearly two centuries of family history and charts the beginnings of the financial institution established by the Lehman Brothers that would eventually bring the global economy to its knees. The TimeLine Theatre-Broadway in Chicago production stars Mitchell Fain, Anish Jethmalani and Joey Slotnick; Nick Bowling and Vanessa Stalling co-direct. From Sept. 19-Oct. 29 at Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut. Tickets: $30-$90. Visit broadwayinchicago.com.
• The Goodman Theatre presents The Pearl Cleage Festival, a citywide celebration of the playwright featuring plays, discussions, lectures and workshops running Sept. 14-Oct. 15. Cleage’s play “The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years” opens the Goodman season. The comedy is set in 1964 Montgomery, Alabama, as six African American debutantes are about to be introduced to a world of wealth, privilege and social responsibility. E. Faye Butler, Ora Jones, Tyla Abercrumbie and Demetra Dee lead the cast; Lili-Anne Brown directs. From Sept. 16-Oct. 15 at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn. Tickets: $25-$90. Visit goodmantheatre.org.
• Another entry in the Cleage celebration is Remy Bumppo Theatre’s staging of “Blues for an Alabama Sky.” The Harlem Renaissance is the backdrop for the drama about three friends who face the struggles and joy of achieving their big dreams. Tiffany Renee Johnson, Breon Arzell and Jazzlyn Luckett Aderele star; Mikael Burke directs. From Sept. 14-Oct. 15 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont. Tickets: $36-$52. Visit remybumppo.org.
• Martyna Majok’s play “Sanctuary City” is a heartbreaking and hopeful story about immigration and young love as two teenagers, brought to American as children, face new complications in their adopted country. Grant Kennedy Lewis, Brandon Rivera and Jocelyn Zamudio star; Steph Paul directs. From Sept. 14-Nov. 18 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted. Tickets: $20+. Visit steppenwolf.org.

• The Gift Theatre stages “The Rise and Fall of Little Voice,” Jim Cartwright’s drama about a woman with a hidden talent — her vocal impressions of singers from Judy Garland to Edith Piaf — that just might offer hope out of a life of despair. Devon de Mayo and Peter G. Andersen co-direct. From Sept. 14-Oct. 15 at Filament Theatre, 4040 N. Milwaukee. Tickets: $35-$45. Visit thegifttheatre.org.
• Rivendell Theatre remounts its hit production of “Motherhouse,” Tuckie White’s play about a young woman who enlists the help of her four aunts in writing a eulogy for her recently deceased mother. Azar Kazemi directs. From Sept. 14-30 at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge. Tickets: $39. Visit rivendelltheatre.org.

Collin Quinn Rice

• Kokandy Productions presents “American Psycho: The Musical,” Duncan Sheik and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel about a Wall Street banker (Kyle Patrick) whose sanity is starting to slip. Derek Van Barham directs. From Sept. 14-Nov. 26 at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division. Tickets: $40, $50. Visit kokandyproductions.com.
• Idle Muse Theater presents “Jane: Abortion and the Underground,” Paula Kamen’s drama based on interviews with the women who ran an underground medical service to provide safe abortions to Chicago women from 1969-1973. Morgan Manasa directs. From Sept. 16-Oct. 15 at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater, 1133 W. Catalpa. Tickets: $20. Visit idlemuse.org.
• In Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice and Andrew Lippa’s “The Addams Family: The Musical,” Wednesday Addams has a secret that is sure to be a nightmare in this adaptation of the classic television series. From Sept. 14-Oct. 8 at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell, Arlington Heights. Tickets: $10-$45. Visit metropolisarts.com.
• In Joe Godfrey’s “Massage Therapy,” a gay massage therapist and his female client grow to form an unusually strong bond. David Zak directs. From Sept. 16-Oct. 1 at Open Space Arts, 1411 W. Wilson. Tickets: $25. Visit openspacearts.com.
• “The Mousetrap” is Agatha Christie’s murder mystery about guests stranded at a mansion during a snowstorm. Is there a murderer in their midst? From Sept. 14-Oct. 15 at Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan, Lake Forest. Tickets: $40, $45. Visit citadeltheatre.org.

Dance

• Mandala South Asian Performing Arts presents a preview of a new work by choreographer Pranita Nayar. “The Jazz Yatra” is a piece that showcases South Asian dance traditions set to an Indo-jazz score by jazz guitarist Fareed Haque. At 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago, Naperville. Tickets: $15-$100. Visit mandalaarts.org/Naperville/.
  UPDATE: Mandala Arts has changed this performance to music only due to COVID exposure. Fareed Haque will perform a concert of South Asian-influenced jazz along with two other musicians. Those who attend the concert will be invited to an open rehearsal of the dance troupe in Naperville at a later date. Anyone who makes a specific request will receive a complimentary pair of tickets to Mandala’s premiere “Diwali: Illumination” Oct. 12–13 at the Harris Theater.

Music

• Among the nearly 100 acts at this year’s Riot Fest are Foo Fighters, The Cure, The Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, Queens of the Stone Age, The Used, Insane Clown Posse, Sleep Token, The Mars Volta, Tegan and Sara, The Dresden Dolls, Kim Gordon, Ani DiFranco, Smoking Popes and Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton. From 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sept. 15-17 in Douglass Park, 1401 S. Sacramento. Tickets: $99.98+. Visit riotfest.org.
• Colombian reggaeton artist Karol G closes out the concert season at Soldier Field. Her recent album “Manana Sera Bonito” topped the Billboard 200 chart, the first entirely Spanish-language album by a female artist to do so. At 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at 1410 Special Olympics Dr. Tickets: $192+. Visit ticketmaster.com.
• Singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae moves in a bold new direction on her new album, “Black Rainbows,” a project inspired by the objects and artworks collected by Theaster Gates at the Stony Island Arts Bank, a curated collection of Black archives. At 8 p.m. Sept. 14 at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn. Tickets: $50. Visit events.uchicago.edu.

Brian Higbee

• It’s been said that Joy Oladokun “makes music for everyone.” The songs on her recent album, “Proof of Life,” point her in that direction to great success by capturing the simple pleasures and complex experiences of life. Becca Mancari opens at 8 p.m. Sept. 14 at Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport. Tickets: $23. Visit thaliahallchicago.com.
• Actor-comedians Ken Marino (“The Other Two,” “Party Down”) and David Wain (“Wet Hot American Summer”) are known for their television and film work but they’re also middle-aged dads and wannabe rock stars. The Middle-Aged Dad Jam Band is their way into the latter. Music and comedy mix when the band performs at 8 p.m. Sept. 16 at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln. Tickets: $30. Visit lh-st.com.
• Englewood Jazz Festival showcases emerging and established artists including Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few, Marques Carroll and Sean Jones, Joel Ross, New Horizons Ensemble Delmark Allstars with Jeff Parker and more. The festival opens with Ernest Dawkins “Memory in the Center, an Afro Jazz Opera” performed by the Live the Spirit Residency Big Band. From Sept. 14-16 at Hamilton Park and Cultural Center, 513 W. 72nd. Admission is free. Visit englewoodjazzfest.org.

Museums

Costa Skenderis

• “Legacy, Renewal & Unity” celebrates 100 years of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The legacy of the church and the breadth of its impact are chronicled via audio, video and physical artifacts from its archives. From Sept 16-Feb. 11 at National Hellenic Museum, 333 S. Halsted. Admission: $10. Visit nationalhellenicmuseum.org.
• Explore the roots of race from the Middle Ages to 1800 in “Seeing Race Before Race.” The exhibit examines how people around the world categorized each other before the term race became widely popular by using language, dress, class, geography and religion in addition to skin color and facial features. From Sept. 8-Dec. 30 at Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton. Admission is free. Visit newberry.org.

Festival Fun

Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce

• Ravenswood ArtWalk offers an art market, music, food, a peek inside artist’s studios, a 60-second film festival, a collaborative hands-on building project for kids and more. From 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 16-17 on Ravenswood from Irving Park to Lawrence. Admission: $5-$10. Visit ravenswoodartwalk.org.
• The Mexican Independence Day Parade kicks off at noon Sept. 16 on 26th Street from Albany to Kostner. This year’s theme, “Tu Mexico, Tu Chicago,” focuses on Mexican identity and culture with floats representing the 32 states in Mexico and showcasing the country’s traditions. Visit littlevillagechamber.org.
• Haymarket Center’s West Loop Bavarian Block Party, a celebration of German culture, includes music from polka bands to rock, German beer and food, children’s activities and more. From noon-10 p.m. Sept. 16 and noon-8 p.m. Sept. 17 at Washington and Sangamon. Admission: $10 donation. Visit hcenter.org/west-loop-fest/.
• Family Fall Fest includes bounce houses, face painting, a petting zoo, balloon sculptors and more. From 1-5 p.m. Sept. 17 at Parkway Band Park, 5501 Park Place, Rosemont. Admission is free. Visit parkwaybank.com.