New Joffrey Ballet dancers speak about their experience with crafting public persona in the world of professional ballet. 

The outcome was as expected: the Super-Bowl caliber Green Bay Packers beat the rebuilding Chicago Bears in the season-opener at Soldier Field. But the Bears ability to effectively run the ball, limit penalties, and run a more up-tempo offense surpassed most fans' expectations. Former Bear James "Big Cat" Williams gives us his take on the first game of the season. Also, don't miss our preview of next Sunday's game with Craig Morgan, a Chicago native and Arizona sports reporter.

Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is in town to work with veterans of his choreographic style at the Joffrey Ballet and some new kids on the block – the Joffrey recently added 10 dancers to the company. Wheeldon joins us in advance of the Joffrey's 60th anniversary season, kicking off Wednesday with the program Millennials.

The Chicago Bears kick off the 2015 NFL season at noon this Sunday against division rivals the Green Bay Packers. After a dismal 5-11 outing in 2014, new head coach John Fox and general manager Ryan Pace were brought in to pick up the pieces and the Bears will take the field with a lot to prove.

Chicago director Kimberly Senior talks about her experiences directing – for the fourth time – playwright Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Disgraced. 

Take advantage of the still warm weather and go for a kayak, sample over 300 wines at Buckingham Fountain, and listen to free music from around the world. It'll be boot weather soon enough.  

Chicago began demolishing its crime-ridden, dilapidated public housing high-rises in the mid-1990s. By 2000, the city had launched the ambitious Plan for Transformation, aiming to replace 38,000 public housing units with new or rehabbed mixed-income units in 10 years. But 15 years later, the Chicago Housing Authority is still working to complete that goal.

After spending months combing through nearly 100 years of archival photographs and newspaper articles, the Chicago Tribune is releasing a comprehensive look at the Chicago Bears.

Chicago's Alfonso Iannelli was a prolific artist whose work adorns local landmarks such as the Adler Planetarium. He also devoted creative energy toward designing ingenious household appliances such as coffee makers. A new book titled Everyday Modern: The Industrial Design of Alfonso Iannelli documents those efforts. Joining us tonight are the book’s author David Jameson and Chicago cultural historian Tim Samuelson.

Art, dance, music and theater: Get the best of everything in our guide to fall arts in Chicago.

It has been a busy season in the world of architecture, from new libraries to new landscapes. Chicago Tribune's Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin joins us to discuss the opening of Northerly Island’s new nature park and the cutting-edge design of the new Chinatown library. He'll also update us on the status of a global search for architects competing to work on the Obama Presidential Center.

At first glance, the small, brown, formaldehyde-soaked Evarra tlahuacensis doesn’t come off as a terribly striking fish. But the little minnow is actually the only remaining specimen of its kind on Earth – and it's housed at Chicago’s Field Museum.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which ended discriminatory tactics that made it difficult for African-Americans to vote. The new book Jimmie Lee and James tells the story of two of the unsung civil rights heroes who were pivotal in the passage of this landmark legislation. Joining us tonight are the authors of the book, Steve Fiffer and Adar Cohen.

Comic actors George Wendt and Tim Kazurinsky appear together in Bruce Graham's new play Funnyman, opening this week at Northlight Theatre in Skokie. The duo joins Chicago Tonight to talk about the world premiere play, recall their days at Second City, and fact-check a couple of Internet rumors about their long careers.

In this edition of Ask Geoffrey, our local history expert Geoffrey Baer gets schooled at Midway Airport, snags a free pickle at a long-lost Old Town favorite, and soars with 19 terracotta eagles in Lakeview.

It's Labor Day weekend, Chicago. You won't be able to wear white after Monday, so flash your brights at this great lineup of festivals, including Turkish Fest, Jazz Fest and the Chicago Fringe Fest. Oh, and don't miss a Q&A at Music Box Theatre with Queen of Earth director Alex Ross Perry. Take your pick.