Revisit a classic film, hear customer-service horror stories, and get out of the house for this week’s events. Here’s some of what we recommend:
9/11: Thank you for coming to the Auditorium Theatre (50 E. Congress), Ruth Bader Ginsburg, beacon of sanity in a land currently ruled by Voldemort. The most supreme of Supreme Court justices chats with federal judge Ann Claire Williams about her life and career; the event kicks off Roosevelt University’s American Dream Reconsidered, a weeklong conference that also features a conversation on the 2016 election with David Axelrod and William Kristol . 7 PM, sold out, but viewable via livestream
9/11: Having It All is a recurring showcase at iO Theater (1501 N. Kingsbury) where female performers tackle issues of womanhood and identity. For this month’s theme, “Women in Uniform,” three female vets will tell stories about 9/11. 8 PM, $5
9/11: Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard wrote a series of six deeply autobiographical books called My Struggle, each full of his darkest thoughts about life and family. Knausgaard’s latest, August, is a long letter to his unborn child. He stops by the Logan Center (915 E. 60th) to chat about the new book with poet Srikanth Reddy. Tickets include a copy of August. 7-8:30 PM, $30
9/12: In “Howling” at Shane Campbell Gallery (2021 S. Wabash), Tony Lewis presents new graphite and colored-pencil drawings, plus sculptures pulled from his designs on the page. Opening reception: 4-7 PM, free
9/12: Former Reader film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum writes of Pinocchio, a classic film brought back to the Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State) for a single night, “Along with Dumbo, which immediately followed it, this 1940 classic, the second of the Disney animated features, is probably the best in terms of visual detail and overall imagination as well as narrative sweep.” 6 PM, $11
9/13: Working in customer service requires bravery and a metaphorical bulletproof vest: demands from irate and crazy customers are intense, but make for hilarious material after the fact. Employees share horror stories at The Customer Is Always Right at the Annoyance Theatre (851 W. Belmont). 8 PM, $8
9/14: Each year at the Chicago Reader‘s Cocktail Challenge, a particular theme serves as the jumping-off point for more than a dozen of the city’s best mixologists to craft seasonal cocktails. This time around, at Spin Chicago (344 N. State), it’s “Decades,” with Schlafly beer on hand to wash down whatever the bartenders come up with. Food’s available, too, to help you pace yourself. 7-10 PM, $40-$50
9/14: Postcards weren’t accessible to the general public until 1903, when Kodak introduced a camera capable of taking bite-size images. In “Greetings From Logan Square,” Comfort Station (2579 N. Milwaukee) displays postcards depicting the neighborhood from then till the end of the 20th century. Various times, free
For more things to do this week—and