Neighborhood News: Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me…the Studebaker Theater is a Chicago Loop jewel
DID YOU KNOW…that the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Avenue, was once a carriage showroom, named for the Studebaker buggies sold on the ground floor?
All that changed in 1898, when the Studebaker Theater, as part of the 10-story Fine Arts Building, opened to host the finest actors, performing the latest plays.
Today, the 750-seat venue combines the grandeur of Chicago’s golden age of theater with modern technical excellence. It’s also home to NPR’s popular “Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me” broadcast on select Thursday evenings.
In the Beginning…
The original building was built for the Studebaker company in 1884–1885 by Solon Spencer Beman, and extensively remodeled in 1898, when Beman removed the building’s eighth (top) story and added three new stories, according to Wikipedia sources.
Studebaker constructed the building as a carriage sales and service operation with manufacturing on upper floors. By 1895, having outgrown the location, Studebaker moved its operations to a bigger location nearby on Wabash Avenue.
Instead of selling the original Michigan Avenue structure, Studebaker retained ownership. Encouraged by visionary real estate manager Charles C. Curtiss, the company invested in a massive remodeling project.
The carriage factory was transformed into an artistic and cultural haven featuring studios, offices, and the historic Studebaker Theater. Initially, the theater sat 1,550 people and featured classical music, opera, and vaudeville performances, as well as resident companies such as the Castle Square Opera Company.
In 1910, the Studebaker hosted a sold-out two-week farewell engagement with the famed French actress Sarah Bernhardt.
In 1926, Samuel Insull, a business magnate who helped found General Electric, took over the lease of the Studebaker and his wife Gladys Insull ran the theater as a stock company until it was disbanded in 1927.
As the website notes, following the stock market crash in 1929, the Studebaker began leasing to a variety of itinerant groups and touring productions.
Some notable productions from this time included James Kirkwood and Mercedes Gilbert in “Mulatto” by Langston Hughes in 1936; Ethel Barrymore in “The Corn is Green” in 1943; Mae West in “Catherine the Great” in 1945; and Yul Brynner in “Lute Song” in 1947.
Actor Mike Nussbaum, who grew up in Chicago, remembered this period of the Studebaker’s history to the Chicago Sun-Times. “If you went downtown to the Studebaker and wore a white shirt and dark pants with a tie, then they let you work in the upper balcony as an usher — and you got to see the show free,” said Nussbaum in 2021.
Nussbaum passed in 2023, just days before his 100th birthday.
Home of NBC and Repertory Theater
From 1950-1955, the theater was used as studios for NBC.
In 1956, The Studebaker Theatre Company was founded by Bernard Sahlins, whose name is synonymous with The Second City. Sahlins’ goal was to create a permanent repertory company in the Studebaker, presenting classic and contemporary plays with Chicago talent.
Some of the company’s productions included Geraldine Page in “The Immoralist” by Andre Gide; “A View from the Bridge” by Arthur Miller; and Harvey Korman in “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett. Due to financial difficulties, in 1957 the company shuttered.
From 1957 to 1982, the Studebaker went on to operate under a series of organizations including the Nederlanders. The theater featured touring productions during this time, with prominent stars.
Some notable productions from these years included Eartha Kitt in “The Owl and The Pussycat” by Bill Manhoff in 1964; Martin Sheen in “The Subject Was Roses” by Frank D. Gilroy in 1966; Henry Fonda in “Time of Your Life” by William Saroyan in 1973; Peter O’Toole in “Present Laughter” by Noel Coward in 1978; and Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert in “The Kingfisher” by William Douglas Home in 1979.
In its final iteration before its renovation in 2021, the Studebaker was chopped up to become a multiplex for several years.
Today
The most recent renovation brought state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems and restoring the theater’s glittering façade. Jacob Harvey, managing artistic director of the Studebaker Theater, envisioned an intimate theater offering an unparalleled concert experience.
“Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!”
Since its grand reopening in 2022, the Studebaker has been home to NPR’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” and has featured performances from local organizations such as the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the Chicago Opera Theater, the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and the Chicago Sinfonietta, as well as new musicals in development.
For tickets and information about upcoming performances, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
