The Theatre Building Chicago is the former name of a
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...
building located in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
'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. The producing organization was later rebranded as Chicago Muse and folded in 2012.
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 utilized 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
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare ...
, Commons Theatre, Immediate Theatre and
Touchstone Theatre
Touchstone Theatre is a professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1976 by a group of University of British Columbia theatre graduates. Touchstone's focus is on the development and production of work by Canad ...
. “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
* The first show in the theatre on March 15, 1977 was ''
Cap Streeter'', a
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
about a Chicago legend, produced by the Dinglefest Theatre Company.
*
Steppenwolf’s first show in the city of Chicago, ''Say Good Night, Gracie'', opened November, 1979 at the Theatre Building Chicago and performed through early 1980 and featured
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ...
and
Austin Pendleton
Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor.
Pendleton is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen, whose six-decade career has included roles in films i ...
.
* ''Morning Call (play), Morning Call'' was the first televised play in Chicago in 1982.
Tony Randall was the MC in this
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
and Steppenwolf Theatre joint endeavor.
* ''
Tooth of Crime'' by
Sam Shepard
Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...
, a Remains Theatre presentation in 1982, featured
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor. He began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. His breakout role was playing Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian in the NBC series '' M ...
and
William Petersen
William Louis Petersen (born February 21, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Gil Grissom in the CBS drama thriller series ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (2000–2015), for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award an ...
.
*
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series '' Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the Britis ...
performed in the
Next Theatre Company’s presentation of Knuckle in 1989.
*
Lookingglass Theatre Company
Lookingglass Theatre Company is a non-profit theater company located in Chicago, Illinois.
History
Lookingglass was founded in 1988 by David Schwimmer, David Catlin, Eva Barr, Thom Cox, Lawrence DiStasi, Joy Gregory, David Kersnar, and Andy Whit ...
presented ''West'' in 1991 with
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director, and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Pri ...
.
*
American Blues Theater presented Keith Reddin’s Peacekeeper in 1990. The play was directed by
David Petrarca and featured company members Kate Buddeke, Jim Leaming and Carmen Roman.
*
Mark Hollmann
Mark Hollmann (born 1963) is an American composer and lyricist.
Life and career
Hollmann grew up in Fairview Heights, Illinois, where he graduated from Belleville Township High School East in 1981. He won a 2002 Tony Award and a 2001 Obie Awa ...
joined a Theatre Building Chicago workshop for musical theatre writers in 1987. TBC presented his new musical
Wild Goat
The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threaten ...
in 2004.
References
External links
{{Chicago mtp
1977 establishments in Illinois
Theatres in Chicago