Breakthrough legislation which makes doing business with the city easier for live theaters in Chicago was published and made effective officially last week at the December 7th Chicago City Council meeting.
The new legislation, ushered through by 46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller, establishes a brand new Performing Arts Venue (PAV) license.... Read More
George Gershwin Alone, Hershey Felder’s international production, and the first installment of the composer trilogy, which played to sold out houses for an entire year at Chicago’s Royal George Theatre, will return to the stage for a limited holiday engagement. Performances will run December 23 - January 8 at Chicago's Royal George .... Read More
Ray Frewen received a lump of coal in his Christmas stocking this year. According to an industry source, the much-lauded Artistic Director of Drury Lane Oakbrook was handed his walking papers when he attempted to collect a pay check for directing Drury Lane's children's production of "A Christmas Carol." Frewen was a co-writer as well as.... Read More
The opening of The LaSalle Bank Theatre, which was formerly the Shubert Theatre, has been pushed back until at least spring 2006. The refurbished theatre was originally scheduled to open in late January, however the reopening has been delayed because, of all things, an archaeological dig.
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John Mahoney will return to the Goodman for the first time in 15 years to join the cast of Mamet’s most recent play, Romance. Mahoney—best known for his work on the television show Frasier and last seen at the Goodman in the critically acclaimed 1989/90 Mamet adaptation of Anton Chekov’s Uncle Vanya—will portray.... Read More
Though best known to audiences around the country as the energetic host of The Learning Channel's "Trading Spaces," Paige Davis has a long history in the musical theatre. She starred as Babette in the first national tour of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and has also been seen in productions of A Chorus.... Read More
John Malkovich made his name with Chicago's Steppenwolf theatre company. Now he has family so he says he is sticking to film
Malkovich started out in theatre as a co-founder of Steppenwolf in 1976 - his fellow troupers included Gary Sinise, Laurie Metcalf, Joan Allen and Terry Kinney - and estimates he must.... Read More
The 2005 Joseph Jefferson Awards, which celebrate excellence in the Chicago area’s Equity theatre community, were presented on November 7 at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place. A total of 29 theatre companies received nominations at the 37th annual event.
A total of 120 Equity productions by 51 Chicago producing companies were judged during.... Read More
Legendary stage director Sir Peter Hall has withdrawn from Lyric Opera of Chicago's premiere production of Sir Michael Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage that he was to have directed, William Mason, the Lyric's general director announced in a press release. The company has attributed Hall's departure from the production as stemming.... Read More
"The Pirate Queen," an epic musical tale from the writers of "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon," will open in Chicago next year on its way to Broadway.
The show, which will begin performances Oct. 3, 2006, at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre, features a book and score by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg..... Read More
Edmund De Santis is a celebrated playwright and a founding member of the celebrated Harbor Theatre Company in New York City. De Santis has written many plays, including the award-winning Recensio, Thinking and Other Positions and American Subways to name a few. He is also coming to Chicago in November to see the Chicago.... Read More
The company of the sit-down production of Wicked at Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts have organized a benefit evening to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity/Operation Home Delivery, which will aid the recently displaced hurricane victims around the country.
The Nov. 14 evening, entitled There's No Place Like Home, will.... Read More
Chicago's Curt Columbus, head of the summer Theatre on the Lake and associate artisitc director at Steppenwolf Theatre is leaving the Chicago Theatre scene to become the artisitic director at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island.
In addition to his duties at Steppenwolf and Theater on.... Read More
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.... Read More
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 .... Read More
The Producers of the Tony Award-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, have announced a long run engagement in Chicago beginning March 2006 at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place. This will be the first production of Spelling Bee since becoming a Broadway success, and it.... Read More
