Day 305: The Crown Jewel of Chicago-Theatre Week Day 5

     In 1921, the city was in the midst of a theater-building frenzy.  The Shubert Theatre had been built in 1906, the Oriental and Palace Theatres were 5 years away from going up, and the Balaban-Katz conglomerate was filling theatres as fast as they could build them.  To accomplish their next goal, the pair enlisted the aid of Rapp & Rapp, the famed duo who had already worked on many different theaters throughout the city and country.  This was to be their first foray into the realm of Neo-Baroque French-Revival style buildings.  The arch motif on the front of the building is said to be inspired by the l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris.  Once you make your way inside the theater, you can see the coat of arms of the Balaban-Katz chain laid into a Tiffany stained glass window. Much like the Palace Theatre would be 5 years later, the main lobby took inspiration from Versailles.  Many of the accessories were supplied by Marshall Field & Company.  The main centerpiece at the opening was the Grande Wurlitzer pipe organ, which had arrived in July of 1921.

     After spending $4 Million, the theater was finally ready to open up on October 26, 1921.  The 3,880 seat theater was stuffed to the gills for its entire opening week, as Chicagoans rushed to see what had been labeled the "Wonder Theatre of the World".  The throngs were so impressive that mounted police were needed to maintain order(or was that to maintain disorder?), as was depicted in the Chicago Tribune's account of the opening, reported upon by a reporter named Carl Sandburg.  One of the biggest draws that the new theatre had?  Air Conditioning.  Aside from the new and unusual world of A/C, the other claim to fame of the venue was its live jazz, which started out in September 1922 and would go on for more than 40 years.  When the 1933 World's Fair came to town, the theater was redecorated.  In 1949, the original marquee was supplemented with an additional board displaying the name of the theater, and until 1969, the names Balaban-Katz.

     The 1970s brought many different changes to the Theatre.  First off, the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ was restored in 1970.  Then, an economic downturn caused the fortunes of the venue to wane.  Eventually the venue was bought in 1984 by the Chicago Theatre Protection Group.  Attempts at re-purposing the space failed, and the theater closed in 1985.  The next year a reservation project commenced, which restored the theater to its 1930s luster.  Frank Sinatra performed at the reopening concert.  In its new life, the theatre has hosted many different events, such as the opening of the Chicago International Film Festival as well as a stop on the Beach Boys' 50th Anniversary Tour.

Day 304: The Palace-Theatre Week Day 4

     In 1926, the firm of Rapp & Rapp opened up the Oriental Theatre.  At the same time they were also prepping to open up another Theatre in the city.  Later that year, the New Palace Theatre was opened up for a total cost of $12 Million.  After constructing both the Oriental, as well as the Shubert(Bank of America) Theatres, the Rapp brothers had experience with building theatres, experience which carried over to this latest project, which was to erect a new theater to host the Orpheum Circuit, which played host to such luminaries as Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, Mae West, and even Bob Hope.  The interior design of the theatre was intended to be an homage to the look and feel of the Palace of Versailles, what with its huge decorative mirrors, violet interiors, and white marble.  The walls themselves are bedecked with decorations of wood and gold leaf, plus many examples of brass ornamentation(which will come into play later).  In response to the wane of the Vaudeville era, the theater was converted to a movie house in 1931.

     Fast forward to World War II.  At that time, the government was frantically cannibalizing all sorts of material to aid the war effort, including all the brass that they could lay their hands on.  When the feds came by the Palace, the quick-thinking owners painted all of the brasswork in the theater white, so that the government would not confiscate it.  The ploy worked, and the G-men walked off empty-handed.  Of course, one major drawback of this was that the brass was apparently forgotten about for several years.  In 1984, the place was renamed the Bismarck Theatre and was turned into a rock venue.  In the late 90s, the venue was shut down for an extensive renovation, at which point the original brass fixtures were finally uncovered from under the paint.

     At the completion of the renovations, the venue was reopened in 1999 as the Cadillac Palace Theatre, in deference to the naming rights bought by Cadillac.  The renovated theater has a capacity of 2,344 people and has played host to many different pre-Broadway shows that have opened in Chicago, including Aida, The Producers, The Pirate Queen, The Color Purple, Mary Poppins, and Shrek the Musical.  Additionally, when Wicked came back to town for the first time, they played their engagement at the Cadillac Palace.

Day 303: Wickedly Awesome-Theatre Week Day 3

     On October 30, 2003, the patrons of Broadway's George Gershwin Theatre were treated to the premiere performance of the Wicked, the highly acclaimed musical prequel to The Wizard of Oz(interestingly enough, the Gershwin was built on the site of the former Capitol Theatre, which had hosted the NYC premiere of the 1939 Wizard of Oz film).

     In 2005, the show came to Chicago, where it took up a residence at the Oriental Theatre.  Originally, the stay was only to be for a few months, as part of a larger national tour.  But then public response proved to be quite overwhelming, and the production received its very own open-ended sit-down production in the Windy City.  The performance proved to be so open-ended, that it ran all the way until January 25, 2009.

     After that, Wicked finally left Chicago, only to return in December of 2010 for a limited engagement at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, before leaving once more at the end of January 2011.  Finally, on October 30, 2013, Wicked came home to the Oriental Theatre for a limited run through December 12.  For the next several weeks, audiences will be treated to the timeless stories once again, and even those first-timers will still enjoy themselves.

Day 302: The Fireproof Theater: Theatre Week Day 2

     When the Iroquois Theatre burned in December of 1903, changes were very quickly made to the way that structures were built in the city and the regulations that theaters were held to so as to ensure fire safety.  The first new theater to actually be built pursuant to these regulations was the Majestic Theatre, built in 1906 by Rapp & Rapp(who would work on the Oriental Theatre 20 years later).  This venue started out its life as a vaudeville venue(much like the Oriental) which would host up to 15 acts every day 6 days a week.  The theater soon became part of the famed Orpheum Circuit, which ultimately was a forerunner to RKO.  Some of the more distinguished names to grace the stage were:

• Eddie Foy
• Al Jolson
• Lily Langtry
• Fanny Brice
• Harry Houdini

     Eventually, the Great Depression hit, and it hit hard.  So hard in fact, that the theatre was closed down in 1932, and wasn't reopened again until 1945 when the Shubert Organization stepped in to clean it up and reopen it.  In 1991, the Nederlander Organization purchased the theater, which was actually connected to a hotel as well.  In 2005, the theater underwent a large renovation, and was also given a new name.  The LaSalle Bank Theatre, after the new owner.  In 2008, LaSalle Bank was bought by Bank of America, and so the theater's name was changed again.  The theater has hosted several critically acclaimed shows over the years, and promises to be a Chicago jewel for many years to come.

Day 301: Before the Rainbow-Theatre Week Day 1

Author's Note: Chicago has a thriving Theatrical scene, and with the return of the musical Wicked to Chicago this Wednesday, what better time to take a look at a few of our Theatre gems.

     In 1926, the architectural firm of Rapp and Rapp was hired to erect a new Theater in the place of the ill-fated Iroquois Theatre.  This was realized when the 3,250 seat theater opened up later that same year, operated by a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures.  Once the theater was up and running, it served as a movie house(as did the other classic theaters of the time) as well as a performance venue for all sorts of artists, ranging from vaudeville stars to critically acclaimed singers.  A few of the more well-known stars who graced the stage of the Oriental include:

• Duke Ellington
• Frank Sinatra
• The Marx Brothers
• Bing Crosby
• Al Jolson
• Bob Hope
• Danny Kaye
• The Three Stooges
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Plus many others

     One of those many others was a 12 year old girl named Frances Gumm who performed there with her sisters in October of 1934.  Upon being introduced as the Gumm Sisters, they were laughed off of the stage.  Upon the suggestion of the famed Master of Ceremonies George Jessel, the sisters changed their surname.  Frances changed her given name as well, and reemerged onto the Hollywood scene as a 17 year old named Judy Garland.  After the Golden age of vaudeville theatre, the venue began to serve as a movie house, a role which it continued to dutifully fulfill through the 1960s.  By the time the 70s hit, the whole Loop District was in a state of decline, and the Theatre was reduced to showing exploitation films.  Finally, the venue closed down in 1981.

     The theater would sit dark for the next 15 years until January of 1996, when the Canadian company Livent pledged to restore the Theatre.  However, things hit a snag when Livent started going under the next year.  The restoration project was picked up by SFX Entertainment, who completed the restoration and reopened the theater on October 18, 1998.  Thanks to the contribution of $1 Million by the Ford Motor Company, the venue was officially known as the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, although everyone knows it as the Oriental Theatre.

     The first show to grace its stage was the musical Ragtime, but there was an even more monumental show in store for the Oriental.  On April 29, 2005, the award-winning musical Wicked came to the Oriental on a national tour.  When the tour was up in June, the show just stayed in Chicago, establishing a residency at the Oriental for another 3 and a half years.  By the time the show finally closed on January 25, 2009, it had ran for 1,500 performances, becoming the most-performed show in Chicago theatre history.  However, Wicked isn't done with the Oriental Theatre.  On October 30(i.e. Wednesday), the show is coming back for an 8-week engagement, showing once more that the Oriental is still going strong at the ripe old age of 87 years old.