PLEASE NOTE: Events may be postponed or simply canceled. Please call ahead to make sure they are still scheduled to take place.

1 As You’ll Like It

The reopening of the iO Theater brings with it the return of the brilliant Improvised Shakespeare Company, whose Bard-brained performers deftly craft whole Elizabethan-style spoofs before your eyes. Ongoing. improvisedshakespeare.com

2 Design for Living

The forward-thinking design magazine Deem partners with the Museum of Contemporary Art for “Designing for Dignity: A Convening of Possibilities,” a full-day symposium on inclusive and equitable opportunities in the discipline. Mar. 4. mcachicago.org

3 Have an IPA at the MSI

Roam the Museum of Science and Industry after hours while sipping samples from more than 60 craft brewers at the Brewsology Beer Fest.
Mar. 4. brewsology.com

4 Ailey Basis

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s annual visit to the Auditorium Theatre is a can’t-miss for dance lovers. This year’s program includes two new works by choreographers Kyle Abraham and Jamar Roberts. Mar. 8–12. auditoriumtheatre.org

5 Gaines’s Goodbye

Closing out her nearly 40-year tenure at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, founding artistic director Barbara Gaines restages her 1940s-set take on the mistaken-identity farce The Comedy of Errors. Mar. 9–Apr. 16. chicagoshakes.com

6 X Marks the Spot

As a recent New York Times piece noted, the comedian Janeane Garofalo never started a podcast, isn’t on social media, and no longer makes TV specials. If you want to experience the Gen X icon’s standup — and you should — it has to be in person; you’ll have four chances at the Den this month. Mar. 10–11. thedentheatre.com

7 Two Tinas

The title role of the Broadway hit Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is so demanding that two actors, Naomi Rodgers and Zurin Villanueva, take turns at alternating performances in the touring production that comes to the James M. Nederlander Theatre this month. We’re sure both are simply the best. Mar. 14–Apr. 2. broadwayinchicago.com

8 Blues Sister

Done Come Too Far, the latest release from Chicago vocal powerhouse Shemekia Copeland, earned her a second consecutive Grammy nomination for best contemporary blues album. Catch her live at the Evanston venue Space. Mar. 16. evanstonspace.com

9 Choral Formation

The choral music group Bella Voce, which specializes in drawing connections between early European tradition and contemporary composers, turns 40 this year. Its spring concert includes pieces by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt as well as rising talents Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Julia Wolfe, and Caroline Shaw. Mar. 18–19. bellavoce.org

10 Hahn, Solo

The celebrated violinist Hilary Hahn has made several appearances alongside the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since being named the CSO’s first artist-in-residence in 2021. At this recital, Hahn takes the stage alone, playing three Bach pieces composed for solo violin. Mar. 19. cso.org