Ariana Grande, Meryl Streep, Margot Robbie, and Megan Mullally are some of the names headlining shows headed for Chicago. Throughout 2026, the Windy City arts and entertainment scene brims with premiere plays, A-list music and dance performances, immersive exhibitions, first-rate festivals, and highly-anticipated movie releases.
The new year begins with strings attached as the 8th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival (Jan. 21-Feb. 1) offers more than 100 puppetry activities to residents of all ages. The festival showcases different forms of traditional and contemporary puppet styles, from bunraku to marionettes created by local and international artists.
Ayanna Bria Bakari directs the world premiere production of The Story Theatre‘s Pot Girls (Feb. 12-March 1) at Raven Theatre’s Schwartz Stage while AmBer Montgomery directs the Midwest premiere of Shattered Globe’s Morning, Noon, and Night (Feb. 13-March 28) at Theater Wit. The mind-bending drama by Obie Award-winning playwright Kirsten Greenidge explores surveillance and connection in a post-pandemic world. “I hope this production provides a space to reflect on who we’ve become since the world shifted, to laugh at ourselves, to grieve what was lost, and to imagine how we can continue to care for one another as we step into an uncertain future,” says Montgomery. “Through Kristen Greenidge’s extraordinary writing, through lots of magic and the wisdom of youth, this story reminds us of our resilience and the enduring strength of community.”
Emmy and Tony award-winning actor Kelsey Grammer, along with Pierre Ferragu, present Bernadette (Feb. 13-March 15) at The Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture. The musical follows the life and legacy of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes.
Cinematic provocateur Emerald Fennell is bound to rock book clubs with her stylized adaption of the Emily Brontë classic “Wuthering Heights” (1847). The same-named film‘s Friday the 13th release on Valentine’s Day weekend encourages audiences to debate whether the relationship between Cathy (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) is unfortunate or romantic. Check for showtimes at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Wrigleyville, Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema, Regal and AMC theaters.
Chicagolanders can experience the Gilded Age with a trip to the Driehaus Museum where the exhibition Tiffany Lamps: Beyond the Shade is on view through March 15. “Many Chicagoans and tourists have seen Tiffany lamps in passing but have not had a chance to encounter them in depth or within a richly contextualized narrative,” says the museum’s executive director Lisa M. Key.
Under the direction of Artistic Director Kirsten Fitzgerald, Anna Ouyang Moench’s father-daughter drama Birds of North (through Feb. 22) takes the stage at A Red Orchid Theatre.
Spotlighting Chicago’s dance, cabaret and musical talent, Steppenwolf’s LookOut series includes Isabella Limosnero’s Fold (Feb. 14) and Shalaka Kulkarni’s MUDRA (March 14). “Kicking off 2026, we’ve got a truly eclectic mix of work from familiar faces and new friends; we can’t wait to see what these artists have been creating,” says Creative Producer Patrick Zakem.
Prickly Mountain and My Design-Build Life (2025), Changing Lanes (2025), and We The Others (2024) are among the movies featured during The Architecture and Design Film Festival (Feb. 19-22) at the Chicago Cultural Center and the Gene Siskel Film Center. “We are excited to bring the Architecture & Design Film Festival to Chicago for its fourth year,” explains Eleanor Gorski, CEO and President, Chicago Architecture Center. “This festival is an important way for us to engage the public and highlight the transformative power of design. The selected films this year feature architects and designers from around the world who are engaging with their built environments to catalyze innovation and resilience. We hope that these perspectives inspire Chicagoans to reflect on and actively participate in shaping the role design plays in our communities.”
Theatergoers can prepare for St. Patty’s day with Porchlight Music Theatre’s The Irish … and How They Got That Way (Jan. 31-March 15). The irreverent musical by Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt performs at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts.
On March 28, Red Clay Dance Company’s La Femme Dance Festival takes place at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. With new and popular works by Rena Butler and Vershawn Sanders-Ward respectively, this biennial festival honors female choreographers of the Black/African diaspora.
It’s “All for one and one for all” with a swashbuckling production of The Three Musketeers (March 26-April 25) at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater. Alexander Dumas’s beloved 1844 novel is adapted for the stage by Idle Muse Theatre Company‘s artistic director Evan Jackson.
Championing both global and local cinema, Chicago’s historic Music Box Theatre hosts Beyond Fest (April 2–5), the largest genre film festival in the United States. “Since inception, Beyond Fest has existed in service of film fans and filmmakers that are obsessively passionate about film,” explains Christian Parkes, Beyond Fest founder. “This passion isn’t something that resides exclusively in Los Angeles; for decades, Music Box Theatre has fostered and entertained some of the best audiences in the world. It’s going to be electric, having our worlds collide.”
Five-time Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch joins Kate Flannery and The Tony Guerrero Quartet for The Trouble With Angels (April 9-11) in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater.
Thanks to the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the past, present and future of affordable urban housing is explored in BREAKTHROUGH: Housing Futures (through April 19) at the National Public Housing Museum.
The Auditorium continues its Celebrating Women Leaders in Dance series with performances by the Martha Graham Dance Company (Jan. 24), Trinity Irish Dance Company (Feb. 28), and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (April 24-26).
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presents the first North American survey exhibition of Firelei Báez (through May 31). The landmark show highlights 20 years of paintings and installations by the Dominican Republic-born/New York City-based artist.
What goes around, comes around with The Devil Wears Prada 2 opening in theaters on May 1. Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci return in the long-awaited sequel that also features Lucy Liu, Justin Theroux, and Kenneth Branagh.
Speaking of cinema, Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) turns 21 in Supergirl which opens on June 26. The DC Universe action flick stars Matthias Schoenaerts with a cameo by Jason Momoa.
Follow Ernestine Ashworth as she celebrates her birthday from age 17 to 101 in Buffalo Theatre Ensemble‘s Birthday Candles (May 7-June 7) at the Playhouse Theatre on the campus of College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.
Following the success of the Joffrey Ballet’s Anna Karenina, choreographer Yuri Possokhov and composer Ilya Demutsky have reunited for the Chicago premiere of Eugene Onegin (June 4-14) at the Lyric Opera House. Set in the 19th century, the production is inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s same-named novel.
Amy Herzog’s new Tony Award-nominated version of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People makes its Chicago premiere at Timeline Theatre this spring.
Emmy Award-winner Megan Mullally stars in the world premiere of the musical comedy Iceboy! Or The Completely Untrue Story of How Eugene O’Neill Came to Write The Iceman Cometh (June 9–July 19) at Goodman’s Albert Theatre.
For the first time in seven years, Ariana Grande will go on tour. Fortunately for Chicagoans, her North American and European Eternal Sunshine tour includes performances at United Center (Aug. 3-6).
The 11-day citywide celebration known as Chicago Fashion Week (Oct. 8-18) will highlight the area’s range of talent with 61 events in 49 venues throughout the city and suburbs from Hyde Park to Highland Park. “Chicago Fashion Week shines a light on what makes our city extraordinary–our creativity, diversity and entrepreneurial spirit,” says Mayor Brandon Johnson. “Fashion, like all art, tells the story of who we are. Events like this not only uplift our local designers and makers but also remind the world that Chicago is a city where culture, innovation and community come together to inspire.”
Come November, Emma Mackey and Carey Mulligan star in the fantasy flick Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew directed by Greta Gerwig, who adapted the script from the 1955 novel by C. S. Lewis.
