The Five

Don’t-miss picks for Wednesday, February 26 through Tuesday, March 4

1 Wes Anderson

Film: Kicking yourself that you weren’t one of the lucky 700 waiting by the computer to nab free tickets for an advance screening of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel on Saturday? Make do with this week-long screening of all his films.
2/28–3/7. $9.25. Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport. For times, musicboxtheatre.com

2 Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Dance: The venerable modern dance company comes to town with a new production, the hyper-kinetic Chroma, choreographed by Wayne McGregor of the Royal Ballet of London.
2/28–3/9. $30–$90. Auditorium Theatre, 50 E Congress. auditoriumtheatre.org

3 Terence Blanchard

Jazz: Most famous for his film score work, (that’s his haunting trumpet you hear on Mo’ Betta Blues), Blanchard has gone in a more funky direction as evidenced by his latest album, Magnetic, which he’ll play from here.
2/26 at 7:30. $24–$48. Space, 1245 Chicago, Evanston. evanstonspace.com

4 Fat Tuesday at FitzGerald’s

Parties: Pretend you’re in New Orleans next week at this Berwyn shindig in celebration of Mardi Gras. CJ Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band perform.
3/4. $20. FitzGerald’s. 6615 Roosevelt. fitzgeraldsnightclub.com

5 Wayne Brady

Comedy: Although he’s not known for his standup, the genial Whose Line Is It Anyway? performer tackles the format in his It’s My Line tour.
2/28 at 8. $39–$59. Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State. thechicagotheatre.com

What I’m Doing This Weekend

Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals—a.k.a. people we like: Katy Collins, creator and host of Chicago Movieoke. Chicago Movieoke takes place on Monday, March 3.

“Friday, I’m going to get some Korean barbecue at Cho Sun Ok with my friends. We’ll probably end up at The Half Acre Taproom. It’s a really cool, chill place and they carry my favorite beer, Gossamer Golden Ale.

“I’m a performer with Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Red Kite Project. We do a super interactive show every February for children with autism and Asperger’s. So I’ll be finishing that up Saturday afternoon. Then I’m going to Lucky Dancers’ Producers Ball at Links Hall. They are one of my favorite dance companies—modern, super creative, and fun.

“Sunday, I might add some more scenes for Movieoke on Monday. It’s just like karaoke. There’s a monitor with the words so you can act out and read along. I have over three hundred scenes from movies now. I’ll also probably go to my favorite coffee shop Dolce Casa Cafe. It’s never crowded and it always smells like bacon. Then I’m going to go the Wes Anderson anthology series at Music Box Theatre. I want to see The Royal Tenenbaums; that’s my favorite movie of his.” —As told to Tomi Obaro

Freebie of the Week

Chicago Polar Plunge

Events: The annual charity event put on by the Special Olympics gets some added star power with NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and the Mayor himself slated to jump into Lake Michigan.
3/2 at 9 a.m. Free. North Avenue Beach, W LaSalle. sochicago.org/chicago-polar-plunge