Best bets: Disney on Ice returns, Griffin, Cleve Carney museums debut new exhibitions

Posted January 14, 2026 7:38 am

Characters from “Inside Out 2" are among the new additions to the Disney on Ice spectacle playing at Allstate Arena and the United Center. Courtesy of Geo Rittenmyer

Disney on Ice returns

New characters from “Moana 2” and “Inside Out 2” join favorites from “Frozen,” “Encanto,” “Zootopia” and “Toy Story,” as well as Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy for the latest Disney on Ice incarnation. Performed by world-class skaters, the show features aerial acrobatics, special effects and audience interaction. $26.95-$369.68. DisneyOnIce.com. Thursday, Jan. 22, to Jan. 25 and Feb. 5-8 at Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont; Feb. 12-15 at the United Center, 1901 W. Madison St., Chicago

Elvis spectacular in Aurora

The Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, welcomes Elvis Presley tribute artists Shawn Klush, Cody Ray Slaughter, Ryan Pelton, Moses Snow and Jimmy Holmes for “A Tribute to the King: Live on Stage,” an Elvis birthday spectacular. $30.50-$70.50. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com. 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17

Vocal ensemble The Doo Wop Project performs Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Al Larsen Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg. Courtesy of The Doo Wop Project

Doo-wop salute in Schaumburg

The Doo Wop Project, comprised of Broadway veterans, bring their new show “Echoes of the Street” featuring the classics “Whispering Bells” by the Del Vikings; “So Much in Love” by The Times; “Sherry” by The Four Seasons; “Blue Moon” by The Marcels; and other favorites to the Al Larsen Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Court, Schaumburg. $58-$65. (847) 895-3600 or prairiecenter.org. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17

Honoring Dr. King

• Chicago Sinfonietta's annual Martin Luther King Day concert — “Open Heart” — includes the world premiere of composer Katherine Bostic's suite from “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat”; the Chicago Sinfonietta commission of Joel Thompson's “breathe/burn: an elegy,” featuring cellist Jeffrey Zeigler; and Antonín Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.” $30-$70. (312) 284-1554 or ChicagoSinfonietta.org. 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, at Wentz Concert Hall, North Central College, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville; 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago

• The Music Institute of Chicago, in partnership with Evanston Interfaith Clergy and Leaders, performs its 22nd Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Concert at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston. The free performance is also available via livestream. Northwestern University Bienen School of Music dean Dr. Jonathan Bailey Holland gives the keynote address. (847) 905-1500 or musicinst.org. 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18

A salute to immigrant artists

As part of the nationwide America 250 arts initiative celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, Chicago Opera Theater presents “In America's Embrace: Celebrating Immigrant Composers.” The program showcases works by Irving Berlin, Igor Stravinsky, Kurt Weill, André Previn and others who emigrated to America from their native countries. Featured vocalists include soprano Tracy Cantin, tenor Jordan Loyd, baritone Schyler Vargas and bass-baritone Alex Soare. The performance takes place at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Tickets start at $25. cot.org. 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18

Paul Tazewell's Tony Award-winning costumes for the musical “Hamilton” are among the items on display as part of the new Griffin Museum of Science & Industry exhibition “Crafting Character: The Costumes of Paul Tazewell.” Courtesy of Joan Marcus

Behind the seams

Emmy and Tony Award-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell is the subject of a new exhibition at the Griffin Museum of Science & Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. “Crafting Character: The Costumes of Paul Tazewell” examines the career of the celebrated designer who created costumes for the Broadway blockbusters “Wicked,” “Hamilton” and “Death Becomes Her,” Steven Spielberg's “West Side Story” and other productions. Included in the price of general museum admission, “Crafting Character” features some Tazewell garments as well as photos, sketches and narration that reveal the evolution of his designs. Adults $25.95, children $14.95. griffinmsi.org. Opens Monday, Jan. 19

Norman Teague's “Sinmi Stool” is among the works featured in The Cleve Carney Museum of Art’s “Chair-ish,” a new exhibition showcasing works by Teague and fellow Chicago artist Alex Chitty. Courtesy of Norman Teague

New at the Cleve Carney Museum

Chicago artists Alex Chitty and Norman Teague collaborate on “Chair-ish,” a new exhibition at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art, McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. The featured works create a conversation between the two artists who “blur the lines of form and function” to “examine the intimacy of objects we interact with daily.” Exhibition curator Julia Walker explained in a prepared statement that the artists' “practices exist in the gray area where fine art and functional design overlap.” Not beholden to either category, “Chitty and Teague are free to improvise and explore.” Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Free. TheCCMA.org. Thursday, Jan. 22, through April 11

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