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 Rjoyal George Theatre,
Chicago by deecat
Three stages of quality entertainment dominate this great theatre complex. There's the traditional Broadway-sized mainstage, a very comfortable cabaret stage and a compact upstairs Great room, which is a studio space called Gallery Theatre.
The large mainstage productions rotate frequently. The cabaret room is known for its long-run comedies or musicals such as FOREVER PLAID. The Great Room has hosted "Flanagan's Wake," an interactive Irish comedy for a long time.
All the spaces are comfortable, and all have excellent sight lines and acoustics.
I have seen: Steel Magnolia, Lost in Yonkers, and Bleacher Bums at the Broadway-sized mainstage.
I have seen (twice) at the cabaret space the long-running "Forever Plaid."
I have not yet seen a production in the upstairs Great Room.
The theatre is professionally maintained and staffed; it has great seats, super sight lines, and a fabulous sound system. For an excellent night of entertainment, the Royal George Theatre Center has what you enjoy, even cocktails.
There is limited street parking in this area. Valet and garage parking is available, for a fee, of course.
Box Office hours:
Monday through Saurday: 10:00 AM-8:30 PM
Sunday 12:00PM-7:00 PM
The Box Office is also open through intermission when there is a performance.
American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Cash, and Checks are accepted.
I always wear a fancy pantsuit or a dress, and Allan wears a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt and sometimes a jacket. Leave a Comment Theme: TheaterAddress: 1641 N. Halsted, ChicagoPhone: 312-988-9000
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I've seen a handful of plays at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, all have been of high quality and enjoyable.
There are 2 different theater spaces, the main stage for the major performances such as Hamlet or MacBeth and the smaller upstairs space for other offerings. Some of the productions are family friendly, like the current production of Seussical The Musical which is running through August 20, 2006.
If you park at Navy Pier, be sure and get your parking ticket validated by the theater for a 40% discount, the restaurant validation only deducts $2 from the whopping $20 parking fee.
There are some dining options on Navy Pier but they are not, in my opinion, the best that Chicago has to offer. Dining elsewhere in Chicago and then going to Navy Pier is your best option but if you want to eat at Navy Pier you can choose from a food court, several tourist oriented restaurants like Joe's Be Bop Cafe or Bubba Gump's or Riva's which I hear has good food but is a little overpriced.
Theater patrons in Chicago are fairly casual, you'll see anything from shorts to suits depending on where they were earlier in the day. Leave a Comment
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Last visit 8/9/09, if you have a chance to see "Arabian Nights" before it leaves on August 30, 2009, it is a very entertaining show
We've been to the Lookingglass twice, it's located in the Pumping Station on Michigan Avenue. Upon entering the building you can get a glimpse of the actual pump room that provides water to many Chicago residents.
I got our tickets online at Hot Tix on Friday for the Sunday show, you can also check at their outlets at 72 E. Randolph or 163 E. Pearson which is in the same building as the theater.
The theater is very small, 200-250 people, so there are really not any bad seats in the house. We had tickets in row AA on our 2nd visit, they were in the balcony if you can call it that, there was only one row of seats up there on three sides of the theater.
Dinner options nearby:
Lookingglass partners with several restaurants, not all of them are close enough to walk but many of them are, check here for more details.
Bistro 110, 110 E. Pearson and NoMi in the Park Hyatt, 800 N. Michigan, are right across the street. Several options on Rush Street including Carmine's, Rosebud on Rush, Giordano's.
If you drive to the theater, they offer 4 hour discounted parking at the Olympia Centre self park at 161 E. Chicago Avenue.
Most people, on a hot day in Sunday afternoon in Chicago, were wearing casual clothes Leave a Comment Theme: TheaterAddress: 821 N. Michigan AvenuePhone: 312-337-0665Directions: Michigan and Pearson in the Water Tower WaterWorks, just south of Water Tower Place, across the street from the Water TowerWebsite: www.lookingglasstheatre.org
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 Cadillac Palace Theatre by Dabs
The Palace Theater was originally opened as a vaudeville theater in 1926, later uses include a movie house, a banquet hall and a rock venue. It was beautifully restored in 1999 as a theater for Broadway type shows. Many of them come to Chicago to test the waters before they head off to Broadway and many are touring productions.
Close dining options before the show:
a) 312 Chicago-Italian, right next door to the theater.
b) Petterino's-steak, fish, pasta, chicken- 3 or 4 blocks away on Randolph
c) Giordano's-pizza, casual, inexpensive-2 blocks away on Randolph
d) Fulton's on the River-seafood-3-4 blocks away on the Chicago River at 315 N. LaSalle
e) Atwood Cafe-a little further away, American contemporary
f) Italian Village-a little further away, 3 Italian restaurants ranging from casual to a little more expensive
g) Randolph Street dining corridor is a short cab ride, restaurants include Marche, Red Light, Blackbird, Avec
h) Greektown restaurants are just a short cab ride away
Parking-look for the signs that say theater special on the blocks around the theater for $8-10. Make sure you check the times, my brother pulled in a few minutes early and got socked with a $20 fee.
Theatre patrons in Chicago dress in anything ranging from blue jeans to suits and dresses. I imagine it gets a little dressier on the weekends. Leave a Comment Theme: TheaterAddress: Cadillac Palace TheatreDirections: 151 West Randolph, between Wells Street and LaSalle StreetWebsite: www.broadwayinchicago.com
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Before the Oriental and Palace theaters were renovated, this was one of the major theaters where the longer running productions were booked. It was opened as the Majestic in 1906 as a vaudeville theater, closed during the depression and reopened as a theater in 1945. At some point it was renamed the Shubert Theater and then renamed the LaSalle Bank Theater.
Currently playing through July 12, 2009 is Jersey Boys which has received rave reviews from the critics. The run has been extended several times, just like Wicked. I went to see it with a friend of mine, we both enjoyed it and the actors were all fantastic. A lot of profanity and sexual references makes it unsuitable for younger children.
Places to eat before a show include:
Atwood Cafe, Russian Tea Time, Italian Village, Rosebud Theater District Leave a Comment
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Drury Lane Water Tower is the newest downtown Chicago Theater, opened in 2005. The theater is located just behind Water Tower Place, a half block off Michigan Avenue, right in the heart of the tourist zone. It's a small venue, 549 seats, so there really aren't any bad seats in the theater.
We saw Altar Boyz here in December 2007 with same day 1/2 price tickets from Hot Tix, there's a location near the theater located in the Pumping Station, 163 E. Pearson, across the street from Water Tower Place, several other outlets or you can order them online if you're willing to pay Ticketmaster charges.
If you want to eat before or after the show, there are lots of restaurants in the vicinity including Bistro 110, Saloon Steakhouse, Grill on the Alley, Gino's East, Rosebud Steakhouse and Cheescake Factory. For a quick bite, located inside Water Tower Place is Foodlife. A couple of blocks away on Rush Street, there's Carmine's, Rosebud on Rush, Le Colonial, Giordano's, Gibson's, Hugo's Frog Bar and Tavern on Rush. For high end dining, you might conside Spiaggia or NoMi.
There is a 2nd Drury Lane theater located in Oakbrook, a western suburb of Chicago, so make sure you are getting tickets for the correct location.
Chicago theater patrons tend to wear anything from jeans to suits and dresses but the crowd we saw was skewed more towards casual clothes. Leave a Comment
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 Chicago Theater by shrimp56Leave a Comment
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The Cadillac Palace Theater is one of several old theaters in Chicago used for Broadway shows, either heading in or heading out. It is run by the same group that schedules for the Oriental & Schubert Theaters also. The Hotel Allegro shares the building with the theater as do the restaurant 312 Chicago and the bar Encore. It doesn't take much to guess who paid for the renovation ;)
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Recent shows have included The Producers, Peter Pan, Les Miserables and The Lion King. Leave a Comment
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One of the actors we worked with was starring at the Steppenwolf Theater, so we took time out one evening to see a production there. It's a prestigious theater, formed by great actors, such as a personal favourite of mine Gary Sinise. He continues to act there, supported by a whole spectrum of America's best acting talent, such as John Malkovich and Laurie Metcalf. It's location is also stunning, with incredible views of the Chicago skyline from the bar on its upper floors. It's worth a visit just for that.
We went to see Harald Pinter's Betrayed, a dark English comedy which reverses the normal order of the narrative to create a story that leaves you curious to learn about events that have already occurred, rather than ones about to. The performances were so fantastic, and I didn't even realise that the actors were really American, their English accents were that convincing. If you are in the least bit interested in the performing arts, you'll be doing yourself a disservice by not dropping into the Steppenwolf while you are in Chicago.
Relaxed. Leave a Comment Theme: TheaterAddress: 1650 N. Halsted StreetDirections: Take the Red Line to North and Clybourn. Check their website for more detailed directions.Website: http://www.steppenwolf.org/
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 Cracow Klezmer Band (in
concert downstairs) by Leniwy
Pictured is the exterior (from a park across the street), and the Cracow Klezmer Band (from their performance in September, 2002, while visiting to participate in Chicago's "World Music Festival").
The Chopin also serves the Polish-American enclave living up along nearby Milwaukee Avenue by bringing them rich cultural diversity - e.g.: 'Punk Rock' music ;-)
Casual/evening attire, but leopard skin (faux, bien sūr) a definite plus ;-) Also note the non-abundance of parking spaces nearby :( Leave a Comment Theme: NightclubAddress: 1543 W. Division Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622Phone: 773.278.1500Directions: Division Street, just West of the intersection with Milwaukee AvenueWebsite: http://chopintheatre.com/ Other Contact: www.ci.chi.il.us/WorldMusic/
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