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Theaters in Chicago

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

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

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

Drury Lane Theater (Oakbrook Terrace, IL)

Theater

Info Unlike London’s centuries-old Drury Lane Theatre from which it borrows its name, Oakbrook Terrace’s Drury Lane Theatre is a product of 1984. Located half an hour west of the city, Drury Lane Theatre is the last one standing of a chain of Chicagoland dinner theater venues. Though the building also serves as a convention ... more

100 Drury Lane
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181

Bank of America Theater

Theater

Info The corporate name is new; the theater is not. Dating from 1906 (then called the Majestic Theater), the Bank of America Theatre is home to large-scale Broadway shows. With 2,016 seats, the gilded theater was at one time the tallest building in the city. Today, it is clustered with several other large theaters in the Loop ... more

18 West Monroe Street
Chicago, IL 60603

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

Gorilla Tango Theatre

Theater

Info Bucktown performance space Gorilla Tango Theatre has a schedule packed with quirky performances, but it is best known for its outrageous burlesque shows. With names like Fellowship of the Boobs (a Lord of the Rings burlesque), A Nude Hope (Star Wars), and Boobs and Goombas (Mario Brothers), Gorilla Tango combines the retro ... more

1919 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647

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

Pfeiffer Hall (Naperville, IL)

Performing Arts Center

Info The western suburbs do not have a large density of colleges and universities, but Naperville’s North Central College brings cultural events to the area, hosted in the school’s Pfeiffer Hall. Built during the Jazz Age, the building is low-key and intimate but has the glamour of 1930s movie theaters. Its location ... more

30 East Benton Avenue
Naperville, IL 60540

Apollo Theater

Theater

Info Despite being housed in a nondescript cement building in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, the Apollo Theater opens up into a polished and lush performance space. With a capacity of 450 people, the intimate theater has been presenting musicals, plays, and comedy acts since 1978. It has no relation to New York’s Apollo Theater. Some ... more

2540 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614

The Vic Theatre

Concert Venue / Theater

Info The Vic Theatre regularly wears two faces: a grungy rock venue and a raucous movie-and-booze theater. Located in Lakeview, the Vic Theatre started out as a vaudeville house in 1912 when it was known as The Victoria Theatre. These days, the Vic Theatre packs in up to 1,400 people for energetic, intimate performances by big ... more

3145 North Sheffield Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657

Akoo Theatre at Rosemont

Concert Venue / Theater

Info Akoo Theatre at Rosemont, formerly Rosemont Theatre, is a 4,400-seat concert hall in Rosemont, IL. Performances at Akoo Theatre range from Broadway musicals to theater productions to world-class musical acts. Opened in 1995, Akoo Theatre is one of the Chicago area’s largest theaters. The venue offers a multi-level VIP room ... more

5400 North River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018

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.