Friday 3
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Most folks know that Gertrude Stein hung out with Pablo Picasso and helped Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson, and others to see language in a new way. But Stein’s own works–her novels, plays, poetry, and postwar lectures–remain relatively unknown. Your Birthday Is Your Birthday It Certainly Is is a celebration of Stein’s writing and her 115th birthday. A cast of Chicago artists will give dramatic readings of her works, heightened by music, dance, and video performances. Show time is 8 PM at Randolph Street Gallery, 756 N. Milwaukee. Admission is $6, $4 for students and RSG members; reservations are encouraged. Call 666-7737 for more.
Saturday 4
Just in case it ever snows again in Chicago, the North Park Village Nature Center is sponsoring a program to teach children how to identify animal tracks and other wildlife signs. Tracks in the Snow, for children ages 9 through 12, will be led by naturalist Laurel Ross–even if there’s only mud. She’ll show children how to find and follow deer, fox, raccoon, and other animal trails. There will be hot chocolate afterward at the center, 5801 N. Pulaski. The fun starts at 1 PM. Admission is $1, and preregistration is required. Call 583-8970.
When Jesse Jackson ran for president in 1984, he talked about going from “the slave ship to the championship, the outhouse to the White House.” He sounded silly sometimes, and some in the media had a hard time taking him seriously. But by the time his second run ended in 1988, Jackson had polished his image so well that he got almost as much center-stage time as Michael Dukakis. Running With Jesse is tonight’s Frontline special, with Judy Woodruff chronicling Jackson’s campaign and assessing the hope and hype that fueled it. It’s on Channel 11 at 9 tonight and again tomorrow afternoon at 1:30. Call 583-5000 for details.
WXRT FM jock and Beatles junkie Terri Hemmert takes her morning show to the Museum of Broadcast Communications today to introduce It Was Twenty-Five Years Ago Today: The Beatles on Television, the celebration of the Fab Four’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Hemmert kicks things off on the radio (93.1) at 6 AM, with Beatles tunes and rare interviews until 10. At noon, the museum’s Kraft Television Theatre will feature continuous showings of the group’s Sullivan appearance, clips from Dutch and British television, and BBC documentaries. The program will run from noon to five today through Sunday at the museum, 800 S. Wells. Admission is $3, $2 for students, $1 for seniors and children under 13. Call 987-1500.
