Theatre Building Chicago

Last updated
Theatre Building Chicago
Tbc logo.gif
Theatre Building Chicago
Address1225 West Belmont Avenue
Chicago
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Coordinates 41°56′22″N87°39′36″W / 41.93951°N 87.660017°W / 41.93951; -87.660017
Construction
Opened1977
Closed2010/ 2012
ArchitectCrombie Taylor

The Theatre Building Chicago is the former name of a theater building located in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. The Theatre Building Chicago once referred to both the three theatres that are in the space, as well as the producing organization that is based on the premises. The building was sold to Stage 773 in 2010. [1] The producing organization was later rebranded as Chicago Muse and folded in 2012. [2]

Contents

History

In its lifetime, Theatre Building Chicago hosted over 800 plays; 9,000 events; 500 theatre companies; 1,078,000 audience members; 29,400 actors, designers, directors and other theatre artists appearing in over 25,000 performances.

Many theatre companies the Theatre Building Chicago as a space for one long-running play, but In 1988 TBC initiated “United Stages at Theatre Building” in response to several companies’ requesting a seasonal home base rather than a spot for a single show. Six companies comprised United Stages: Absolute Theatre Company, American Blues Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Commons Theatre, Immediate Theatre and Touchstone Theatre. “United Stages at Theatre Building” lasted through the 1989 and 1990 seasons.

In 1997 the Illinois Theatre Association honored the Theatre Building Chicago with an Outstanding Contribution Award for twenty years of service.

Other notable companies that TBC hosted: Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Chicago Theatre Project, Emerald City Theatre, Famous Door Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company, Porchlight Music Theatre, and Provision Theatre.

Notable Connections

Related Research Articles

The Annoyance Theatre, or Annoyance Productions, is a theatre and associated ensemble based in Chicago, Illinois, that deals mainly in absurd and outrageous humor. Many people who have performed with the ensemble have gone on to become successful stage and screen actors. Popular productions have included Co-Ed Prison Sluts and That Darned Antichrist. Annoyance Productions currently runs classes in improvisation, writing, musical improvisation, acting, and solo work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steppenwolf Theatre Company</span> Theater and theater company in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on Halsted Street. The theatre's name comes from Hermann Hesse's novel Steppenwolf, which original member Rick Argosh was reading during the company's inaugural production of Paul Zindel's play, And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, in 1974. After occupying several theatres in Chicago, in 1991, it moved into its own purpose-built complex with three performing spaces, the largest seating 550.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodman Theatre</span> Professional theater company located in Chicago

Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the landmark Harris and Selwyn Theaters property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theater in Chicago</span> Theater performed in Chicago, Illinois

Theater in Chicago describes not only theater performed in Chicago, Illinois, but also to the movement in Chicago that saw a number of small, meagerly funded companies grow to institutions of national and international significance. Chicago had long been a popular destination for touring productions, as well as original productions that transfer to Broadway and other cities. According to Variety editor Gordon Cox, beside New York City, Chicago has one of the most lively theater scenes in the United States. As many as 100 shows could be seen any given night from 200 companies as of 2018, some with national reputations and many in creative "storefront" theaters, demonstrating a vibrant theater scene "from the ground up". According to American Theatre magazine, Chicago's theater is "justly legendary".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIBC Theatre</span> Theater in Chicago, Illinois, US

CIBC Theatre is a performing arts theater located at 18 West Monroe Street in the Loop area of downtown Chicago. It is operated by Broadway In Chicago, part of the Nederlander Organization. Opened in 1906 as the Majestic Theatre, it currently seats 1,800 and for many years has presented Broadway shows. In its early years, the theater presented vaudeville celebrity acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auditorium Theatre</span>

The Auditorium Theatre is a music and performance venue located inside the Auditorium Building at 50 Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Inspired by the Richardsonian Romanesque Style of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the building was designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan and completed in 1889. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed in the theatre until 1904 as well as the Chicago Grand Opera Company and its successors the Chicago Opera Association and Chicago Civic Opera until its relocation to the Civic Opera House in 1929. The theater was home to the Joffrey Ballet from 1998 until 2020. It currently hosts a variety of concerts, musicals, performances, and events. Since the 1940s, it has been owned by Roosevelt University and since the 1960s it has been refurbished and managed by an independent non-profit arts organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Globe Theatre</span> San Diego theater

The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which is collectively called the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo Theater Chicago</span>

The Apollo Theater Chicago was built in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood in 1978, by theatre producers Jason Brett and Stuart Oken. Located at 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., the Apollo has 430 seats and a lobby featuring art exhibits and a full bar. The theatre is also the home of the Emerald City Theatre Company. The Apollo Theater Chicago has no relation to the Apollo Theater in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nederlander Theatre (Chicago)</span> Theater in Chicago, Illinois

The James M. Nederlander Theatre is a theater located at 24 West Randolph Street in the Loop area of downtown Chicago, Illinois. Previously known as the Oriental Theatre, it opened in 1926 as a deluxe movie palace and vaudeville venue. Today the Nederlander presents live Broadway theater and is operated by Broadway In Chicago, currently seating 2,253.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merle Reskin Theatre</span> Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Merle Reskin Theatre is a performing arts venue located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Originally named the Blackstone Theatre it was built in 1910. Renamed the Merle Reskin Theatre in 1992, it is now part of DePaul University, and is also used for events and performances of other groups. It serves as the home of the Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences series produced by The Theatre School of DePaul.

Howard Fishman is an American author, culture writer, singer, guitarist, bandleader, playwright, and composer from Brooklyn, New York. Since 2016, Fishman has been a contributing writer for The New Yorker. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post Magazine, Artforum, Vanity Fair, San Francisco Chronicle, MOJO, and No Depression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tina Landau</span> American playwright and theatre director (born 1962)

Tina Landau is an American playwright and theatre director. Known for her large-scale, musical, and ensemble-driven work, Landau's productions have appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, most extensively at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago where she is an ensemble member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Norris (playwright)</span> American dramatist

Bruce Norris is an American character actor and playwright associated with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. His play Clybourne Park won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Jason Brett is an American actor, writer and film producer, who produced the 1986 romantic comedy film About Last Night.

Richard Pilbrow is a stage lighting designer, author, theatre design consultant, and theatrical producer, film producer and television producer. He was the first British lighting designer to light a Broadway musical on the Broadway stage with the musical Zorba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Practical Theatre Company</span>

The Practical Theatre Company was a Chicago-based theatre company founded by Northwestern University students and active throughout the 1980s. Its productions included new plays, satiric agitprop, rock and roll events, and a series of successful improvisational comedy revues. The PTC, whose motto was "Art is Good", is notable for the fact that the entire cast of its 1982 improvisational comedy revue, The Golden 50th Anniversary Jubilee was hired by Saturday Night Live.

Founded in 1991, Theatre at the Center is a year-round professional theatre in Munster, Indiana. They bring a performing arts series, a children's theatre program, and serve as hosts for special programs that enhance cultural opportunities in Northwest Indiana. As part of the Ridgewood Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit company, it is Northwest Indiana's only professional equity theatre and is located 35 minutes from downtown Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Studio Theatre</span> Theater company in Sarasota, Florida, US

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is a professional, non-profit theater company located in Sarasota, Florida that represents one of the major cultural institutions in the Gulf Coast region. Founded in 1973 as a touring troupe, FST is currently a regional theatre specializing in contemporary work and a member of the League of Resident Theatres. According to the Theatre Communications Group, it is the third largest subscription theatre in the country. Each year, more than 225,000 attendees are served by the theatre's diverse programs including the Mainstage Series, Cabaret Series, Stage III, Children's Theatre, The FST School, New Play Development, and FST Improv.

Sandra Delgado is a Colombian-American actor, writer, and producer who grew up and works in Chicago, Illinois.

References

  1. "Theatre Building Chicago is now STAGE 773". Theatre in Chicago. Theatre in Chicago. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  2. "An answer to a mystery: What happened to Theatre Building money?". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 3 April 2017.