Michael Todd Theatre

Thanks! I’ve never seen what the theatre’s interior looked like originally. As in my earlier comment, it was impossible to determine what the interior looked like due to all of those curtains that ensured that wonderful sound quality. The acoustics must have been pretty good in the Harris era, too.

The one and only time that I was in the Michael Todd Theatre was seeing “Star!” with my parents and a couple of other people on Christmas Day, 1968 (I believe). (The reviews must have come in!) It was not a terribly large theatre; it was kind of like the old Civic Theatre which was connected to Lyric Opera’s building in Chicago which was converted to production space several years ago. The sound and projection were incredible (despite the many flaws of the film). It was impossible to determine what the theatre had looked like before it became a movie theatre due to the curtains which assisted all that lovely sound. And, of course, there was the usual popcorn machine in the lobby stinking up everything. I was out of the area at college from 1971-1975, and when I started working in Chicago I was amazed at the bookings as the road-show era of films had died.

Timoneill – you are quite correct. I guess I was more referring to when there was still some hope for movie palaces in the city. By the time the Dearborn was opened all of the other palaces were gone save for the Woods and United Artists and those two plus the twin all closed within a year of each other.

Oh, contraire………… The Michael Todd WAS twinned in 1986. Here’s what happened: M&R Theatres took over the Michael Todd in 1985 after it was closed for 6 years. They also wanted to take over the next-door Cinestage Theatre, but the owners of that porno palace put up a short fight. Eventually, M&R got both theatres and changed the name to Dearborn Cinemas. The plan was to twin both theatres. M&R did manage to twin the Michael Todd; however, they never got around to the Cinestage. The Cinestage side of the Dearborn Cinemas was occasionally opened, but the Michael Todd twinned side remained open until 1988. The M&R Dearborn Cinemas was a complete failure.

There was talk at one time or another in the 70’s and 80’s of dividing the Chicago, the State Lake or the Oriental. Whenever this was brought up it seemed to be at a time when that particular theater was having financial woes. It was decided, though, that dividing a palace into a multiplex was basically turning one losing theater into several. It also didn’t help that ticket prices were higher in the city plus they had to pay for parking. It would have been a losing proposition all around.

Considering what the Goodman has become, too bad they had to demolish the Woods, Michael Todd and Cinestage. They could have just combined them somehow and now THEY would be the Goodman Theatre. Sort of like Playhouse Square in Cleveland, with the old original theatres in place.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968, 3rd grade field trip from Hillcrest School in Hoffman Estates, IL. Nestle crunch bar with Laurie and her mother and I still have the program!

Here is a 1979 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cux6b2

I am quite positive the Michael Todd Theatre is where my family & I saw the musical film “Scrooge”, when in first came out.

In response to Mr. Keating’s 2004 comment about Liz Taylor, I had heard the same thing. Except I was told that she was literally driven by the theatre at her own request during a Chicago visit, and was then appalled to see that it was showing X-rated films.
She then set in motion the wheels to close it down.
She’d been quoted as Michael Todd being her only true love throughout all her marriages, with even two to Burton.

I think I read somewhere that Michael Todd’s body/jewelry or both was stolen
shortly after her death in a plane crash I believe.
So one could assume that she was already super sensitive to matters involving him & his name.

In regards to Smell-O-Vision, my late father had told me that one of the exagerrated scents that was pumped into the audience, was that of a pipe being smoked by one of the films characters.
Since this effect was done chemically and obviously not with real smoke in a theatre, it in turn caused some patrons to become ill and have to depart the theatre rather quickly.
Since Chicago was a little sensitive itself to theatre fires, I could see how this could be a problem.

I was never inside The Woods, but from vague memories and photos, it looks like the theatre itself was extended north from the back of the office building, and the site of the current restaurant, Petterino’s, is here. When you enter the Goodman, the mainstage theatre is south of the entrance. This main entrance would have led straight to the Harris/Michael Todd in its previous incarnation. This is all conjecture on my part, however, so I could be wrong.

Incidentally, there is a smaller theater on the north end of the building which is roughly where the Selwyn/Cinestage was. When you are in the lobby, everything is new, except an old marble staircase (presumably leading nowhere) from what I assume was the Selwyn.

Was the marquee of Michael Todd ever replaced? A photo I saw, which I assume is from the late 40s, shows “A Streetcar Named Desire” on the Harris marquee. The marquee basically looks the same as the one for the Todd, only the panels with the name changed. Also, it looks like the same thing was done when the theatres became the Dearborn Cinemas.

It looks the marquee of the State-Lake was the same from the early 40s on, whereas most other Loop theatres changed more frequently.

On a side note, it occurred to me recently in walking past the Goodman theatre, that technically the theatre is on the site of the Woods Theatre. The facades of the Harris and Selwyn are further north and do not front the theatre itself.

Is that true about the ceiling collapsing at this theater? I never heard anything about this. Does anyone have anymore info about this?