Best Original Shows Chicago Near Me

4worldlovers: The Palace Theatre opened at the corner of Randolph and LaSalle Streets in

Brothers, the theatre originally opened as the flagship of vaudeville’s legendary

Orpheum Circuit, and among the stars believed to have played the Palace in its

Early years are Jimmy Durante, Mae West, Sophie Tucker, Jack Benny and Bob Hope.

The theatre’s interior featured a splendor previously unseen in Chicago — a

Breathtaking vision inspired by the palaces of Fontainebleau and Versailles. The

Theatre’s distinctive characteristics included a lobby richly appointed in huge

Decorative mirrors and breche violet and white marble, which swept majestically

Through a succession of lobbies and foyers; great wall surfaces enhanced with gold

Despite the popularity of such acts, audiences in the late 1920s and early 1930s

Had begun to lose interest in vaudeville, and in 1931 the theatre was converted

Into a movie palace, initially presenting films with live stage shows, and then

Eventually showing only movies. When movie audiences began staying at home

To watch television in the 1950s, the theatre managers, hoping to attract larger

The Palace was fitted with special equipment to show films in Cinerama. During

The mid-1970s, the management of the Bismarck Hotel transformed the auditorium

Into a banquet hall by removing the seats on the orchestra level and bringing the

Floor flush with the stage. In 1984, the theatre, now renamed the Bismarck Theatre,

Was converted into a rock venue. Sporadically used during the 1990s, the venue was completely restored and renovated during 1999, and reopened as the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

The restored theatre was reopened during the fall of 1999, with the premiere of

Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA. Since then, the Cadillac Palace has been the home

To several pre-Broadway hits including THE PRODUCERS – THE NEW MEL BROOKS MUSICAL and MAMMA MIA!, long-run engagements of Disney’s THE LION

KING and Oprah Winfrey presents THE COLOR PURPLE, plus the national tour