50 MORE THINGS WE WANT TO DO THIS MONTH

SEPT. 3–15 | THEATER

The Band’s Visit

▪ This modest musical is based on the 2007 film about an Egyptian orchestra, whose members are part of their country’s police force, that finds itself stranded in a small Israeli town for the night after a wrong turn on the way to a gig. Featuring a score by David Yazbek, the show earned a whopping 10 Tony Awards last year, including one for director (and former Chicagoan) David Cromer; the touring production, with Cromer again at the helm, is one of the most anticipated visits of the fall.

Details Loop. Cadillac Palace Theatre. $36–$220. broadwayinchicago.com

SEPT. 4–OCT. 6 | THEATER

Midsummer (A Play With Songs)

▪ This past spring, actors Patrick Mulvey and Chaon Cross played lovers traveling in Mexico in Court Theatre’s stage adaptation of The Adventures of Augie March. They’ll embody another quirky couple in this rom-com about an unlikely pair—he a small-time crook, she a bitter divorce lawyer—who have an epic first date. Written by Scottish playwright David Grieg and songwriter Gordon McIntyre, Midsummer has earned favorable comparisons to Once.

Details Lincoln Park. Greenhouse Theater Center. $10–$25. greenhousetheater.org

SEPT. 5–8 | FESTIVAL

Collaborative Works Festival

▪ Like a major third filling an open fifth, the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago nestles into the sweet spot between its regular season and the summer circuit with its annual artsong festival. This year it covers only works created by living composers, and the opener is even more specific, programming only female Chicagoans, including Augusta Read Thomas and Shulamit Ran.

Details Various locations. Free–$35 per concert. caichicago.org

SEPT. 6 | LITERATURE

Kevin Coval

▪ At this book launch party, Chicago’s “breakbeat poet” will read from his new collection–slash–graphic novel, Everything Must Go, which celebrates the unsung heroes of pregentrified Wicker Park. The event doubles as the opening of a monthlong gallery exhibition; Coval’s artistic collaborator, Langston Allston, will have illustrations on display.

Details Logan Square. Galerie F. 6 p.m. Free. galeriefchicago.com

SEPT. 6 | OPERA

Stars of Lyric Opera

▪ It’s the big chance each year to hear the city’s most august opera company for only the price, Lyric’s season opener, with many of the principals that will grace the grand stage. Also expect excerpts of famous moments from the operatic canon, with a focus on 2019–20 Lyric productions, which smart money would say means “Un Bel Di” from