Wes Anderson
2/28 to 3/6
Fans of the iconic, dry-witted auteur, take note: The Music Box Theatre will be screening all of Anderson’s films in anticipation of his latest flick, The Grand Budapest Hotel, coming this month.
$9.25. Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport. For times, musicboxtheatre.com
The Post Family
3/4 to 3/30
This cheeky design cooperative has churned out experimental work since 2007. Its latest art project debuts in Logan Square.
Free. Comfort Station, 2579 N. Milwaukee. comfortstationlogansquare.org
La Clemenza di Tito
3/5 to 3/23
Evanston’s own Matthew Polenzani plays the lead, Tito, in Mozart’s underrated opera seria about political and romantic intrigue in old Rome.
$34 to $294. Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker. lyricopera.org
Dessa Rose
3/6 to 4/5
Based on the marvelous novel by Sherley Anne Williams, this musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty delves into the unlikely alliance forged between Dessa Rose, a runaway slave, and Ruth Sutton, a white woman abandoned on a backwater Alabama farm.
$15 to $40. Bailiwick Chicago at the Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln. bailiwickchicago.com
Water by the Spoonful
3/6 to 4/6
What happens to soldiers after they return home from war? Playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for exploring that question in this play about an Iraqi war vet and his dysfunctional family.
$35 to $65. Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis. courttheatre.org
Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet
3/7 at 7:30 p.m.
Named best jazz trumpeter in DownBeat magazine’s 2012 critics’ poll, Akinmusire leads this contemporary quintet, whose new album, The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint comes out later this month.
$5 to $35. Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th. chicagopresents.uchicago.edu
Chapatti
3/7 to 4/13
Two magnificent actors—John Mahoney and Penny Slusher—pair up for Christian O’Reilly’s Dublin-set romance that involves a man, a woman, 19 cats, and the titular beast: a dog.
$15 to $58. Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie, Skokie. northlight.org
Thodos Dance Chicago
3/8 to 3/9
The star architect Jeanne Gang (see “The Power 100”) teams up with modern dance choreographer Melissa Thodos, who has made a career out of unusual pairings.
$20 to $60. Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph. harristheaterchicago.org
Venus in Fur
3/8 to 4/13
Increasingly high-profile Chicago director Joanie Schultz helms this adaptation of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s notoriously kinky novel.
$25 to $86. Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn. goodmantheatre.org
Victoria Fu
Through 3/8
Praised for her colorful, abstract photography and enigmatic short videos, the San Diego artist mounts her first solo Chicago exhibition before heading to the Whitney Biennial (see [[[page 91]]]) next month.
Free. Document, 845 W. Washington. documentspace.org
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
3/13 to 3/16
Known for crafting dances that make audiences chuckle, Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián gets a tribute as Hubbard mounts its first all-Kylián program.
$25 to $99. Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph. hubbardstreetdance.com
Road Show
3/13 to 5/4
Arguably the country’s foremost Sondheim interpreter, director Gary Griffin tackles a lesser known production: the saga of two entrepreneurial brothers in the 1890s.
$20 to $68. Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand. chicagoshakes.com
Sisters in Cinema
Through 3/13
Don’t miss the critically heralded lesbian coming-of-age film Pariah (March 6) and the drama The Middle of Nowhere (March 13) during this student-run film series featuring black women directors.
$5. Ida Noyes Hall, University of Chicago, 1212 E. 59th. docfilms.uchicago.edu
John Prine
3/14 at 8 p.m.
Plucked from Chicago’s revivalist folk scene by Kris Kristofferson himself during the 1960s, Prine has since become one of the most influential folk artists of the past 50 years. Tonight, he’s joined by contemporary Iris DeMent.
$50 to $85. Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan. etix.com
Story Week
3/16 to 3/21
Theatre director Kimberly Senior, Little Known Facts author Christine Sneed, and up-and-coming novelist Roxane Gay are the talents to see at this weeklong celebration of the written word and its leading local practitioners.
Free. Various locations. colum.edu/storyweek
Chicago Beer Festival
3/22 at 1 p.m.
Once again, Union Station transforms into a beer geek’s heaven with 55 domestic and international companies offering their spring wares for sampling. Act quickly; the event always sells out.
$40. Union Station, 210 S. Canal. eventbrite.com
Bella Voce Camerata
3/22 at 7:30 p.m., 3/23 at 3:30 p.m.
Did you miss David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion at Ravinia this summer? Catch it now.
$15 to $38. 3/22: Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 Division, River Forest. 3/23: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 939 Hinman, Evanston. bellavoce.org
The Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60
3/23 at 5 and 8 p.m.
Jazz cats, including clarinetist Anat Cohen and double bassist Larry Grenadier, celebrate the seminal festival’s 60th year with an intimate bash.
$38 to $40. Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln. oldtownschool.org
Dinosaur Zoo Live
3/25 to 3/30
For those obsessed with Tyrannosaurus rex, this “petting zoo” (the dinosaurs are large puppets) should do the trick.
$37 to $71. Broadway in Chicago at the Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut. dinosaurzoolive.us, broadwayinchicago.com
Imaging/Imagining: The Body as Art
3/25 to 6/15
How does modern medicine approach the classic nude? This exhibition, organized by three physicians at the University of Chicago, proposes that art can be diagnostically revealing.
Free. Smart Museum, 5550 S. Greenwood. smartmuseum.uchicago.edu
Amy Schumer
3/28 at 8 p.m.
With a movie produced by Judd Apatow in the works, the ribald comedienne is on a tear. Catch her standup set before she gets too famous to go on tour.
$38 to $48. Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress. auditoriumtheatre.org
Warpaint
3/28 at 9 p.m.
Reminiscent of Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star without outrightly aping either, these Los Angeles ladies are the perfect soundtrack to a wintry evening.
$21. 3730 N. Clark. metrochicago.com
Bill Cosby
3/29 at 2 and 8 p.m.
The veteran comic, who stops in Naperville in support of his latest comedy special Far from Finished, really is making good on that title: NBC recently announced Cosby is in talks to produce a new sitcom for the channel.
$50 to $75. Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton, Naperville. finearts.northcentralcollege.edu
Tristan and Yseult
3/30 to 4/13
Think Shakespeare infused with acrobatics, and you have an inkling of the wonders this British ensemble will bring to Navy Pier.
$48 to $78. Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand. chicagoshakes.com, kneehigh.co.uk
Dum Dum Girls
3/31 at 9 p.m.
This stylish L.A.-groomed quartet mixes garage, doo-wop, and girl-group sounds to unforgettable effect.
$14. Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western. ticketweb.com