The Mix: Chicago Dance History Project, Mariza in concert and more things to do Jan. 28-Feb. 4

Talk about dance

The Chicago Dance History Project Interview Marathon is a seven-hour event featuring more than 40 artistic directors, choreographers, performers, presenters, administrators and others who have worked and/or continue to work in Chicago. Among those participating are Lar Lubovitch, Jorge Perez and Irma Suarez Ruiz (Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater), Cesar Salinas (Giordano Dance Chicago), Mark Howard and Chelsea Hoy (Trinity Irish Dance Company), Twyla Tharp, Lou Conte, Julia Rhoads (Lucky Plush Productions), Regina Perry-Carr (Muntu Dance Theatre), Robert Battle (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), Mark Morris, Ashley Wheater (The Joffrey Ballet) and Jenai Cutcher. The marathon streams from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 31. Tickets: $20. For a complete schedule, visit chicagodancehistory.org/events.

Roots duo

Getty Images

Live in-person music is non-existent at the moment for both musicians and fans. Virtual performances have become the salve. Two of the latest to join this pandemic trend are acclaimed singer-songwriters Lyle Lovett and Jason Isbell who team up for a virtual live concert. They’ll converse and take turns playing selections from their extensive songbooks. The performance livestreams at 8 p.m. Jan. 29 and is available on demand through Feb. 4. Tickets: $10. Visit lylelovett.com.

International Oscar candidates

Andolfi, Canal+ International

Be in the know when it’s time to fill out your Oscar ballot. Beginning Jan. 29, the Music Box Theatre Virtual Cinema streams five foreign language films all submissions for the 2021 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The films are “Blizzard of Souls” (Latvia), “My Little Sister” (Austria), “Preparations To Be Together For an Unknown Period of Time” (Hungary), “True Mothers” (Japan) and “You Will Die at Twenty” (Sudan). Tickets: $12. Visit musicboxtheatre.com.

Weather report

Marisa KM Photography

The Annoyance Theatre presents “The Gobbler’s Knob Groundhog Day Spectacular,” an annual family-friendly celebration of the world’s most famous weather-predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. Presented as a 1950s television-style variety show, it’s filled with original songs, dance, puppetry and comedy plus an interactive Miss Groundhog Day Pageant. Streams at 7 p.m. Feb. 2. Free but a $10 donation to support the theater is appreciated. Visit theannoyance.com.

Fado celebration

Getty Images

Portuguese superstar singer Mariza is celebrating her 20-year career with a streaming performance honoring the late “Queen of Fado” Amália Rodrigues with “Mariza Sings Amália,” featuring the songs that defined Rodrigues’ career. The virtual performance (from Mariza’s Lisbon, Portugal home) streams at 7 p.m. Jan. 29-through 7 p.m. Jan. 31 at chicagopresents.uchicago.edu. Tickets, $40, or $52 (includes signed Mariza CD). Tickets available at chicagopresents.uchicago.edu.

Heavenly wonder

Jon Tai and Alex Gruhin’s “Missed Connections” is a live, interactive play with magic. Written by the duo and performed by Tai, it’s an immersive play, which tells a magician’s cosmic love story, as inspired by the work of Haruki Murakami, Marshall McLuhan and illusionist Derren Brown, that takes the audience on a voyage to the stars in search of the thread that connects them all. Tai, a magician, says the show “takes a leap in the strange unknown to explore the complexities of fate and discover the universe’s most beautiful magic trick of all.” Livestreams from Feb. 2-28. Tickets: $25. Visit aredorchidtheatre.org.

Kitchen classic

Courtesy the Driehaus Museum

Beginning in 1921 and continuing for generations, Betty Crocker was the trusted advisor to everyday cooks in American kitchens. Recipes found in “Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book,” became family staples (pigs in a blanket!). Now celebrating its 100^th anniversary, the cook book is the focus of “A Tale of Today: A Slice of Culinary History — Betty Crocker Celebrates 100 Years,” an illustrated virtual lecture by Leslie Goddard, which looks at how the iconic Betty Crocker was invented and why the cookbook has endured. While the classic cookbook has lots of competition today, a new and revised edition continues to sit on bookstore shelves alongside books by Ina Garten and Martha Stewart. The lecture streams at 3 p.m. Jan. 30. Tickets: $15. Visit driehausmuseum.org.

Virtual stage

AstonRep Theatre’s 12^th annual Writer’s Series features free readings of new plays by Maggie Antonijevic (“American Dinner” at 3 p.m. Jan. 30) and Troy Loftin (“Just So Typically Me” at 3 p.m. Jan. 31). Visit astonrep.com. ... Broken Nose Theatre showcases new short plays in its annual event “Bechdel Fest 8: Realign,” which this year features eight stories about characters who find themselves at pivotal moments in their lives. Streams free from Jan. 29-March 26. Visit brokennosetheatre.com. ... Northlight Theatre presents Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble members Rondi Reed and Francis Guinan in a reading of “Such Small Hands,” a new play about loss and love by Adam Szymkowicz. Livestreams free at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31 followed by a Q&A with director BJ Jones and the playwright. Visit northlight.org. ... Metropolis Performing Arts Centre streams Ken Ludwig’s “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery” from Feb. 1-14. Tickets: $20, $50. Visit metropolisarts.com. ... The Paramount Theatre free virtual reading of Nancy Garcia Loza’s new play, “BULL: a love story,”streams at 7 p.m. Jan. 28. Visit paramountaurora.com.

Mary Houlihan is a local freelance writer.