McVicker's Theater (1857–1984) was a playhouse in

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

, United States. Built for actor James Hubert McVicker, the theater was the leading stage for comedic plays in Chicago's early years. It often hosted performances by

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American actor who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. Some theatri ...

, who married McVicker's daughter and was once targeted there in an attempted murder.

Adler & Sullivan Adler & Sullivan was an architectural firm founded by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Among its projects was the multi-purpose Auditorium Building in Chicago and the Wainwright Building skyscraper in St Louis. In 1883 Louis Sullivan was ...

designed a remodel in 1883. Although destroyed in two fires, including the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

, McVicker's remained an operating theater until 1984. It was demolished the next year.

History

James Hubert McVicker was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on February 14, 1822. His father James died shortly after his birth, so he was raised by his mother Nancy and two siblings. He attended some public school before apprenticing as a printer when he was ten. For the next five years, he operated machines in New York printing houses. In October 1837, he was hired as an apprentice for the ''

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

'' in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, and was named a journeyman three years later. However he found little enjoyment in the trade and he decided to acquire a classic education. In 1843, he entered a production at the St. Charles Theater in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. McVicker traveled to various cities around the country to perform. In April 1848, he settled in

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

. The comedian who had worked at

John Blake Rice John Blake Rice (May 28, 1809 – December 17, 1874) was an American actor, theatrical producer and politician. He served as the Mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1865–1869) as a member of the Republican Party. Early life and career Rice was bo ...

's theater was just about to leave and Rice offered his position to McVicker. His first performance there was on May 2, 1848 in ''My Neighbor's Wife''. His wife also performed, starring in ''Hue and Cry''. McVicker starred opposite Rice's wife in ''Lend Me Five Shillings'' on April 27, 1849. Two years after the death of

Dan Marble Danforth Marble (April 27, 1810 – May 13, 1849) was an American comedic actor who gained great popularity playing "Yankee" roles in the 1830s and 1840s. Marble was born in East Windsor, Connecticut and made his stage debut in 1831 at Chatham G ...

, McVicker purchased the right to use his plays from the family estate. He went on a national tour and then toured

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1855. The next year, McVicker became manager of the People's Theater in St. Louis. The playhouse was very successful and in March 1857 he used the proceeds to establish a new theater in Chicago. McVicker's Theater opened on November 5, 1857 featuring its own stock company performing the comedic plays ''Honeymoon'' and ''Rough Diamond''.

starred in ''

A New Way to Pay Old Debts ''A New Way to Pay Old Debts'' (c. 1625, printed 1633) is an English Renaissance theatre, English Renaissance drama, the most popular play by Philip Massinger. Its central character, Sir Giles Over-reach, became one of the more popular villains ...

'' on May 31, 1858. He would later perform '' Richelieu'', ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

'', and ''

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

'' there, and he married one of McVicker's daughters in 1869. The theater was remodeled in 1864.

James Henry Hackett James Henry Hackett (March 15, 1800 – December 28, 1871) was an American actor. Hackett was born in New York City. He entered Columbia College in 1815 but withdrew. He then studied law privately. In 1818, he became a wholesale clerk in a groc ...

performed as

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

in 1865. It was again extensively remodeled in August 1871, but was destroyed in the

weeks later. However, it was rebuilt, and reopened on August 15, 1872. Mark Gray fired two bullets in an unsuccessful attempt to murder Edwin Booth on April 23, 1879 while the actor was performing ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

''. Actors and actresses who performed in McVicker's company over the years included James O'Neill, Rossini Vrionides and

Robert B. Mantell Robert Bruce Mantell (7 February 1854 – 27 June 1928) was a noted Shakespearean stage actor who made several silent films. His mother was Elizabeth Bruce Mantell who objected to her son becoming an actor so he used the name Robert Hudson earl ...

. McVicker's was remodeled again in 1885 by

, but again destroyed in a fire in 1890. The rebuilt theater, designed by the same, opened on March 31, 1891 with a performance of ''

The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...

'' featuring

Joseph Jefferson Joseph Jefferson III, commonly known as Joe Jefferson (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905), was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedia ...

William J. Florence William Jermyn Conlin (July 26, 1831 – November 19, 1891), better known by his stage name William J. Florence, was a US actor, songwriter, and playwright. Florence awarded the ribbon of the French Societe Histoire Dramatique. He was also co- ...

Louisa Lane Drew Louisa Lane Drew (January 10, 1820 – August 31, 1897) was an English-born American actress and theatre owner and an ancestor of the Barrymore acting family. Professionally she was often known as Mrs. John Drew. Life and career Louisa L ...

, and

Viola Allen Viola Emily Allen (October 27, 1867 – May 9, 1948) was an American stage actress who played leading roles in Shakespeare and other plays, including many original plays. She starred in over two dozen Broadway productions from 1885 to 1916. Be ...

. McVicker died on March 7, 1896. His widow assumed management until she sold the theater to Jacob Litt on May 1, 1898. The theater was demolished and rebuilt in 1922.

Balaban & Katz Balaban and Katz Theater Corporation, or B&K, was a theatre corporation which owned a chain of motion picture theaters in Chicago and surrounding areas. It was founded by Barney Balaban (later long-time President of Paramount Pictures), his six ...

purchased the building in 1926. It later showed films until it was shut down in 1984. It was demolished the next year.

Decor

The theater's decor, interior design work, steelwork, terracotta and other features were designed by many of Chicago's leading firms including Structural steel work by Albert H. Wolf; mason work by William D. Price; carpentery by Thos. Clark & Sons; ventilation and galvanized iron work by Jas. A. Miller & Bro.; plumbing and electric light fixtures by E. Baggot; painting and decorating by

Healy & Millet Louis J. Millet was an educator, industrial art school founder, and interior designer in the United States. He was a celebrated stained glass artist. He worked on Louis Sullivan and George W. Maher projects and went into business with portraitist ...

; carpets and draperies by Marshall Field & Co.; seating by A. H. Andrews & Co.; electric lighting by

Chicago Edison Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquois County, Illinois, Iroquo ...

Co.; ornamental plasterwork by Schneider & Kline; ornamental iron work by W. H. Cheneworth Co.; tile work and fire-proofing by

Illinois Terra Cotta Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockford ...

, plain plasterwork by The Mackolite Plaster Co. and Michael Cyr; and bas-relief panels, by I^aSalles. The curtains ''March Through Illinois'' and ''The Fort Dearborn Massacre'' were by

Johannes Gelert Johannes Sophus Gelert (1852-1923) was a Danes, Danish-born sculptor, who came to the United States in 1887 and during a span of more than thirty years produced numerous works of civic art in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and on the East ...

; and the principal curtain, ''Chicago in 1833'', by Walter Burridge. The act drop curtain, ''Reverie of the Future'', was by Ernest Albert.McVicker's observanda; containing a graphic historical sketch of McVicker's theatre from its inception to the present date (1891)

References

External links

Graphic historical sketch of McVicker's Theater published in 1891
McVicker's Theatre in Chicago 1891
McVicker's TheatreMcVicker's Theatre programmeMcVicker's Theatre auditoriumBas-reliefs
by

La Salle's Triumphant March Through Illinois
{{coord, 41.8818, -87.6288, type:landmark_region:US-IL, display=title 1857 establishments in Illinois 1984 disestablishments in Illinois Louis Sullivan buildings Theatres in Chicago Theatres completed in 1865 Art Nouveau architecture in Chicago Art Nouveau theatres Buildings and structures demolished in 1985 Demolished buildings and structures in Chicago