Auditorium Theatre 2019-2020 Nightmare Before Christmans

18 | AUDITORIUM THEATRE 2019-20 | September 21 - November 16, 2019 DEDICATED TO MUSIC AND THE PEOPLE The Celebrated Auditorium Formally Opened with Ceremonies of Unprecedented Impressiveness “Here history had been made; here harmony now reigned.” “It was soothing to step into the concert hall before the lights blazed up … the early-comers breathed the spirit of their surroundings, settled back comfortably in their easychairs, and lolled.” “If you were near enough to the stage, you must have studied faces. In the temporary righthand box near the mass of singers onstage was President Harrison, looking complacent and pleased.” “The audience had been stringing up to a high pitch. The ladies fidgeted and the men rolled and unrolled their programs. The house shuddered in a brief spasm of applause. And then — well, Patti. She sang ‘Home, Sweet Home.’ She didn’t sing it the way your mother used to. She sang it better. She sang it so well that President Benjamin Harrison rose from his seat.” “Thus ended the night.” We Live the History: Scenes from Opening Night On December 9, 2019, the Auditorium Theatre turns 130! Can you imagine what it would have been like at the theatre on opening night back in 1889? The evening was attended by important political figures including President Benjamin Harrison and Vice President Levi Morton, along with thousands of others, and Adelina Patti, the legendary opera singer, gave an unforgettable opening night performance to inaugurate the theatre. Here's a snapshot of what that evening was like, found in the archives of the Chicago Tribune! A sketch of the theatre on opening night on opening night, December 9, 1889.