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Theaters in Chicago

Music Box Theatre

Theater

Party Earth Review When the 800-seat Music Box Theatre opened in 1929, it was considered the little sister to the much larger movie palaces of the day, but its intimate size belies a calendar packed with more than three hundred different movie showings a year. Restored in the 80s, this is not a place to catch the latest Zac Efron vehicle ... more

3733 North Southport Avenue
Chicago, IL 60613

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The Comedy Sportz Theatre

Comedy Club / Theater

Info Structured as sporting matches, with teams trying to out-funny each other, Comedy Sportz improv shows have locations in many cities. As the home of improv comedy, Chicago counts a Comedy Sportz troupe among its many performers. The Comedy Sportz troupe shares its theater with other comedians. The Lakeview theater features ... more

929 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL 60657

Genesee Theatre (Waukegan, IL)

Concert Venue / Theater

Info Less than an hour from Chicago, the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan is the kind of extravagant venue usually found in downtown theater districts. This former movie palace brings ornate glamour to the suburbs, staging musicals, plays, concerts, and film series. The Genesee Theatre was built in 1927 as a movie theater and live ... more

203 North Genesee Street
Waukegan, IL 60085

Convocation Center (NIU - Dekalb, IL)

Concert Venue

Info Home of Northern Illinois University and an hour west of Chicago, the Dekalb Convocation Center was built in 2002. The stadium has ties to the university, but it also books non-school events, including job fairs, trade shows, and concerts. Division I Northern Illinois University teams share the venue and games at the Dekalb ... more

1525 West Lincoln Highway
Dekalb, IL 60115

Wentz Concert Hall & Fine Arts Center (Naperville, IL)

Concert Venue

Info As one of the few higher-ed institutions in the western suburbs, Naperville’s North Central College plays a big role in bringing cultural events to the area. Among its facilities is the Wentz Concert Hall and Fine Arts Center. Built in 2008, Wentz Hall is a modern triumph of acoustic design. The glassy venue’s acoustic ... more

171 E. Chicago Avenue
Naperville, IL 60540

iO Theatre

Comedy Club / Theater

Info Improv comedy has a big history in Chicago, and multiple venues, like the iO Theater, are devoted to the art form. Across the street from Wrigley Field and sharing a block with some of Wrigleyville’s most popular bars, the iO Theater is a smaller cousin to famous Second City farther south. The “iO” stands for Improv Olympic ... more

3541 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60657

Civic Opera House

Concert Venue / Theater

Info Home to the world-renowned Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Civic Opera House is a flashback to 1920s glamour and was in fact used as inspiration for the opera house in Citizen Kane. Built in 1929, the Art Deco building sits like a giant’s throne on the outskirts of the Loop. The Civic Opera House’s 3,563-seat theater makes ... more

20 North Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606

Cadillac Palace Theatre

Theater

Info The 2,344-seat Cadillac Palace Theatre is a classy and upscale venue in Chicago’s theater district operated by Broadway in Chicago. The venue has brought numerous Broadway hits to the city since 1999, such as Aida and The Producers. Initially named The New Palace Theatre, the venue was built in 1926 by famed theater architects ... more

151 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60602

Star Plaza Theatre (Merrillville, IN)

Concert Venue / Theater

Info Attached to the Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana, the Star Plaza Theatre attracts big musical acts to the Northwest Indiana portion of the “Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana” region. The theater, which dates to 1979, can seat 3,400 people on a main floor and balcony and is about a 45-minute drive from Chicago ... more

8001 Delaware Place
Merrillville, IN 46410

Park West

Concert Venue / Theater

Info The Park West, a Lincoln Park music venue, opened as a vaudeville and movie theater in the 1920s. By the 1960s, it was an adult-movie and burlesque theater. It entered its current incarnation as a live music and special event venue in 1977. Concerts at the Park West have included many notable alternative and classic rock ... more

322 West Armitage Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614

Riviera Theatre

Concert Venue / Theater

Info Located in the historic Uptown theater district, the Riviera Theatre is one of Chicago’s premier concert venues. The theater was built in 1917 by the Rapp Brothers, a famous architectural duo known for designing magnificent theaters and performance venues. The building was originally designed as a movie theater for the ... more

4746 North Racine Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640

Greenhouse Theater Center

Theater

Info Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, the Greenhouse Theater Center hosts a rotating roster of theater companies. The center is devoted to nurturing small and mid-sized theater companies, letting them rent stage space with all the miscellaneous necessities such as a box office, lighting equipment, and ushers. Up to ... more

2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614

All theaters in Chicago →

Chicago Theaters Overview

There are a bunch of localized theater areas in Chicago, which makes sense considering the hundreds of theaters spread throughout the city. But if you’re looking for the biggest stages, the newest performances, and the hottest talent, you don’t need to look any further than The Loop.

Smack dab in the middle of the city, Chicago’s Loop is home to touring Broadway shows playing on the most illustrious stages. Just to name a few, there’s the Harris Theater, the Storefront Theater, the famous Chicago Theatre, the Ford Oriental Theatre, the Goodman Theatre, the Cadillac Palace Theatre, and the Bank of America Theatre.

Getting outside The Loop, the Gold Coast has a mini theater district of its own with both the Broadway Playhouse and the Lookingglass Theatre. More theaters abound in Old Town – home of Second City – while River West hosts theaters big and small.

If you’re looking for great Chicago theaters, you only have to search your neighborhood to stumble across a live show, a great play, an incredible aria, or a booming symphony. So get out of the clubs for a night and discover the cultural wonders that the theaters in Chicago bring out on a nightly basis.