Theatre Building Chicago
Encyclopedia
The Theatre Building Chicago is a theater located in Chicago's lakeview neighborhood. A major part of Chicago theatre
, it has been the home to many theatre companies and actors which have gone on to have great success. The Theatre Building Chicago refers to both the three theatres that reside in the space, as well as the producing organization that resides on the premises.
Over the past 30 years, Theatre Building Chicago has 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. This goes to show you that opportunity and perseverance are the two virtues that epitomize the history of Theatre Building Chicago.
The show that opened the theatre on March 15, 1977 was Cap Streeter, a musical
about an Chicago legend, produced by the Dinglefest Theatre Company. Byrne Piven
, Chicago actor and teacher as well as Jeremy Piven
's Father, appeared in The Man in 605 by Allan Gross. The show also featured Aidan Quinn
and was produced by the Theatre Building Chicago in 1979.
Steppenwolf
’s first show in the city of Chicago, Say Good Night, Gracie, opened November, 1979 at the Theatre Building Chicagoand performed through early 1980 and featured John Malkovich
and Austin Pendleton
.
Morning Call was the first televised play in Chicago in 1982. Tony Randall
was the MC in this NBC
and
Steppenwolf Theatre joint endeavor.
Tooth of Crime
by Sam Shepard
, a Remains Theatre presentation in 1982, featured Gary Cole
and William Petersen
.
Most troupes use the Theatre Building Chicago as a space for one long-running play. In 1988 in response to several companies’ requesting a seasonal home base rather than a spot for a single hit, they initiated “United Stages at Theatre Building.” Six companies comprised United Stages: Absolute Theatre Company, American Blues Theater (now American Theater Company), Chicago Shakespeare Company
, Commons Theatre, Immediate Theatre and Touchstone Theatre, “United Stages at Theatre Building” lasted through the 1989 and 1990 seasons.
Jeremy Piven
, prior to achieving fame in TV's Entourage
, performed in the Next Theatre Company’s presentation of Knuckle in 1989.
American Blues Theater (now American Theater Company) presented Keith Reddin’s Peacekeeper in 1990. The play was directed by David Petrarca, now a director on Aaron Sorkin
’s NBC’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
. The play also featured company members Kate Buddeke, Jim Leaming and Carmen Roman.
Lookingglass Theatre Company
presented West in 1991 with David Schwimmer
.
In 1997 the Illinois Theatre Association honored the Theatre Building Chicago with an Outstanding Contribution Award for twenty years of service.
Many companies have called the Theatre Building Chicago home for several seasons in a row. It has hosted: Bailiwick Repertory Theatre
, Chicago Theatre Project, City Lit Theater, Congo Square Theatre, Emerald City Theatre, Famous Door Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago and Provision Theatre.
Mark Hollmann
joined a Theatre Building Chicago workshop for musical theatre writers in 1987. He won the 2002 Tony Award
for Urinetown
and TBC presented his new musical Wild Goat
in 2004.
Chicago theatre
Chicago theatre refers not only to theatre performed in Chicago, Illinois but also to the movement in that town 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 tours sent out from...
, it has been the home to many theatre companies and actors which have gone on to have great success. The Theatre Building Chicago refers to both the three theatres that reside in the space, as well as the producing organization that resides on the premises.
Over the past 30 years, Theatre Building Chicago has 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. This goes to show you that opportunity and perseverance are the two virtues that epitomize the history of Theatre Building Chicago.
The show that opened the theatre on March 15, 1977 was Cap Streeter, a musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
about an Chicago legend, produced by the Dinglefest Theatre Company. Byrne Piven
Byrne Piven
Byrne Piven was an influential American stage actor, director, and co-founder of the Playwrights Theatre Club, a forerunner of The Second City.-Life and career:...
, Chicago actor and teacher as well as Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
's Father, appeared in The Man in 605 by Allan Gross. The show also featured Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn
-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
and was produced by the Theatre Building Chicago in 1979.
Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...
’s first show in the city of Chicago, Say Good Night, Gracie, opened November, 1979 at the Theatre Building Chicagoand performed through early 1980 and featured John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
and Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton is an American film, television, and stage actor, a playwright, and a theatre director and instructor.-Life and career:...
.
Morning Call was the first televised play in Chicago in 1982. Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
was the MC in this NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and
Steppenwolf Theatre joint endeavor.
Tooth of Crime
Tooth of Crime
Tooth of Crime is a 2008 album by T-Bone Burnett. The album is a selection of music written by Burnett for the 1997 production of Sam Shepard's play The Tooth of Crime.-Track listing:# "Anything I Say Can and Will Be Used Against You" - 4:02...
by Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
, a Remains Theatre presentation in 1982, featured Gary Cole
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
and William Petersen
William Petersen
William Louis Petersen is an American actor and producer, best known for playing Dr. Gilbert "Gil" Grissom on the hit CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He portrayed President John F...
.
Most troupes use the Theatre Building Chicago as a space for one long-running play. In 1988 in response to several companies’ requesting a seasonal home base rather than a spot for a single hit, they initiated “United Stages at Theatre Building.” Six companies comprised United Stages: Absolute Theatre Company, American Blues Theater (now American Theater Company), Chicago Shakespeare Company
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Chicago Shakespeare Theater 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 series, its World's Stage touring productions, and youth...
, Commons Theatre, Immediate Theatre and Touchstone Theatre, “United Stages at Theatre Building” lasted through the 1989 and 1990 seasons.
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
, prior to achieving fame in TV's Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
, performed in the Next Theatre Company’s presentation of Knuckle in 1989.
American Blues Theater (now American Theater Company) presented Keith Reddin’s Peacekeeper in 1990. The play was directed by David Petrarca, now a director on Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin is an Academy and Emmy award winning American screenwriter, producer, and playwright, whose works include A Few Good Men, The American President, The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Social Network, and Moneyball.After graduating from Syracuse...
’s NBC’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was an American dramedy television series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. It ran for 22 episodes.The series takes place behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy show on the fictional television network NBS , whose format is similar to that of NBC's...
. The play also featured company members Kate Buddeke, Jim Leaming and Carmen Roman.
Lookingglass Theatre Company
Lookingglass Theatre Company
Lookingglass Theatre Company is a non-profit, ensemble-based theater company located in Chicago, Illinois. Their pieces tend to focus on the spectacular and the physical.As of June 2011, Lookingglass has won 42 Joseph Jefferson Awards.-Background:...
presented West in 1991 with David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
.
In 1997 the Illinois Theatre Association honored the Theatre Building Chicago with an Outstanding Contribution Award for twenty years of service.
Many companies have called the Theatre Building Chicago home for several seasons in a row. It has hosted: Bailiwick Repertory Theatre
Bailiwick Repertory Theatre
The Bailiwick Repertory Theatre is a theater company in Chicago founded in 1982 that produces eclectic works. It stages productions at the Bailiwick Arts Center , its home since 1995.In 2007, it presented the American premiere of Jerry Springer - The Opera....
, Chicago Theatre Project, City Lit Theater, Congo Square Theatre, Emerald City Theatre, Famous Door Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago and Provision Theatre.
Mark Hollmann
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 Urinetown. He is a former ensemble member of the...
joined a Theatre Building Chicago workshop for musical theatre writers in 1987. He won the 2002 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Urinetown
Urinetown
Urinetown: The Musical is a satirical comedy musical, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics...
and TBC presented his new musical Wild Goat
Wild Goat
The wild goat is a widespread species of goat, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East. It is the ancestor of the domestic goat.-Social structure:...
in 2004.