Performing Arts
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Best bets: ‘A Revolution of Values’ at Elmhurst Art Museum; family fests in Rosemont, AuroraSep 08, 2026 9:40 am - Elmhurst Art Museum kicks off a joint exhibition rooted in the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War; Aurora and Rosemont host family-friendly festivals; the Joffrey Ballet presents the Chicago premiere of the rarely performed “Liliom.”
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Enduring Arcada: Landmark St. Charles venue celebrates centennialSep 05, 2026 9:20 am - For the last century, the landmark Arcada Theatre in St. Charles has hosted stars from George Burns and Judy Garland to Buddy Guy, The Gin Blossoms and Loretta Lynn. The onetime vaudeville palace turned concert venue celebrates its centennial on Sunday, Sept. 6.
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Spotlight: Comedy classic ‘The Front Page’ heralds Northlight’s Evanston homecomingSep 01, 2026 1:26 pm - Northlight Theatre inaugurates its new home in Evanston with the premiere of Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of “The Front Page,” based on the play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur and the 1940 screwball comedy “His Girl Friday.”
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Fall theater preview: Plenty of intriguing musicals and plays coming to suburban, Chicago stagesSep 01, 2026 9:57 am - World and regional premieres are among the productions scheduled to run on suburban and Chicago stages this fall.
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Things to do Sept. 4-10: Lake in the Hills Summer Sunset Festival, Naperville Jaycees’ Last Fling, Buffalo Grove Days and moreAug 31, 2026 4:16 pm - Mark your calendar for Lake in the Hills Summer Sunset Festival, Naperville Jaycees’ Last Fling, Buffalo Grove Days and more.
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Best bets: Paula Poundstone at Crystal Lake’s Raue Center; Cheap Trick in AuroraAug 31, 2026 2:00 pm - Tickets are still available for Paula Poundstone’s Raue Center show; Cheap Trick headlines RiverEdge Park; free museum admission this weekend for Bank of America cardholders.
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Renowned storyteller heading to Woodstock Opera House Sept. 20Aug 27, 2026 4:06 pm - On Sept. 20, veteran storyteller Susan O'Halloran, 76, will perform personal narratives about race and social justice at Woodstock Opera House, sharing eye-opening stories from her youth in 1960s Chicago including “The Garbage Story” about systemic inequality in city services.
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Fox Valley Theatre Company to bring Percy Jackson musical to ECC stageAug 27, 2026 3:44 pm - Fox Valley Theatre Company presents “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” from Sept. 11-20 at the Blizzard Theatre in Elgin. This rock musical adaptation of Rick Riordan's novel follows the boy who must embark on a quest to find Zeus's stolen lightning bolt and prevent a war among the gods.
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Magic man: For theater artist Dennis Watkins, magic was always in the cardsAug 26, 2026 10:42 am - Dennis Watkins, host of the long-running close-up magic show “The Magic Parlour” at Goodman Theatre, celebrates 25 years as a Chicago magician and theater artist.
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Spotlight: Janus Theatre revives ever-timely ‘An Iliad’ with all-female castAug 25, 2026 10:59 am - Ten years after it staged Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s “An Iliad,” Elgin’s Janus Theatre remounts the play with an all-female cast; TimeLine launches its 30th season with the premiere of “The Birth of the Pill” about the development of the life-changing oral contraceptive; and Promethean Theatre Ensemble stages “Blood of the Lamb,” a Kafkaesque thrill about reproductive rights.