Where is the Chicago Shakespeare Theater?
Since 1999, the company has occupied a $24 million facility on Navy Pier, described as Chicago’s “lakefront playground.” Though some pundits doubted the ability of a classical theater to co-exist with shops, restaurants and tourist attractions such as a 150-foot-high Ferris wheel and a miniature golf course, the Shakespeare Theater has thrived at its state-of-the-art home. “I had wanted to be closer to Steppenwolf and the Goodman,” Gaines admits, “to be part of a Theater Row, but the city made us an offer we couldn’t refuse—and it’s been an explosion of success. When Peter Brook saw our theater, he couldn’t believe that a city would give its citizens such a wonderful gift.” Does the theater have more than one performance space? The main Courtyard Theater is a 500-seat thrust stage inspired by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre, which allows the audience to sit around three sides of the lakefront performance space. There is also a versatile 200-seat black box theater.