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 or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
building located in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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'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 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 s ...
, 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 Canadian works ...
. “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
Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Green.
Artistic direc ...
,
Porchlight Music Theatre, and
Provision Theatre.
Notable Connections
* The first show in the theatre on March 15, 1977 was ''
Cap Streeter'', a
musical about a Chicago legend, produced by the Dinglefest Theatre Company. The first show produced by the company in 1979 and was The Man in 605 by Allan Gross. The show featured
Byrne Piven
Bernard Piven (September 24, 1929 – February 18, 2002) was an American stage actor, director, and co-founder of the Playwrights Theatre Club, a forerunner of The Second City. He was known as Byrne Piven.
Life and career
Piven was born in Sc ...
and
Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor who made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984). He has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), ''Stakeout'' (1987), ''Aval ...
.
*
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 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 British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...
and
Austin Pendleton.
* ''Morning Call (play), Morning Call'' was the first televised play in Chicago in 1982.
Tony Randall
Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play '' The Odd Couple'' by Neil Sim ...
was the MC in this
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
and Steppenwolf Theatre joint endeavor.
* ''
Tooth of Crime
''Tooth of Crime'' is an album by T Bone Burnett. The album is a selection of music written by Burnett for the 1996 production of Sam Shepard's play ''The Tooth of Crime''.
Reception
Music critic Mark Deming of Allmusic praised the album and wro ...
'' by
Sam Shepard
Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...
, a Remains Theatre presentation in 1982, featured
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American television, film and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the ...
and
William Petersen
William Louis Petersen (born February 21, 1953) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his role as Gil Grissom in the CBS drama series ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (2000–2015), for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Aw ...
.
*
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 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 White. The co ...
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 Primeti ...
.
*
American Blues Theater presented Keith Reddin’s Peacekeeper in 1990. The play was directed by
David Petrarca
David Petrarca (born November 10, 1965) is an American director and producer of theatre, television and film.
He was director at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago from 1988 until 2005. His work as a director includes HBO's ''Boardwalk Empire'', ...
and featured company members Kate Buddeke, Jim Leaming and Carmen Roman.
*
Mark Hollmann
Mark Hollmann is an American composer and lyricist.
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 Award for his music and lyrics to ...
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 threate ...
in 2004.
References
External links
{{Chicago mtp
1977 establishments in Illinois
Theatres in Chicago