Drury Lane Theatre- Water Tower

The artistic director of the Drury Lane Theatre at Water Tower Place, Michael Weber, has been released from his position.  Weber had only been in the job for five months and was in the midst of directing "Grand Hotel," which closes November 6.

The theatre, which is located near the heart of the Magnificent Mile at 175 E. Chestnut Street, will now serve as a rental venue rather than producing independent productions, according to publicist Noreen Heron.

There were high hopes for the theatre when it opened five months ago.  The 91-year-old owner, Tony De Santis, invested $7.5 million into refurbishing the former movie house into a 550-seat equity theater which is now a beautiful venue.  However, the theatergoers were not drawn to the venue.

From its opening production of "The Full Monty" through its run of "Grand Hotel," the theatre has had trouble filling the seats even with rave reviews of the shows.

The theatre will still showcase a few more shows including Schoolhouse Rock and Plaid Tidings before it will serve as the rented home of the Broadway show "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" which will open in March 2006.

"The theatre really hasn't done very well," said De Santis. "And now it's time to move on to the next step."