Friday 20
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Individually, David Murray, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, and Hamiet Bluiett are known as four of the finest saxophone players working today; collectively, they’re the World Saxophone Quartet, specialists in the art of ensemble improvisation. They perform tonight at 8 at the Park West, 322 W. Armitage, as part of the JAM Productions and Goodman Theatre “New Music Series.” Tickets are $15; call 559-1212.
Saturday 21
As thousands gather in front of their televisions to watch the Super Bowl today, McCormick Place will be the site of Super Bowl Party ’89, described as “the world’s largest indoor Super Bowl party.” A 35-foot screen to watch the game on, unlimited food and drink, entertainment, and prizes are all part of the package. Tickets are a tax-deductible $125, with proceeds going to Little City, the Palatine-based residential community for children and adults with developmental disabilities. The action begins at 2:30 today in the McCormick Place’s Chicago Room, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive; for information call 282-2207.
The weather is fine for ice-skating at the Park District’s Daley Bicentennial Plaza skating rink, 337 E. Randolph in Grant Park. The 80-by-130-foot rink, maintained by an underground refrigeration system, is open from 9 AM to 10 PM Monday through Friday and 9 AM to 6:30 PM Saturday and Sunday; admission is $1.25 for adults and 75 cents for children, and skate-rental and skate-sharpening services are available. For more information call 294-4790.
The Lyric Opera has successfully made its way through some troubled financial waters in the past few years, so it’s fitting that the city is renaming the Madison Street bridge in the opera troupe’s honor. Acting mayor Eugene Sawyer and Lyric’s general director, Ardis Krainik, preside over a free Lyric Opera Bridge Party today at 6:55 at the corner of Madison and Wacker Drive to celebrate the bridge’s renaming. Call 332-2244 for more. Also today, inside the Civic Opera House, a backstage tour will be given of dressing rooms, the wig and makeup departments, the orchestra pit, and other behind-the-scenes areas. The tour, which costs $12.50 per person, goes from 5:30 to 7:30; a cash bar and light meals are available before and after. (Tours are also scheduled for January 29 from 1 to 4 PM and February 4 from 11 to 2.) Reservations are necessary; call 332-2244, ext, 222. The Civic Opera House is located at 20 N. Wacker.
