Stories by Marc Vitali

For its big summer show this year, the Art Institute takes a fresh look at the early modern artist, Edouard Manet. We tour the show.

We visit a local house on the route of the Underground Railroad that was built by a man who was also an accomplished painter of early Illinoisans.

A Chicago couple is part of an international team bringing a flashy new take on “dinner and a show” to local audiences. Meet the stars of Teatro ZinZanni.

This weekend is the 14th annual Pitchfork Music Festival – a homegrown stage for adventurous music from around the world, including Chicago. We visit a pair of young local artists as they prepare for their Pitchfork debut.

There’s a parade of new shows on stage in Chicago. Theater critic Hedy Weiss recommends her current favorites.

The exhibition “Wired to Wear” aims to lift the veil on clothing and accessories that can boost your health and wellness – or just express your creativity.

“The Music Man” marches into the Goodman Theatre. Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman gives us details on the big parade.

They started swinging back when Jimmy Carter was in the White House and Michael Bilandic was in City Hall. How the Chicago Jazz Orchestra brings a fresh approach to timeless music.

We visit a career-spanning show of work by Marvin E. Newman, a still-working photographer who captured Chicago and its people in the 1940s and ‘50s.

Artist Rob Pruitt created a painting for each of the 2,922 days of Barack Obama’s presidency. His project is now on display in Chicago. 

Photography has long been used to make images of iconic works of art. Sometimes the photographs themselves become icons. A new show explores a collection of famous pictures from the 20th century.

Cirque du Soleil has visited Chicago every other year since 1989. This year, for the first time, the internationally minded “Circus of the Sun” features a performer with local roots. Meet Kevin Beverley.

From the wives of Henry VIII to Frankenstein’s monster, there is plenty to see on local stages right now. Theater critic Hedy Weiss shares her take on five shows currently on stage.

A famous Chicago pizza joint is filled with antiques, and they’re all going to be part of an unusual estate sale. We go for a look.

The young American photographer Brendan Hoffman tells us about his show at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art.

The Block Museum show “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time” showcases the splendor and influence of medieval West and North Africa. We tour the exhibition with a special guest from the Smithsonian.

Three cast members from Lyric Opera’s “West Side Story” join us in conversation and performance. 

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas offers some last-minute tips ahead of the annual tax sale.

A world-renowned nature photographer visits Chicago for the opening of an exhibition of his truly magnificent wildlife pictures at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

At age 92, the jazz guitarist is a living legend from Chicago’s first family of music. We pay him a visit.

The venerable Chicago dance company got a creative boost from across the pond for the closing show of its season. Meet the Brit who made his own Britney Spears video and is now working with the Joffrey Ballet.

Rock ‘n’ roll and human survival go hand-in-hand in a new production at Victory Gardens Theater. We meet some of the creative team behind the show.

This pair of art shows couldn’t be more different, highlighting a New Zealand artist who hasn’t spoken in more than 50 years; and two Chicago artists who fight addiction with creativity.

The young American photographer Brendan Hoffman tells us about his new show at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art.

In recent years, illustrations from 1970s Mexican comic books have earned a dedicated following of fans and collectors. We visit a new pulp art show at a Chicago gallery.

This spring season, Chicago theaters are in full bloom. Theater critic Hedy Weiss recommends new shows on Chicago-area stages, from fun musicals to serious dramas.