The sun is setting earlier each day and festival season is drawing to a close. But that doesn’t mean this week isn’t packed with a slew of great events. Here’s some of what we recommend:
Mon 9/18: Randi Wallace has had quite the journey: marriage led her to realize that she was queer and needed a divorce. Her solo show The Secret Life of a Lesbian Ex-Wife at the Annoyance Theatre (851 W. Belmont) examines her mind-set throughout the process, and what she now faces entering a culture she knows little about. 8 PM, $6
Tue 9/19: Sean Baker (Tangerine) wrote and directed the drama The Florida Project about a precocious six-year-old who lives near Disney World in Orlando. Baker attends this outdoor preview screening at the Ace Hotel (311 N. Morgan); the film opens for a commercial run on October 13. 6-9:30 PM, free
Wed 9/20: Chicago Women in Publishing, a collaborative nonprofit raising a collective megaphone to women writers and editors, kicks off its year of monthly events with a talk from DePaul Professor Jian Ping on the 40th Floor of the U.S. Bank Building (190 S. LaSalle). Her bestselling 2008 autobiography, Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China, openly shares details of her life in China during its Cultural Revolution. 6-8:30 PM, $20-$30
Thu 9/21: Curators Josue Pellot and Robin Dluzen present “Ass Grass or Gas,” an exhibit exploring the aesthetics and culture of vintage customized vans at the new Tiger Strikes Asteroid gallery (319 N. Albany). Through 10/14, by appointment
Thu 9/21: Brennen Reeves found out when he was eight-years-old that he had cystic fibrosis and wouldn’t live to see his high school graduation. But Reeves is a fighter, and his one-man show Breathe: A True Story walks audiences through his healthy early childhood, sickly teenage years, and finally the double-lung transplant that would save his life. The show carries a lot of levity and self-deprecating humor about his disease. His Chicago tour stop is at iO Theater (1501 N. Kingsbury). 6:45 PM, $10
For more things to do in Chicago this week—and every day—visit our agenda page.