The Bijou Theater (often referred to as The Bijou) was a gay

adult theater An adult movie theater is a euphemistic term for a movie theater dedicated to the exhibition of pornographic films. Adult movie theaters show pornographic films primarily for either a respectively heterosexual or homosexual audience. For the patro ...

and

sex club Sex clubs, also known as swinger clubs or lifestyle clubs, are formal or informal groups that organize sex-related activities, or establishments where patrons can engage in sex acts with other patrons. A sex club or swinger club differs from a brot ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's Old Town neighborhood. The Bijou Theater opened in 1970 and it was the longest-running gay adult theater and sex club in the United States. The Bijou Theater featured the "Bijou Classics"—adult films produced by Bijou Video in the 1970s and 80s—every Monday. The theater also hosted live shows featuring adult entertainers, a non-sexual cabaret show written and directed by drag entertainer Miss Tiger and special appearances by gay porn stars. The theater permanently closed its door on September 30, 2015.

Description

Theater

The Bijou Theater featured a 15-by-18-foot silver screen and seats 77 people in anchored, theater-style cushioned seating. The theater's lobby hosted a DVD counter to purchase gay adult films. A desk and computer were set up for patrons who would like to peruse the Bijou's website listing over 14,000 titles. Titles found on the website were then available for purchase at the DVD counter.

Sex club

The Bijou Theater was widely recognized for its second-floor

. Travel magazines implored readers to explore the "gay man's fantasy playground" replete with

glory hole A glory hole (also spelled gloryhole and glory-hole) is a hole in a wall or partition, often between public toilet, public lavatory cubicles or adult video arcade, sex video arcade booths and lounges, for people to engage in sexual activity or ...

s, dark corners, and a

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

dungeon with slings, crosses, and other fetish objects. Guests were invited to rent a locker to store their street clothes and change into their " play clothing." In warm weather, the club opened the Bijou Gardens, an outdoor playground.Mathrani, Matt (July 2008)
Chicago: Big, brawny, friendlyThe Guide
Retrieved on March 9, 2009.

Bijou Boys Erotic Cabaret

The Bijou Boys Erotic Cabaret featured solo performances by local and national male dancers. Performances featured full nudity and there were typically three to four dancers a show. Showtimes were select afternoons and nightly. The cabaret began to shift from typical

go-go Go-go is a music subgenre, subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns, and live audience Call and response (music), call and response. Go-go was originated by African-American musicians in the Washington, D.C. area du ...

boy show to an avant garde, high production value venue under the direction of Miss Tiger. Eventually, these more explicit shows were separated from a newly formed venue known as Miss Tiger's Cabaret.

Miss Tiger's Cabaret

Miss Tiger's Cabaret featured live singing, original music and original plays. The cabaret shows were written and directed b
Miss Tiger
and were the first of their kind to be performed at Bijou Theater. New shows were introduced about every eight weeks; with productions taking place Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:30pm and 10:30pm each night. This cabaret was unlike the former Bijou cabaret, due to its including both a male and female cast and featured very little nudity. Cast members included a few of the dancers from the erotic cabaret but were mostly singers and actors from Chicago's thriving

community theater Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...

scene. Original music was created by Chicago music producer, DJ Christian, who often accompanied Miss Tiger in music bookings outside of the theater. Each production featured theatrical lighting, original costumes and set design. Many shows were photographed and reviewed by

St. Sukie de la Croix St. Sukie de la Croix (born Darryl Michael Vincent, September 16, 1951) is a writer and photographer. He is most widely known for his 2012 book ''Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT Chicago Before Stonewall''. His works have explored the undergrou ...

of the

Windy City Times ''Windy City Times'' is an LGBT newspaper in Chicago that published its first issue on September 26, 1985. History ''Windy City Times'' was founded in 1985 by Jeff McCourt, Bob Bearden, Drew Badanish and Tracy Baim, who started Sentury Publicati ...

. Sukie was quoted as saying, "Miss Tiger is a star! Nobody else is doing this kind of thing." Miss Tiger would later write a popular advice column for Nightspots, a weekly Chicago LGBTQIA entertainment magazine. Miss Tiger's Cabaret was irreverent, camp, sometimes political and thought provoking all in one. Miss Tiger's comedic timing and ability to involve the audience into the show was legendary. The diversity and inclusiveness featured in these productions garnered a following of show goers, that often included heterosexual men, women and couples, who would have otherwise never visited Bijou Theater. Shows ran from 2000 through 2004.

Ownership

The Bijou Theater was owned and operated by American pornographer Steven Toushin. In 1989, at the Adult Video Awards show in Las Vegas Toushin received (while he was in prison) the Reuben Sturman Award "For Legal Battles on Behalf of the Adult Industry". In 2007, at the GayVN award show in San Francisco, Toushin was awarded the "Life Time Achievement Award" from the Gay Adult Industry. He is the 3rd person to ever receive this honor. In the June 2008 AVN (Adult Video News) magazine's 25th anniversary edition Toushin was acknowledged as one of the 25 pioneers who developed the Gay/bi Adult Film Industry. Toushin was inducted into the Founders Branch of the Adult Video News Hall of Fame at the 2009 AVN Award Show in Las Vegas, NV. Other Founders include Phil Harvey and

Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as ''Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three por ...

References

External links

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