Theatre & Performing Arts
Carmela Full of Wishes November 15, 2026
It’s Carmela’s birthday, and her wish has already come true–she’s finally old enough to join her big brother as he does the family errands. On their way to the laundromat, past fields of what Mamí calls “flores de cempazuchitl,” Carmela finds a lone dandelion growing in the pavement. Before she can even blow its puffy white fluff away, her brother asks, “did you even make a wish?” Should she wish for Mami, who works long hours in a downtown hotel trying to make ends meet? Or Papi, a migrant worker who is currently…absent.
Full of touching and funny fantasies, the book by Matt de la Peña, and now the play, portrays Carmela’s migrant community as a vibrant place of possibility. Join families from all over the city for this moving ode to family, to dreamers, and to finding hope in the most unexpected places.
Learn more about the area
Neighborhood
West Loop
Former warehouses now house the city’s most buzzed-about dining scene.
Learn more about the area
Neighborhood
West Loop
Former warehouses now house the city’s most buzzed-about dining scene.
