Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place
175 E. Chestnut Street,
Chicago,
IL
60611
175 E. Chestnut Street,
Chicago,
IL
60611
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It started as a live in-the-round theater in the 1970s (I don’t know when it officially opened). I saw shows there in 1982 & 1983. Then it was converted into a 3-screen cinema. In 2005, it was converted back into a theater but had, and still has, a proscenium. When it reopened in 2005 it was a subscription house like the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, and Paramount Theatre in Aurora. The shows they produced (and that I saw) were: The Full Monty (2005); Morning’s at Seven (2005); and Grand Hotel (2005). After that there were sit-down runs of smaller Broadway show tours like: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2006); Shout! (2008); and Xanadu (2009). Then the name was changed to the Broadway Playhouse and reopened with Traces (2010). There were changes made to the lobby and auditorium to go with the name change. I don’t remember if Broadway in Chicago took over the theater with the longer runs of Broadway tours (in 2006) but the name change and remodel were by Broadway in Chicago. Broadway in Chicago has programmed the theater ever since.
This is the last paragraph. Do they have the time line wrong? I now remember seeing “Xanadu” the stage play there in 2007. In the round, or half round maybe…
“In May of 2005, the former 5-7 screens of the movie house on Chestnut Street were reopened after a conversion into a single auditorium seating 549 as the Drury Lane Water Tower Theatre. Like the other Drury Lane Theatre in suburban Oakbrook Terrace, the theatre will present live musical theatre. In September 2010 it was renamed Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and is operated by Broadway in Chicago.”
Yes, it is listed as a “previous name” but above it says, “In April 1984 Screens 5 to 7 were erected by Plitt Theatres on street level on E. Chestnut Street.” The building was converted from a live in-the-round theater to a three screen cinema.
It is mentioned in the Overview and Previous Names in the right hand column. I believe I saw “Vanities” there among others circa `81.
I’m surprised no one mentioned that the Broadway Playhouse (on Chestnut Street) was originally (in the 1970s/early 1980s) the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place. It was an in-the-round theater with seating on two levels. I saw a transfer of LITTLE ME (1982) from the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and a musical about the Kennedy family called ONE SHINING MOMENT (1983 by Allan Jay Friedman and Leslie Bricusse). The cast of young adult performers included Kevin Anderson, Gene Weygandt, and Megan Mullally. It was shortly after this production that the building was converted into a three screen cinema. In 2005 the building was converted back into a live theater as mentioned above.
Was this (one of) Chicago screening room(s) for press & media (critics), e.g. advance screenings for embargoed publications?
One year we did our holiday shopping downtown chicago – slimmed my shopping duties to catch a screening of ‘Wild Bill’ (1995) here.
The Water Tower Theatres 1-4 opened on December 21, 1976.
Newspaper ads from 1980’s have the address as 835 N. Michigan. But newspapers have been known to make mistakes. See newspaper ad in the “Photo” section that I posted.
April 13th, 1984 grand opening ad for the expansion in the photo section.
CinemarkFan,
I will scan it as soon as I can and will add it to the photo section.
Thanks for getting back to me.
Coasternut,
Yes, that would be the same (Mall theater) location. When Plitt opened the lower (Street) level theaters in April of ‘84, those were known as 5-7.
If you can, please upload a photo that stub! You saved a piece of history there.
I have a ticket stub that I have saved for Water Tower Theatre 3 with an address of 845 N. Michigan Ave. Was this part of the same location? The admission price was $2.00.
The Water Tower 1-4 closed in May, 2000. The Water Tower 5-7 closed in November, 2000. Village Entertainment re-opened the 5-7 theatres in August, 2002. Closed one year later.
I saw ‘Rocky’ here in 1976 with some school friends.
The ad in the photo section above is for the opening of the original Water Tower theaters I-IV located inside Water Tower Place. This would have been December of 1976.
This theatre reopened in September with Sutton Foster in concert. It currently has the Canadian show TRACES. Broadway in Chicago has other shows scheduled to play here in 2011 including a revised version of WORKING.
This entry needs to be changed. Drury Lane is no longer at Water Tower. They are solely at Oakbrook now.
This theatre is now known as Broadway Playhouse and it’s run by Broadway in Chicago. It will be closed until September 2010 for renovations. The website at least temporarily is www.broadwayinchicago.com
What are the other Water Tower Theatre’s, that were located upstairs and inside of the Water Tower Place Mall listed under on CT?
I know, I know… check the box.
I finally made it back in here a few Sundays back. For the next to last performance of “Xanadu”.
Much has changed since it’s off again/on again movie theatre days.
The Chestnut St. side entrance is pretty much in the same spot. But the theatre space has been built out differently and off to the left of the entrance.
The stage area seems much smaller. And the seats seem to rise above the new lobby area. I can’t recall the old multiplex configuration at/from street level. But I think it went straight back. Where the restrooms & coat check are now. The lobby has a lower ceiling like the old Drury Lane in Evergreen Park had. But there the theatre stage was downstairs. There is a brief “Drury Lane History” in the back pages of the Playbill. Possibly accessable online.
Or via the official site under this CT page’s description.
Thanks CinemarkFan for the confirmation. I was pretty sure Drury Lane/WT is where I saw T2. I lived two blocks from there in `91.
The Drury Lane stage theater in Evergreen Park was in a complex called “The Martinique”. The place with the chapel, banquet hall & giant Vegas style signage. Inside the lobby near the theatre entrance was a small rather low `60’s looking bar. With swiveling, high backed vinyl bar stools that were attached to the floor. Pictures of Debbie Reynolds, Robert Goulet etc. adorned the walls.
It was razed to build a WalMart, but not sure if that ever happened.
In addition to Oakbrook, there is also a Drury Lane North in Lincolnshire.
A “theater in the round” as they say, but really it’s a smallish square stage with ascending seats on all four sides. It’s been active for quite sometime, and is part of a hotel complex itself. The theatre is designed for and only suitable for stage plays. Which is as far off topic as I’ll go.
T2 did have a 10pm screening on 7/2/91 at WT Lower Level. And I remember the Drury Lane in Evergreen Park, but I never went inside.
I miss these places. It just seems that they had character.
Greetings. The Water Tower Theatre on the Chestnut Street level side, was indeed originally built for live theatre. The plays “Vanities” & “Evita” with Patti Lupone & Mandy Patinkin played there around 1981. Also possibly one of the first verions of “Love Letters”.
After that it was coverted to movie screens. I last saw “Kingpin” there when it came out. Possibly “Terminator 2” also.
And of course it is now back to being called Drury Lane, and features live theatre & music. Their one day promotion today was to receive tickets to January’s staging of “Xanadu”, if you were of the first 20 to roller skate up to the box office this morning.
There was another long standing Drury Lane Theatre in Evergreen Park, that did strictly stage shows for decades.
A time warp of a place that felt as if you were walking into a `60’s Las Vegas hotel lobby. It also had a unique wedding chapel & lower level banquet facility. The name of the entire complex escapes me.
It was sadly all torn down several years ago.
Water Tower lower level aka 5-7 opened on 4/13/84. Opening attractions were “Swing Shift”, “Iceman”, and “Terms of Endearment”.
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?