July-August Highlights

Real Women Have Curves, Patricia Cardoso, 2002

The Office of Community Affairs and the Chicago Park District
Midweek at the Midway
Wednesday evenings, July 23 through Aug. 27
The Midway Plaisance, at 59th Street and Woodlawn Avenue. (312) 747-7661. Free.
Wednesday evenings this summer at the Ice Rink on the Midway Plaisance, there is a full schedule of free films and musical performances. Initiated last summer by the Chicago Park District, Midweek at the Midway has proved to be a very popular way for the campus community and South Side neighbors to enjoy a warm evening outdoors. This month’s events include a night of blues music and free barbecue food on July 23, and reggae music with free Caribbean cuisine on July 30. In August, an evening of stand-up comedy will be presented Aug. 6, followed by a screening of the movie Barbershop; the movie Mambo, with music, salsa dancing and salsa lessons, is scheduled for Aug. 13; the movie Real Women Have Curves will be shown Aug. 20; and a gospel concert featuring several of the community’s gospel choruses is planned for Aug. 27.

Kate (Anne Marie Lonsdale) spars with Petruchio (Sean Michael Henry) in The Taming of the Shrew

University Theater
The Taming of the Shrew
Thursday, July 31 through Sunday, Aug. 3, and Thursday, Aug. 7 through Saturday, Aug. 9
Hutchinson Courtyard at the Reynolds Club, 5706 S. University Ave. 702-3414. $17 general, $12 students and seniors at the door; $15 general, $10 students and seniors in advance.
A student cast will present William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew for the annual University Theater Summer Shakespeare in the Court production. The play is set in Padua, where a rich merchant has two daughters—the gentle Bianca and the sharp-tongued Kate. Bianca cannot marry until the elder Kate has found a husband. When the boorish Petruchio announces his willingness to marry any woman with a large enough dowry, Bianca’s dilemma seems to be solved. But as Shakespeare’s boisterous battle of the sexes unfolds, Petruchio finds that he may have met his match in the wild Kate.

Ancient Persian statue

The Oriental Institute Museum
“Lunchtime in Another Time” gallery tours
Noon Fridays, July 18 through Aug. 1
Oriental Institute Museum, 1155 E. 58th St. 702-9507. Free.
At these lunchtime gallery talks, Oriental Institute staff will discuss a variety of topics in the ancient world, while examining a selection of the institute’s artifacts. On July 18, the tour will explore mummies and magic. Different types of homes in ancient Egypt will be the topic on July 25, and on Aug. 1, the discussion will center on the ancient Persian Empire. The talks will be followed by a tour of the institute’s galleries.

Detail of Magdalena De Passe, “Salamacis and Hermaphroditus,” 1623

The Smart Museum of Art
“The Painted Text: Picturing Narrative in European Art”
Through Sunday, Oct. 5
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Smart Museum of Art, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. 702-0200. Free.
From the heroic tales of the Greeks to the lyric poetry of Ovid, ancient myths and epic narratives offered artists a wealth of subjects but also the formidable challenge of transforming written stories in compelling images. “The Painted Text” juxtaposes images with their literary sources to investigate how artists interpreted and transformed the stories that inspired them.