| Very Sad News: Two Very Prominent Chicago Theaters Have Closed Their Doors (for Good): Windy City Playhouse & BoHo Theatre | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 12:35 pm EDT 05/25/23 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 12:23 pm EDT 05/25/23 | |
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| Windy City Playhouse made the announcement a few weeks ago. Boho Theatre sent me an e-mail this morning. I'm not surprised. My partner and I see 1 or 2 shows nearly every week. Ever since the startup post-Covid, I've noticed theaters, large and small, are often one third to one half empty. In the last few months I've seen some terrific shows at venues like Goodman, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Lincolnshire Marriott, Drury Lane Oakbrook, and Paramount North Aurora. Not one performance at any of these theaters was even close to sold out, not even the Seth Rudetsky/Jessie Mueller presentation at Steppenwolf (despite what one ATC-er falsely claimed when he was trying to sell a ticket here). I've seen 10 shows at Windy City Playhouse since 2015. Some of the highlights were productions of Stick Fly, Booty Candy, Noises Off (the funniest I've ever seen), and the incredible, immersive The Boys in the Band, which was widely discussed, acclaimed, and praised here on All That Chat. I've been going to BoHo Theatre for almost 19 years. Some of the most memorable shows I've seen there are Side Show, The Life, Songs for a New World, Hello Again, Pippin, Myths & Hymns, Parade, Dogfight, Ordinary Days, Urinetown, Marie Christine, Big Fish, and so many more. Two incredible losses for great theatre in the Chicago area. I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect there will be a similar announcement in the next few weeks by another very prominent equity theater, which just a week ago pulled the plug on their last scheduled musical of this season with no official announcement -- the show was just erased from their website (yet tickets were still being sold by their distributor). I thought something was wrong when there was no advance advertising for the upcoming production. I called the box office and was told the show wasn't happening. I asked why tickets were still being sold, but the reply was simply that the show wasn't happening. Very sad and ominous. However, I sincerely pray that I am mistaken about this theatre's future because it's demise will send shock waves throughout the theatre community in Chicago. Sadly, there is still no update on exactly what is going on with Victory Gardens Theater, which has been closed for about 9 months now. |
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