Chicago Events and Attractions Sparkle During RSNA 2008

In the winter months, Chicago shines as an arts destination. From music performances to live theater, Chicago becomes a magical city, offering something for everyone attending RSNA 2008. In some cases, such as the opera and popular theater performances, it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance.

RSNA Tours & Events

RSNA is sponsoring a series of tours and events during RSNA 2008. The RSNA Tours & Events brochure is available at RSNA2008.RSNA.org. Click Tours & City Events in the left-hand column.

Please look for the icon next to event listings in this article, signifying that a pre-arranged RSNA package is available. Enroll for tours and events online when registering for the annual meeting or while adding courses.

Museums

Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute's world-renowned permanent collection includes a noteworthy exhibition of surrealistic paintings and Impressionist art. This winter, a special exhibit highlights the Art Institute's unequaled tapestry collection featuring 15th through 18th century masterpieces. Accompanying the exhibition is an illustrated catalog noting recent discoveries made by scholars during the conservation process the tapestries underwent in Belgium. A second exhibit, Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Art and Photography of Paris, celebrates Paris in the late 1920s. Cartier-Bresson's photojournalistic works will be displayed along with art representative of the time period, including Giorgio de Chirico, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso and other artists of the period.

111 S. Michigan Ave.
Tickets: 1-312-930-4040
www.artic.edu
www.ticketmaster.com

Field Museum

While visiting The Field Museum, say hello to Sue, the largest, most complete and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever discovered. Sue is only one of the many noteworthy specimens in the Field's permanent collection. The Evolving Planet exhibit explores 4 billion years of evolution, allowing visitors to touch a real dinosaur bone and the teeth of a mastodon and a wooly mammoth. Families may be interested in the new Crown Family Play Lab for children, which features interactive exhibits exploring science, anthropology, technology, nature, art and music, complete with a soundproof drum room.

Special exhibits include Nature Unleashed: Inside Natural Disasters, which provides a visually stunning look at the forces that create earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and volcanoes. Aztec World, examining the Aztecs through artifacts and works of art, explores an enigmatic civilization that bloomed and flourished for a brief 200 years.

1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.
1-312-922-9410
www.fmnh.org

Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows

Located on the east end of Navy Pier, this free museum houses the nation's largest permanent collection of Tiffany stained glass windows. This tranquil exhibit offers a wonderful repose from the recreational chaos of Navy Pier. The museum has more than 150 stained glass works—some dating back to the 1890s—by artists including John LaFarge, Louis Sullivan, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Mayer and F.X. Zettler. Free public tours are offered most Thursdays at 2 p.m.

600 E. Grand Ave.
1-312-595-5024

Shedd Aquarium

The aquarium is home to aquatic life from around the world, with a special emphasis on crowd favorites such as sharks—The Wild Reef offers one of the most diverse displays of sharks in North America. Visitors can also enjoy seahorses, otters, seals, dolphins, penguins and Chicago's treasured Beluga whales. The Shedd, a principal part of the Museum Campus, is a tasteful blend of contemporary and 1930s architecture situated on the shore of Lake Michigan.

1200 S. Lake Shore Dr.
1-312-939-2438
www.sheddnet.org

Adler Planetarium

Planetarium visitors now can view the newly restored Gemini 12 spacecraft in the Shoot for the Moon exhibit, where cutting-edge technology helps tell the story of America's part in the space race. Planetarium shows play continuously throughout the day in two theaters. The StarRider Theater provides a virtual reality experience, while the Sky Theater depicts stars and other nighttime wonders projected on Adler's distinctive dome. The Adler Planetarium is located on a scenic section of the Museum Campus jutting into Lake Michigan.

1300 S. Lake Shore Dr.
1-312-922-7827
www.adlerplanetarium.org

Chicago's scenic Museum Campus, situated along the shores of Lake Michigan, is home to the Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium and Soldier Field.

The Museum of Science and Industry is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city of Chicago and among the seven most visited museums in the U.S. It was the first museum in North America to develop hands-on, interactive exhibits.

Permanent exhibits include the U-505 World War II submarine, the fascinating Coal Mine and Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle. The recently redesigned Henry Crown Space Center features the Apollo 8 Command Module. A new permanent exhibit, Fast Forward … Inventing the Future, highlights cutting-edge entrepreneurs, engineers, inventors and scientists who are transforming the world. Visitors are invited to explore how their ideas will shape and advance the areas of agriculture, energy, entertainment and transportation. In Smart Home: Green + Wired, eco-friendly living is demonstrated in a three-story, sustainable "green" home that has been erected on the museum's property. Annual seasonal exhibits include the Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light.

The Omnimax theater at the Museum of Science and Industry presents Wild Ocean and Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk, which takes viewers on a memorable rafting trip down the Colorado River.

57th St. and Lake Shore Dr.
1-773-684-1414
www.msichicago.org

Symphony & Opera

Lyric Opera of Chicago

The world renowned Lyric Opera of Chicago performs in one of North America's most beautiful opera houses, the Civic Opera House, which opened in 1929. Tickets go on sale in August.

20 N. Wacker Dr.
1-312-332-2244 x5600
www.lyricopera.org

Lulu
November 30

A steamy black widow story set in the salons of Paris and London's back alleys.

by Alban Berg
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis with Marlis Petersen, Wolfgang Schöne and Jill Grove

Porgy and Bess
December 3 and 5

American opera at its best.
by George Gershwin, Dubose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin
Conductor: John DeMain (December 3) and Kelly Kou (December 5) with Gordon Hawkins, Morenike Fadayomi, Lester Lynch and Lisa Daltirus

Theater

A Midsummer Night's Dream

This clever, "can't miss" production of the well-loved Shakespeare play is performed by a cast of 23 actors, dancers, martial arts experts, musicians and street acrobats from India and Sri Lanka.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
(Navy Pier)
Courtyard Theater stage
800 E. Grand Ave.
1-312-595-5600
www.chicagoshakes.com

Jersey Boys

This award-winning musical about the life of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons chronicles how Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi became one of the greatest successes in pop music history.

LaSalle Bank Theatre
18 W. Monroe St.
1-312-977-1710
www.ticketmaster.com

The Snow Queen

Hans Christian Andersen's popular winter tale will be performed for a third holiday season.

Victory Gardens Mainstage
2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
1-773-871-3000
www.victorygardens.org

Dirty Dancing

A doctor's daughter starts a summer romance with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. A musical fashioned after the blockbuster movie, with more musical and dance numbers.

Cadillac Palace Theatre
151 W. Randolph St.
1-312-902-1400
www.ticketmaster.com

Ruined

A much-anticipated world premiere of the original work by Lynn Nottage, Ruined explores the position and experience of women in the African Congo.

Goodman Theatre
170 N. Dearborn St.
1-312-443-3800
www.goodman-theatre.org

The Second City

Chicago's favorite comedy venue, the venerable Second City, has spawned stars such as John Belushi, Bill Murray and Mike Myers. The Main Stage features well-established actors and skits and a smaller ETC stage features up-and-coming Chicago comics.

Mainstage and ETC stage
1616 N. Wells St.
1-312-337-3992
www.secondcity.com

Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz

This smash hit examines the friendship between Gilda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Ford Center for the Performing Arts
Oriental Theatre
24 W. Randolph St.
1-312-902-1400
www.ticketmaster.com

Behind the Emerald Curtain

Performers from Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz guide this backstage tour of the blockbuster musical's set. In addition to seeing costumes, masks and props, visitors are treated to a question-and-answer session with the cast members.

Ford Center for the Performing Arts
Oriental Theatre
24 W. Randolph St.
1-312-902-1400
www.ticketmaster.com

Family Performances

A Christmas Carol

This production of the famous Dickens tale makes even Scrooge seem magical.

Goodman Theatre
170 N. Dearborn St.
1-312-443-3800
www.goodman-theatre.org

Rewired

by Blue Man Group
Performance art and comedy meet music. Certainly not conventional theater, the performance is furiously paced and loud. Blue Man has a well-earned position as one of the most popular performances in the city.

Briar Street Theatre
3133 N. Halsted
1-773-348-4000
www.blueman.com
www.ticketmaster.com

Chicago Human Rhythm Project

Global Rhythms 4, featuring the North American Debut of Barbatuques

Barbatuques defies boundaries by combining Afro-Brazilian chants, body drumming, stomping feet, video montage and pulsating rhythms to create a visual and auditory feast.

Those attending RSNA Tour 6 will be supporting the RSNA Research & Education Foundation to help fund radiology's future. Fifty percent of the ticket price will be donated directly to the Foundation.

Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Millennium Park
205 E. Randolph Dr.
1-312-334-7777
www.chicagotap.org