Chicago
The signature show here is ComedySportz. The gimmick? Two teams compete to make you laugh. The show is totally improvised, with the audience dictating the…
Must-see entertainment in Chicago
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
Verse comes in all shapes and sizes at this longstanding weekly Monday night event, now at the Hideout. A cast of delightfully eccentric poets get on the…
Chicago
Bands of all genres play in the eye-popping Music Hall, a wildly colored space decorated with far-out art. Some pretty big names take the stage. In…
Green Line Performing Arts Center
Chicago
This stark-black, newly built venue opened in late 2018. It holds an 80-seat theater for music, dance and storytelling performances, and an outdoor…
Chicago
The famed Joffrey has flourished since it relocated from New York in 1995. Noted for its energetic work, the company frequently travels the world and…
Chicago
This long-running event birthed the 'performance poetry' genre, and it’s still going strong every Sunday night at the Green Mill. Founder Marc Smith…
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
One of Chicago's all-time great dives, this former Polish polka bar features live performances nightly – often scrappy up-and-coming bands, sometimes a…
Chicago
Martyrs' is a small, catch-all venue where pretty much anything goes musically: a South American jazz improv band, a Tom Petty tribute band, a Mexican…
Chicago
Poets, musicians, journalists, playwrights, comedians and a trash-talking puppet named Chad the Bird perform 'essays' for this witty ‘live magazine’…
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
For a visit to the heart of Chicago’s dramatic scene, step into this small, functional theater space, a testing ground for Chicago’s new playwrights and…
Chicago
This dozen-plus-member ensemble is comprised of world-class soloists and Chicago Symphony Orchestra section leaders. The best place to hear them is at the…
Chicago
Founded in 1919, this orchestra is a kid sibling to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – made up of young players who often graduate to the big-time…
Chicago
Everything you need to know is in the name – entertaining beats traverse a spectrum of sounds and the kitchen turns out better-than-average dinners. Dine…
Chicago
This well-established group saw its fledgling production of The Jackie Wilson Story attract wide attention and national tours. The focus here has long…
Chicago
The Vic – a vintage 1912 vaudeville theater – now hosts big-name bands several nights a week, and second-run Hollywood and cult films on the off nights…
Chicago
The piano in this tiny, dark and mirrored room – originally opened as a speakeasy during Prohibition – can get as scratchy as the voices of the crowd,…
Chicago
Bring on the punk and the all-ages shows. Graffitied Reggies books mostly touring hard-core bands at the Rock Club. Next door, Reggies' Music Joint is for…
Chicago
This well-regarded troupe works in a nifty theater hewn from the old Water Works Pumping Station building. The ensemble cast – which sometimes includes…
Chicago
This beloved organization is all about knocking down the cultural walls that surround traditional classical ensembles. Expect broad-minded premieres and…
Chicago
Popular enough to draw big names on the blues circuit, Kingston Mines is so noisy, hot and sweaty that blues neophytes will feel as though they’re having…
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
This ragtag operation once had to hold a fundraiser to purchase a bathroom for its tiny theater (located in a converted garage), but it's now drawing…
Chicago
Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Justine Chen’s The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing are recent season headliners – indications of the critically acclaimed,…
Chicago
It presents some of the most innovative plays for children in the country, from blockbusters such as School House Rock Live to lesser-known works like…
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
A trendy crowd comes to Subterranean, which looks slick inside and out. The main room upstairs draws good indie rock, funk and hip-hop bands; Thursday is…
Chicago
Calling all ice hockey fans: this shiny arena, a stone's throw from United Center, is where the Blackhawks practice. You can watch the sessions for free…
Chicago
The James M Nederlander Theatre, built in 1926, is known for its stunning Far East architectural elements. For almost a century it was called the Oriental…
Chicago
This long-running storefront venue presents original plays and fresh stage adaptations of literary works by writers from Nabokov to William S Burroughs…
Chicago
This Chicago company was founded by one of the most important people in the history of American dance, Gus Giordano. Now headed by his daughter Nan, the…
Chicago
It claims to be the world's first theater dedicated to science fiction and fantasy. There are two stages: a 120-seat main stage and the 40-seat black box,…
Chicago
The Royal George is actually four theaters in one building. The cabaret venue stages long-running mainstream productions such as Late Nite Catechism, a…
Dance Center at Columbia College
Chicago
More than an academic institution, the Dance Center is one of the most focused collegiate modern-dance programs in the country and has carved out a fine…
Chicago
Long established and playwright-friendly, Victory Gardens specializes in world premieres of plays by Chicago authors. It’s located in the historic…
Chicago
One of the largest choral and orchestral groups of its kind in the USA, MoB brings the music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to vibrant life. Its…
Chicago
This comfy jazz club programs a far-ranging lineup of local traditional, swing, bop, Latin, fusion and Afro-pop acts, along with the occasional big-name…
Chicago
The Promontory is Hyde Park's first hipster music hall. The rustic room with huge windows hosts jazz, soul and funk musicians, as well as DJs several…
Chicago
This comedy shack has been booking well-known jokesters for more than three decades. The shows last around two hours and usually include a couple of up…
Chicago
A Chicago improv mainstay for more than 30 years, the Annoyance masterminds naughty and absurd shows, often musicals such as Tiny Fascists: A Boy Scout…
Chicago
Newbie comics line up hours in advance for Wednesday's open mike at the Laugh Factory. Such is the cachet of its parent LA club, where everyone from…
Chicago
The calendar at Elastic Arts is far-reaching and impossible to pin down – one day will see a funk band, the next an experimental video screening, and the…
Chicago
One of two downtown outlets selling same-week drama, comedy and performing-arts tickets for half price (plus a $5 to $10 service charge); the other one is…