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Based on the original Broadway production that ran for over thirteen years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, and the Academy Award-winning motion picture, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast […]
The legendary director of Men in Black, Get Shorty, and The Addams Family dishes out a delectable mix of insights and true tales that escalate from outrageous to unbelievable in his new memoir, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time. From battling with studio executives and producers to bad-script-solving on set to coaxing actors into finding […]
John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, The Anthropocene Reviewed) and Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers, I Have Some Questions for You) are two of our most beloved contemporary writers. They’re also long-time admirers of each other’s work. For the first time, the two best-selling authors will come together to discuss their books and their […]
The Edith Farnsworth House, one of the most famous residences in modern architectural history, was legendary long before it could be widely accessed. Michelangelo Sabatino brings to life the house’s original design by Mies van der Rohe and discusses periods of neglect, flooding, and new ownership by Lord Peter Palumbo in his latest book, The […]
Politics of Poetics is a series of readings and workshops that highlights influential contemporary poets whose practices traverse the political through writing, teaching, and activism. This fall, poet Heid E. Erdrich reads new work and selections from her award-winning book of poetry, Little Big Bully (2020) and Curator of Ephemera at the New Museum of […]
What’s it like to write for the most popular late-night comedy shows in America when the news already feels like a satire of itself? Second City’s Kelly Leonard sits down with Chicago-bred talent who have written for the hottest shows in late night: Ali Barthwell (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), Peter Grosz (The Colbert […]
MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD is a musical odyssey of imagination. Through vibrant song, expressive dance, and a whole lot of imagination, this magical, musical journey takes us through the mind of a child, as he learns to see the world as it really is. A journey from house to home, this play is a real […]
An open-hearted, “utterly absorbing, very funny, darn near perfect play” (The Daily Beast) about leaving your comfort zone to find fulfillment. Meet Kenneth, a 38-year-old longtime bookstore worker, who is perfectly content with his after-work routine: a mai tai (or two) at the local tiki bar. But when his employer decides to close the store, […]
Expect unfiltered stories and insights as these two friends and collaborators take the stage to discuss their rise in New York's alt-cabaret and improv comedy scene to starring roles in HBO’s Peabody Award-winning, critically acclaimed comedy series, Somebody Somewhere. After a short screening of the Season 3 premiere episode, Everett and Hiller will share behind-the-scenes […]
Language is constantly changing. Linguist and veteran English professor Anne Curzan is here to help us decipher its “rules.” Written with lively humor and humanity, Curzan’s newest book Says Who? is a pragmatic and accessible key that reveals how our choices about language can be a powerful force for equity and personal expression. Join Chicago […]
MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD is a musical odyssey of imagination. Through vibrant song, expressive dance, and a whole lot of imagination, this magical, musical journey takes us through the mind of a child, as he learns to see the world as it really is. A journey from house to home, this play is a real […]
Join us as we experience poet and Yale professor Claudia Rankine and choreographer Shamel Pitts in conversation and performance. Rankine is not only the New York Times bestseller of Citizen: An American Lyric, but a MacArthur Fellow, playwright, and author of the newly released Dont Let Me Be Lonely. She brings her unique perspective on […]
Tegan and Sara are indie-pop royalty, twin sisters, and bestselling authors of a young adult graphic novel duology. Crush, the second book in this autobiographically-inspired series, explores the teenage world of crushes, crushing it, and being crushed by life — all wrapped in a queer lens. Join Chicago Humanities in conversation with Tegan and Sara […]
Four Athenians run away to the forest in the name of love (reciprocated and otherwise). They find themselves in the midst of a war between Titania and Oberon, the king and queen of the fairies, over a changeling boy in Titania’s charge. In the midst of this conflict, local workers are attempting (poorly) to rehearse […]
Calm Waters is an exclusive event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore Shedd Aquarium’s exhibits and experiences in a comfortable and accepting environment. Modifications for this event will include limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration. Modifications for Calm Waters Include: Limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration A sensory friendly […]
Join us for an evening that brings the soul of Chicago’s neighborhoods to the big screen! Experience the powerful stories of our community through the lens of three talented Chicago residents from the 2023-24 Community Storytellers program: Alexie Young Take 290 (15:53; North Lawndale, Westside) Directed by Sanicole Written by George Ellzey Jr. A defeated […]
Written by Chicago poet Timothy David Rey, Zip! is a prophetic and ghostly timewarped drama about Nancy Reagan’s fervor for astrology, interlaced with a Black gay love story, set on the eve of the AIDS epidemic and the Reagan assassination attempt. The play runs approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. Zip! is a 2023 semi-finalist […]
Former fifth-ranking leader in the US House of Representatives, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and senior associate counsel to President George W. Bush, Christopher Cox leads a discussion on President Woodrow Wilson's profound and disturbing influence in the fights for women's voting rights and racial justice, accentuating the importance of historical awareness […]
Designed for children under 12 and their grown-ups, MCA Family Days invite our youngest visitors to be the museum’s artists, thinkers, and collaborators. Witness an artist’s first creation. Experience inspiration spark from play and wonder. Do something nearly unheard of in a contemporary art museum—sit on comfy pillows and eat free snacks. Every second Saturday, […]
Philip Metres will read from his new book Fugitive/Refuge, an extended qasidah reflecting on exile and family histories of forced migration from global violence. Chicago poet Faisal Mohyuddin will read from his new book Elsewhere: An Elegy, a meditative and spare collection on fatherhood and grief. Murmurs from the poets: A toast to the migrants […]
As part of our fall festival examination of movement, we explore the primal human expression of physical movement and the artistic and cultural foundations of dance with leading choreographer Kyle Abraham. With his company, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, he creates a body of dance-based work that is galvanized by Black culture and history and features […]
Hoop Dreams was famously called “the great American documentary” by Roger Ebert. It’s also, of course, a quintessentially Chicago film. Hoop Dreams turns 30 this year, its story of two young Chicagoans (Arthur Agee and William Gates) trying to become professional basketball players as resonant as ever. Arthur and William, along with director/producer Steve James […]
Legendary celebrity and rock-n-roll photographer, Lynn Goldsmith has captured the biggest stars with her skilled lens. She’s chronicled the careers of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, and her longtime friend and collaborator, Patti Smith. A Chicago Humanities favorite, Patti Smith is one of America’s most acclaimed singer-songwriters and a beloved photographer […]
On the occasion of the opening of The Living End: Painting and Other Technologies, 1970-2020, featured artists Tishan Hsu, Tala Madani, and Jacolby Satterwhite chat with Senior Curator of the MCA and organizer of the exhibition, Jamillah James, about the past, present, and future of painting. Spanning an international and intergenerational group of artists, The […]
The Midwest premiere of Becky Nurse of Salem, a new dark comedy by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Polly Noonan, promises to bewitch Chicago audiences as the opening production of Shattered Globe Theatre’s 34th season. Gaze into any crystal ball and it’s clear, Shattered Globe’s Becky Nurse of Salem is sure to cast a spell on […]
Four Athenians run away to the forest in the name of love (reciprocated and otherwise) and unknowingly find themselves in the crossfires of a war between the king and queen of the fairies. In the midst of this conflict, local workers are attempting (poorly) to rehearse a play to celebrate the upcoming nuptial of Duke […]