Performing Arts

Best Bests: Common headlines free Chicago Live Fest at Navy Pier, Six Flags serves up scares

Posted September 15, 2026 12:03 pm

Barbara Vitello

Rapper/actor Common, right, seen here with John Legend during the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center in June, will headline the Chicago Live Festival at Navy Pier. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

Chicago Live at Navy Pier

Emmy, Grammy and Academy Award-winner Common is among the headliners at the Chicago Live Festival at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The free, two-day fest also features performances by the Joel Hall Dancers, Giordano Dance Chicago, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Black Ensemble Theater, Kokandy Productions, The Second City, Anthony Rapp, Trinity Irish Dance Company and JC Brooks among others. navypier.org/. Noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20

Grave Digger flies through the air during a previous Monster Jam, which returns to Rosemont’s Allstate Arena Friday through Sunday. (Feld Entertainment)

Rosemont’s monster jam

Monster trucks including Grave Digger, El Toro Loco, Krazy Train and Megalodon rumble into the Allstate Arena, 6920 Mannheim Road, Rosemont, this weekend when champion drivers perform jaw-dropping stunts as part of Monster Jam. $29.65-$123.76. MonsterJam.com. 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18; 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20

A+ comedy

Current and former educators take the stage at the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake, for the Teachers’ Lounge Comedy show. Kenny Mock and Bill Gorgo headline the show, which also includes Brian Williams and Jess Smith, Elgin South High School theater and English teacher. Tickets start at $44, $28 for RaueNOW members. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org. 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18

“Self Portrait by Ivan Brunetti” is part of the Cleve Carney Museum of Art’s new exhibition “Linework: Chicago Comics and Community.” (CCMA)

CCMA salutes comics creators

The Cleve Carney Museum of Art at the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, examines Chicago’s impact on comics and graphic storytelling in its new exhibition “Linework: Chicago Comics and Community.” CCMA director and curator Justin Witte curated the exhibition, which revisits the publication “Linework” created by Chicago cartoonist and educator Ivan Brunetti. “During the early decades of the 21st century, ‘Linework’ became a gathering point for many of the most compelling voices in Chicago’s comics scene,” said Witte in a prepared statement. “Bringing together emerging and established artists, the publication fostered a period of creative exchange that reflected the diversity, experimentation and collaborative spirit of the city’s alternative comics community.” Free. TheCCMA.org. Thursday, Sept. 24, through Nov. 21

Comedian Ana Belaval headlines the McAninch Arts Center on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Ana at the MAC

WGN Morning News reporter Ana Belaval, a 10-year veteran of the Chicago comedy scene who mines laughs from her broadcast career, her family and her Puerto Rican heritage, headlines the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. Seth Davis opens. $32-$39. (630) 942-4000 or AtTheMac.org. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19

Six Flags Great America promises thrills and chills during Fright Fest, which runs Saturday, Sept. 19, through Nov. 1 in Gurnee. (Six Flags Great America)

Fright Fest returns

Six Flags Great America, 1 Great America Parkway, Gurnee, debuts two new haunted mazes as part of its annual Fright Fest. One, inspired by the supernatural horror film “The Blair Witch Project,” is navigated in near-total darkness. The other, titled “Nightmares,” consists of a series of terrifying dreamscapes. Returning this year is the undead city “Necropolis.” The amusement park also hosts daytime activities for young visitors that include trick-or-treating and family-friendly entertainment. Guests also can sample specialty brews and seasonal food as part of Great America’s Oktoberfest celebration running concurrently with Fright Fest. Tickets start at $45. sixflags.com/greatamerica. Saturday, Sept. 19, through Nov. 1

Nature narratives in Naperville

Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville, in conjunction with Mandala South Asian Performing Arts, hosts instrumentalists and dancers from India, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan as part of “Nature and Narratives,” a program examining themes of memory, migration and belonging. $30, $50. mandalaarts.org or napersettlement.org/. 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20

Mind reading at the Metropolis

Actor/mentalist Fred Zimmerman ― whose performances are rooted in theater, psychology and deception ― brings his show “Thespian: An Actor Prepares … to Read Your Mind” to the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $40. (847) 577-2121 or MetropolisArts.com. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23

York Theatre screens World War II documentary

The Elmhurst Veterans Commission hosts the Illinois premiere of “10 Good Men,” a documentary by director Trent “TJ” Jones chronicling stories about the World War II veterans who flew the B-17 Flying Fortress, a symbol of American air power. Jones will participate in an audience Q&A following the screenings at Classic Cinemas York Theatre, 150 N. York St., Elmhurst. $15, $12 for veterans. Elmhurst.org/10GoodMen. 1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23