It may be frigid outside, but museums, concert halls and movie theaters are nice and warm indoors.
Among the highlights for winter entertainment are: an exhibition at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry devoted to the award-winning costume designer behind both “Wicked” films, the stage version of “Hamnet” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and a version of the opera “Madama Butterfly” that’s set in a video game simulation.
And if you’re already thinking ahead to the warm weather, we don’t blame you. Here’s who is coming for concerts this summer. Plus here’s our critic’s picks for club sets for early 2026.
Replica of Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz” on display at the “Land of Oz: Beyond the Page” exhibit at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum in Chicago on Nov. 13, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Museums for winter 2026: ‘Oz,’ owls and ‘Costumes of Paul Tazewell’
Boy, do we have a winter museum roundup for you. Even as the rest of Chicago shifts into hibernation mode, our city’s finest museums remain busy and open for business. Read more here.
A mid-career survey of Firelei Báez at the Museum of Contemporary Art includes “Man Without a Country (aka anthropophagist wading in the Artibonite River),” an installation of 225 collage-drawings on old book pages. (Oriol Tarridas photo)
Art exhibitions for winter 2026: Don’t miss these 10 at the MCA, Art Institute and in Elmhurst
Go see art in 2026. Can’t hurt, might help, and it’s absolutely better than binge-watching trash television, click-buying things no one needs, doomscrolling the apocalypse or feeling helpless in the face of fascism. Read more here.
So Young An and Martha Graham Dance Company in Martha Graham’s “Diversion of Angels.” (Melissa Sherwood)
Dance for winter 2026: Our top 10 includes Joffrey, Red Clay and a visit from Martha Graham
The first part of the year used to be slow for dance in Chicago. Not so, recently. And in 2026, the chilly months are teeming with rare appearances and fresh collaborations capable of inspiring a trip to the theater even in the darkest depths of winter. The Martha Graham Dance Company presents its first full evening in Chicago since 2007. As a nod to the 100th season of that revered choreographer’s company, the Joffrey Ballet tries on Graham’s “Secular Games” for its winter mixed rep — a program celebrating the blurred lines between modernism and classicism. Speaking of lines, festivals aplenty, at Steppenwolf, the Logan Center and the Harris Theater this winter and spring, dissolve perceived boundaries between genres and forms, dance and music — crafting rich and varied experiences for patrons and performers, both. Read more here.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Artistic director Robert Falls at the Goodman Theater on Sept. 13, 2021.
Theater for winter 2026: ‘Hamnet,’ a local ‘Evan Hansen’ and Robert Falls returns to the Goodman
A new year has dawned and Chicago’s energetic new theater season will keep your winter chill away. Here’s a quick look at 10 of the most intriguing shows opening between now and the end of March. Read more here.
Nicole Kidman plays Kay Scarpetta in “Scarpetta.” (Connie Chornuk/Amazon)
TV for winter 2026: A new ‘Game of Thrones’ spinoff, ‘Bridgerton’ returns and Nicole Kidman leads a new series
The overriding theme defining television in recent years has been a fear of the new. Which is why reboots and spinoffs continue apace, with old titles brought back from the dead (“Scrubs”) or from the not-so-distant past (“The Night Manager”) and intellectual property milked within an inch of its life (somehow HBO has yet another “Game of Thrones” series coming our way). Read more here.
Ralph Fiennes stars in “28 Years Later: The Bone Collector.” (Columbia Pictures)
Movies for winter 2026: Post-apocalyptic thrillers, crime stories and gothic romance
The bigger financial questions surrounding the long and short-term viability of the movie industry are out of our hands, which means our only job as moviegoers is to pick and choose what we want to see. So let’s commit to a New Year’s resolution to stop talking about movies in terms of box office. What’s happening on the screen is so much more interesting anyway. Read more here.
Chicago Sinfonietta, led by music director Mei-Ann Chen and here at Symphony Center, boasts a year full of premiering works in 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Classical music for winter 2026: Embracing the unexpected
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, the Chicago Symphony’s artist-in-residence, returns to sing a work specially written for her and string trio Time For Three, and director-in-waiting Klaus Mäkelä bookends his East Coast CSO tour with two home-turf appearances. Meanwhile, Lyric’s production of “El último sueño de Frida y Diego,” composed by the bountifully gifted Gabriela Lena Frank, ought to be on any art-lover’s calendar — not just the opera buffs. Read more here.
Trumpet player Pharez Whitted performs at Jazz Showcase in Chicago in 2017. His concerts there this January celebrate a new album. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Jazz for winter 2026: Concerts to heat up the cold months
Everywhere from concert halls to holes-in-the-wall, these 13 shows will be portals to a happier clime in the coming weeks. And if you’re still hankering for more, keep your eyes on your favorite clubs: Many have yet to announce their late winter lineups. Read more here.
Brittney Denise Parks performs as Sudan Archives during Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park on July 19, 2024, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Sudan Archives and Sprints: Our top 10 club concerts for early 2026
The new year means resolutions. One you might consider adding to your list: Frequenting some of the city’s smaller concert venues that help Chicago thrive as a live-music mecca. Since most large-scale tours don’t begin until late spring or summer, now is an ideal time to see artists who might not have household-name recognition. Read more here.
