March Chronicle Calendar Highlights

Court Theatre Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards Friday, March 17, through Sunday, May 28 Based on an 18th-century Japanese play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards (pictured at left) features four young lovers who challenge both their elders’ wisdom and the state’s rigid order. Directed by Charles Newell, Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards will be performed in rotating repertory with Molière’s work The Learned Ladies. The same director, design team and company of actors will be featured in both plays (See “Theater” for information on The Learned Ladies’ production schedule.) Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards will be performed in March as follows: 2:30 p.m. March 19 7:30 p.m. March 29 and 30 8 p.m.: March 17 and 18 5535 S. Ellis Ave. 753-4472. http://www.courttheatre.org. $22-$26. Senior, student, group, subscription discounts available; rush tickets ($9 for students) may be available on day of show.
Department of Special Collections “The Ecstatic Journey: Athanasius Kircher in Baroque Rome” Through Friday, April 7 Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), a German Jesuit priest and professor of mathematics at the Roman College, was called to Rome in 1635, two years after Galileo’s trial and condemnation by the Roman Inquisition. He was charged with reconciling Church doctrine with experimental method and interpreting Egyptian hieroglyphs. Over the next 45 years, Kircher wrote more than 40 books; built mechanical devices of marvelous ingenuity; and delved into the findings of the microscope, the structure of the cosmos and the mouths of volcanoes. This exhibition at the University Library’s Department of Special Collections presents first and early editions of Kircher’s books and related materials. Monday-Friday: 8:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m.; Saturday: 9 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Joseph Regenstein Library, 1100 E. 57th St. 702-8705. http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/. Free.
	The Chicago Pro Musica Howard Sandroff Retrospective 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 22 The Chicago Pro Musica will celebrate the 50th birthday of Howard Sandroff (at left), Senior Lecturer in Music and Director of the University’s Computer Music Studio, with a performance of his chamber works. Part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chamber Series, the concert will feature Sandroff’s La Joie for clarinet trio, Chant de femmes for flutes and computer-generated electronic sounds, Adagio for Piano, and the premiere of a three-movement instrumental septet titled Shevet achim gam yachad. Buntrock Hall, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. (312) 294-3000. $17.
	Smart Museum of Art “Pious Journeys: Christian Devotional Art and Practice in the Latter Middle Ages and Renaissance” Through Sunday, Sept. 10 This exhibition at the Smart Museum of Art features medieval and Renaissance objects, including painted altarpieces, reliquaries, sacred jewelry and illuminated manuscripts, from the museum’s permanent collection. Made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the exhibition focuses on Christian devotional practices of the later medieval through early modern eras and how various objects were used in worship. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: noon-6 p.m. 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. 702-0176. http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu. Free.