The 400-year-old comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor” is now playing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater with a modern spin.

WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali highlights the city’s must-see cultural events.

Legendary actor and comedian Lily Tomlin was in Chicago support “Billie Jean,” a play about another living legend — Billie Jean King, the groundbreaking champion of tennis and equality.

Here’s a soulful and sometimes silly six-pack of the artistic and the fantastic — our shortlist of Chicago shows to kick-start your heart and make your brain buzz.

There’s always much to do in a place voted Best Big City in the U.S. eight years in a row. So find a show and get a ticket — it’s a vote of confidence in our priceless shared culture.

Between superheroes and super friends, ballet dancers and a champion bulldog, this week’s picks bring a cast of characters worth getting to know.

“Sunny Afternoon” tells the tuneful tale of the brothers Davies, Ray and Dave – bandleader and founder of The Kinks. They caught fire in 1964 with the influential hit “You Really Got Me,” but the blaze was nearly doused when they couldn’t capitalize on the British Invasion.

The musical story of The Kinks is told through the eyes of bandleader Ray Davies in “Sunny Afternoon” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

In the news this week: Doctors in Switzerland are expanding their range of prescriptions to include visits to art galleries and museums. You don’t need a prescription to experience the arts in Cook County.

“For many people with Down syndrome, the question ‘to be or not to be’ is not just philosophical — it is personal,” said Chela de Ferrari, the show’s director and writer. “Society often decides who gets to take up space, whose voices are heard, whose stories matter.”

Sculpture from Italy, theater from Peru, the inspiration for “Rent” — this week’s offerings include rare imports, an operatic favorite and a homegrown songwriter with a cinematic mind. See you at the show.

“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” is a celebration of Black hair and salons, a kind of sanctuary for Black women where societal expectations on how to present and perform no longer exist.

Elijah Jones must have impressed Chicago Shakespeare Theater with the same charisma he projects onstage as the titular king in “Henry V,” a lively production of Shakespeare’s history play about war between France and England. WTTW News spoke with the Juilliard-trained actor about his past, present and future.

David Kwong is a magician who also constructs crossword puzzles. As he puts it, “I combine the two nerdiest hobbies into one.” In his one-man show “The Enigmatist,” Kwong asserts that the disciplines of puzzle-making and magic-making share DNA.

Actor and Paralympic athlete Katy Sullivan portrays the ruthless Richard III at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

It is not an easy production to describe, but it is fascinating to watch. “Illinoise,” now onstage at Chicago Shakespeare’s Yard Theater, is an altogether unique and extraordinarily brilliant interpretation of Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album.