By Philip Vidal
Writing this monthly article for Classic Chicago Magazine demonstrates to me how truly fortunate and privileged we are to live in Chicago. There is so much going on around the city and suburbs that it is impossible to do and see everything. Few cities offer its citizens so many options, and so much variety. September in particular offers even more options than is typically the case.
Catch the world premiere of “Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago” at the Chopin Theatre, September 6-29. Photo by Dan De Lorenzo and Allex Tar.
We are reminded this month that Chicago has a rich and long history of journalism. One of Chicago’s most famous columnists was the acerbic Pulitzer Prize-winning Mike Royko (1932-1997), who wrote for the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun-Times and finally the Chicago Tribune. The small but informative and well-curated show “Chicago Style: Mike Royko and Windy City Journalism” at the Newberry Library continues through September 28. My late father enjoyed reading Royko’s Boss when it was first published. The cover has a photo of Mayor Richard J. Daley’s head atop a statue of Emperor Augustus – a copy of that book is in the show. The world premiere of the one-man show “Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago,” written by and starring Mitchel Bisschop, is at the Chopin Theatre, September 6-29. When I grew up on Melrose Street in East Lakeview, I recall that Mike Royko lived one block north at Aldine and Lake Shore Drive, and another famed Chicago writer Studs Terkel lived two blocks south on Briar.
Michael Mahler provides musical direction to Northlight Theatre’s “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” by Daniel Jamieson, celebrating artist Marc Chagall and his wife Bella. Photo courtesy of Northlight Theatre.
September marks the beginning of the 2024/2025 season for many of Chicago’s theaters and cultural institutions. Jackalope Theatre Company’s 15th annual Living Newspaper Festival at the Broadway Armory, September 13-16, presents the world premiere of five ten-minute plays based on recent news articles. Eugene Lee’s “East Texas Hot Links,” September 6-29, opens Court Theatre’s 70th season. Northlight Theatre celebrates artist Marc Chagall and his poet wife Bella in the musical “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” by Daniel Jamieson, with music by Ian Ross, September 12-October 6. Chagall’s “Four Seasons” mosaic is in Chase Tower Plaza, and his “America Windows” are at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Topdog/Underdog” is a darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity. Performances are from September 12-October 20 at the Filament Theatre. Photo by The Gift Theatre.
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Suzan-Lori Parks is having yet another well-deserved moment. The Gift Theatre Company at Filament Theatre presents her ‘Topdog/Underdog” September 12-October 20. Next year Steppenwolf will present the Chicago premiere of her “The Book of Grace” March 27-May 18.
The Harris Theater presents its 2024/25 Season Kickoff featuring LayeRythm, the freestyle dance and music ensemble, on September 7. The Harris Theater then partners with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center to present the “Beyond the Aria” series. The first of four performances is September 19.
The festivals continue! Chicago’s only classical music street festival will take place September 7 and 8 on Wilson street between Hermitage and Ravenswood. Photo by Thirsty Ears Festival.
Billed as “Chicago’s only classical music street festival,” the 9th annual Thirsty Ears Festival is September 7-8 at 1758 West Wilson Avenue. The inaugural Evanston Folk Festival is September 7-8 at Dawes Park.
Old Town School of Folk Music’s free Global Carnival is an immersive musical performance like no other with acts like Flagboy Giz & The Wild Tchoupitoulas. Photo by Old Town School of Folk Music.
Billed as “the largest free performing arts festival in the Midwest,” the 4th annual Chicago Live! festival runs September 21-22 at Navy Pier and showcases 100+ groups on five stages. Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy is this year’s headliner. Old Town School’s free Global Carnival features Afro Brazilian carnival block Ilê Aiyê, and New Orleans Black Masking Indian artists Flagboy Giz & The Wild Tchoupitoulas, as well as performances by local music and dance groups. All take place at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and throughout Millennium Park on September 22. Global Carnival is just one of the dozens of events that are part of the citywide World Music Festival Chicago, September 20-29.
Hyde Park Art Center showcases artists at every stage of their career during their Fall programming including a special performance from avery r. young and his band on September 28 and their annual gala on November 15. Photo by Natasha Moustache.
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is September 28-29 at venues across Hyde Park. As part of the festival, and to honor the centennial of American writer (and jazz fan) James Baldwin’s birthday, the Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) is collaborating with the festival and Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young and his band, which will perform in HPAC’s galleries during its “The United Colors of Robert Earl Paige” exhibition.
The Chicago River Swim on September 22, which raises funds for ALS research and swimming lessons for children in underserved communities, has been moved from the Chicago River to Lake Michigan. But the Chicago River is still the venue for “The Chicago Water Music.” On September 18, line up along the Chicago River from Riverwalk East to the Merchandise Mart and listen to the Music of the Baroque Chorus and Orchestra, and the Strong Voices Chorus, as they perform excerpts from Handel’s “Water Music,” the “Hallelujah” Chorus from “Messiah,” and other works. The performers will be in a boat gliding down the Chicago River.
WTTW runs a marathon of episodes, like “Race to Reverse the River,” from past seasons of its fascinating “Chicago Stories,” which documents Chicago’s history, on September 15. WTTW then presents a new, fourth season beginning with “Deadly Alliance: Leopold and Loeb” on September 20, and “The Black Sox Scandal” on September 27.
DePaul Art Museum’s latest exhibit highlights the works of Edgar Miller in “Edgar Miller: Anti-Modern, 1917-1967,” September 12-February 23, 2025. Photo courtesy of DePaul Art Museum.
Edgar Miller (1899-1993) is in my mind an unsung gem of Chicago’s past. He was one of the nation’s top stained-glass designers as well as a architect, artist, craftsperson, curator, designer, illustrator and master woodcarver, so I can’t wait to see DePaul Art Museum’s “Edgar Miller: Anti-Modern, 1917-1967” exhibition, September 12-February 23, 2025.
Chicago has always been at the forefront in art education for children and young adults. The “Learning Together: Art Education and Community” exhibition at Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois Chicago, September 6-December 14, documents some of that history. On the webpage for the exhibition, I immediately recognized the photo of artist Keith Haring working with Chicago Public Schools students in Grant Park in 1989. The intellectually curious will also enjoy the fall Chicago Humanities Festival, September 3-October 19 at various venues, which includes diverse lectures and presentations by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown, comedian Kate McKinnon, broadcast journalist Connie Chung, and author Eric Larson.
Chicago Cultural Center hosts “Going Places: Chicago Short Films 2019-2023,” highlighting 6 shorts featured in past Chicago Film Festivals. Photo courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.
The Gene Siskel Film Center kicks off its Propaganda & Counterculture Lecture Series (September 3-December 10). The first film in the series is “Ninotchka” (1939), starring Greta Garbo as a Communist envoy in Paris. The Elmhurst History Museum celebrates the York Theatre’s centennial (it opened on Labor Day 1924) and other Chicago area movie theaters in the “Chicagoland Movie Palaces: A Century of Follies & Film” exhibition, September 6-January 5, 2025. Showcasing Chicago’s talented filmmakers, the Chicago Cultural Center screens “Going Places: Chicago Short Films 2019-2023” on September 11. This is part of the Chicago International Film Festival’s Cinema/Chicago Summer Screenings free film series, through September 25.
Chicago is also famous for its food festivals, and September has much to offer. Chicago’s culinary talent is on full display at Chicago Gourmet, September 21-29 at Millennium Park, and other venues. This food festival features events such as Hamburger Hop, Late Night Gourmet, Somm Sessions lunch, Tacos & Tequila, as well as new events like Goats & Totes, with Stephanie Izard, and Chefs Get Pickled.
Returning for its 34th year! The Taste of Greektown festival is the city’s largest celebration of Hellenic cuisine and culture, September 6-8. Photo credit Elios Photography.
Taste of Chicago in Grant Park, Taste of Greektown and the 102nd anniversary celebration of Chicago German-American Oktoberfest at Lincoln Square are all September 6-8. The Steuben Day Parade is September 7 and kicks off from 4100 North Lincoln Avenue.
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! Destinos, the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance Festival, has productions from the U.S. and Latin America as part of their seven-week citywide event. Photo by Chicago Latino Theater Alliance.
Mexican Independence Day is September 16. El Grito Chicago, a Mexican Independence Day celebration, is September 14-15 in Grant Park. Head to Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood for the 53rd annual 26th Street Mexican Independence Day Parade on September 15. Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 to October 15. The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance is promising their most extensive line-up in its history with works from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, the U.S. and Chicago at its citywide Destinos, the 7th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, September 30-November 17.
Autumn officially begins during September, with the autumnal equinox falling on the 23rd. Recalling seasonal celebrations at Stonehenge, I recently heard about the “Chicagohenge” phenomenon that can be seen during the spring and autumnal equinoxes, when the setting sun lines up between the skyscrapers on Chicago’s east-west streets. I’ll have to check it out!
Dates, times, locations and availability are subject to change.
