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AUDITORIUM THEATRE 2018-19
| September 26 - November 16, 2018
129 Years of History:
About the Auditorium Theatre
T
he Auditorium Theatre officially
opened on December 9, 1889.
Designed by
Louis Sullivan
and
Dankmar Adler
at the behest of
Chicago businessman
Ferdinand
Wythe Peck
, the theatre was
immediately hailed as one of the
most beautiful venues in the world,
with its gilded elegance and graceful
design. Today, it remains
one of
the most important performance
spaces
in the world, hosting
hundreds of events each year.
Chicago in the late 1800s was a
leading center for political idealism
and labor activism. One violent and
fatal demonstration for the eight-hour
work day at an open market near
Des Plaines Avenue and Randolph
Street occurred on May 4, 1886. This
incident, which became known as
the
Haymarket Riot
,
further inspired
Ferdinand Peck to create a venue
that embodied the democratic
ideals that he believed could bring
art to all of the people in Chicago
— a Theatre for the People
. Peck
charged the renowned architects
with creating a
distinctly American
design
for the theatre, differing from
European opera house models in that
the
best seats were available to the
average Chicagoan, not the elite
.
When the theatre opened, Chicago
was in fierce competition with
many cities in a bid to host the 1893
World’s Fair. Many notable figures
of the day, including
President
Benjamin Harrison
, attended the
opening night performance at
the theatre and were impressed
by its perfect acoustics, beautiful
architecture, and incredible
sightlines. The attention that the
theatre attracted helped convince
the US Congress that Chicago was
ready to
host an event
as important as the
World’s Fair.
During its early
decades, the
Auditorium stage was
the venue of choice
for leading entertainers of the
era, including
John Philip Sousa
,
Sarah Bernhardt,
and
the Ziegfeld
Follies
, as well as political figures
including
Theodore Roosevelt
,
Franklin D. Roosevelt,
and
Booker
T. Washington
. It was also the
home to the
Chicago Symphony
Orchestra
and the
Chicago Grand
Opera Company
, and even hosted
indoor baseball games
. During
World War II, the theatre became
a
Servicemen’s Center
(complete
with a bowling alley!) for traveling
soldiers.
ARTURO GONZALEZ