The Chicago Theatre is Going Down Under

The Chicago Theatre, located in the loop at 175 N. State street, is expanding by going down.

The owner of the Chicago Theatre, TheatreDreams Chicago, is building a new 250 seat black-box style performance space in the currently unused space beneath the theater's main lobby. The new theatre space, which should be complete by March 2006, will house smaller and more intimate commercial shows.

The first production in the new space will be "Shear Madness" which is a show that is not a stranger to Chicago.  It ran for 17 years from 1982 to 1999 in the old Blackstone Theatre.

Larry Wilker, a principal of TheatreDreams, said he plans to find potentially long-running shows for the space, which will operate as an Equity venue. He also noted that cabaret performances also are being considered.