6 Can't-Miss April Events In Chicago

Make the most of April at these can’t-miss happenings across Chicago.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Dates: 4/2-4/20

151 W. Randolph St. / Website

The Tony Award-winning smash Broadway musical based on Bad Luhrmann’s 2001 film returns to Chicago with a new production at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. With dynamic choreography and a soundtrack featuring 160 years of music spanning from Offenbach to Lady Gaga, it’s a powerful celebration of truth, beauty, freedom and love.

Chicago Latino Film Festival

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Dates: 4/3-4/14

Multiple locations / Website

This 41st annual celebration of movies from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, Portugal and the U.S. returns to the Landmark Century Center Cinema, presenting 51 feature films and 30 short films, including six world premieres and 13 North American premieres.

Soaring: Life, Light and Legacy

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Dates: 4/4-4/5

Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St. / Website

Celebrating 40 years at the helm of Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC), Nan Giordano will be recognized for her influence on the Chicago dance community with a series of performances. Highlights include a new world premiere by Emmy Award-winning choreographer Al Blackstone, plus the world premiere of a solo by GDC’s Giordano and Cesar G. Salinas, along with a new tribute to the life of Keenan Giordano Casey.

Yasmine Spiro: Cornerstone

5020 S. Cornell Ave. / Website

On view at Hyde Park Art Center, Cornerstone marks first major solo exhibition by Chicago-based Jamaican artist Yasmin Spiro, whose work explores vernacular architecture and building techniques to examine their impact on our connection to both built and natural landscapes.

EXPO Chicago

Dates: 4/24-4/27

600 E. Grand Ave. / Website

One of the city’s most anticipated annual art events, EXPO Chicago fills Navy Pier’s Festival Hall with leading galleries, artists and collectors from around the globe. With more than 170 galleries from 36 countries and 93 cities represented, the event will feature new initiatives like CONTRAST and returning sections such as EXPOSURE, PROFILE and IN/SITU.

Frida Kahlo's Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds

Frida Kahlo, “Le Cadre (The Frame)” (1938, oil on aluminum in artisanal frame with painted glass), 28.5 cm by 20.7 cm

Dates: Through 7/13

111 S. Michigan Ave. / Website

Frida Kahlo’s work makes its debut at the Art Institute of Chicago with this wide-ranging exhibition, which includes paintings and letters written by Kahlo as well as objects from her time in Paris with Mary Reynolds in 1939, exploring themes of surrealism, identity and cultural exchange amid the looming threat of World War II.