Oscar Levant was a virtuosic pianist, conflicted champion of George Gershwin, conductor, film actor, author, proudly uncensored comic and self-confessed victim of mental illness. Actor Sean Hayes is so riveting, and so real, in his portrayal that you might begin to wonder if Levant has been fully reincarnated.

There is more than a touch of genius on display in the American Blues Theater’s production of “Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight.” The conceptual magic of the work is enhanced by a tour de force performance. 

The world premiere play “King James” spotlights the work of two Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble members who loved basketball long before they loved theater.

When it’s used to play the traditional music of the Canary Islands, the small instrument’s sound is often bright and folksy. But in the hands of Germán López, whose style combines the sound of the Canary Islands with pop and world rhythms, the timple takes on an entirely new character.

A primary example of the Joffrey’s commitment to “the new” was this weekend’s return of the “Winning Works” program, now in its 12th season, with four performances that served as a showcase of four world premiere pieces created by four different choreographers. 

A brutal despot is the force behind much of the tragedy that unfolds in “Tosca.” The opera — with a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa — is at once a love story, and the tale of artists who are destroyed by the twisted power broker who drives them to death. 

Marisa Monte’s concert at the Vic Theatre seemed to be a great liberation for the performer who has been unable to tour the world over the last two year of the pandemic. And it was just one stop in a 10-city U.S. tour highlighting her new album, “Portas.”

“King James” by Rajiv Joseph receives a terrific world premiere by Steppenwolf Theatre. The play follows a friendship over a decade that began over a shared love for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Actor Lesley Nicol earned accolades for portraying the head cook Mrs. Patmore on six seasons of the television show “Downton Abbey” and in two movies. Now, she’s ready to premiere her new stage show in Chicago.

Pianist Daniil Trifonov held a concert at Orchestra Hall featuring three fiendishly difficult pieces by Szymanoski, Debussy and Brahms. 

It was at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre where dancers with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater would unknowingly perform for the last time before a nearly two-year hiatus. Fast forward to today, and they’re back on their first national tour.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago has retained a number of its most superb and experienced dancers. At the same time, it has incorporated a good deal of new talent that clearly can carry off the many challenging and stylistically varied works that are part of its ever-expanding repertoire.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Chicago for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 with rousing works and a nod to tradition. 

Under the big top, Teatro ZinZanni presents a performance that is Cirque du Soleil meets cabaret, with a little circus action in between.

This past week, in a chillingly prescient way, a rescheduled visit of English National Ballet’s production of Akram Khan’s “Creature” arrived on the Harris stage, and it could not have been more ideally timed. 

The CSO's bravura rendering of this masterwork was, indeed, a temporary balm for the soul and evidence of how great works of art speak to us throughout time.