Chicago Nightlife Tips by Dabs

Nightlife Spot: Cadillac Palace Theater

To see what is currently playing, check the Broadway in Chicago website

The Palace Theater was originally opened as a vaudeville theater in 1926, later uses include a movie house, a banquet hall and a rock venue. It was beautifully restored in 1999 as a theater for Broadway type shows. Many of them come to Chicago to test the waters before they head off to Broadway and many are touring productions.

Close dining options before the show:
a) 312 Chicago-Italian, right next door to the theater.
b) Petterino's-steak, fish, pasta, chicken- 3 or 4 blocks away on Randolph
c) Giordano's-pizza, casual, inexpensive-2 blocks away on Randolph
d) Fulton's on the River-seafood-3-4 blocks away on the Chicago River at 315 N. LaSalle
e) Atwood Cafe-a little further away, American contemporary
f) Italian Village-a little further away, 3 Italian restaurants ranging from casual to a little more expensive
g) Randolph Street dining corridor is a short cab ride, restaurants include Marche, Red Light, Blackbird, Avec
h)Golden Budha-Chinese steakhouse at 312 W. Randolph
i) Greektown restaurants are just a short cab ride away

Parking-look for the signs that say theater special on the blocks around the theater for $8-10. Make sure you check the times, my brother pulled in a few minutes early and got socked with a $20 fee.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Theater
Dress Code: Theatre patrons in Chicago dress in anything ranging from blue jeans to suits and dresses. I imagine it gets a little dressier on the weekends.
Address: Cadillac Palace Theatre
Directions: 151 West Randolph, between Wells Street and LaSalle Street
Website: www.broadwayinchicago.com

Nightlife Spot: LaSalle Bank Theater

Before the Oriental and Palace theaters were renovated, this was one of the major theaters where the longer running productions were booked. It was opened as the Majestic in 1906 as a vaudeville theater, closed during the depression and reopened as a theater in 1945. At some point it was renamed the Shubert Theater and then renamed the LaSalle Bank Theater.

Currently playing through July 13, 2008 is Jersey Boys which has received rave reviews from the critics. The run has been extended once, it's possible that this will become a long running play like Wicked if the demand is there.

Places to eat before a show include:

Atwood Cafe, Russian Tea Time, Italian Village, Rosebud Theater District

Leave a Comment

Theme: Theater
Address: 22 W. Monroe Street
Directions: Discounted parking

InterPark: 55 E Monroe
InterPark: 17 E. Adams
Website: http://www.lasalle-bank-theater.com/

Nightlife Spot: Lookingglass Theatre

Saturday night was our first visit to this theater, located in the Pumping Station on Michigan Avenue. Upon entering the building you can get a glimpse of the actual pump room that provides water to many Chicago residents.

We got our tickets 1/2 price Hot Tix booth (same day as the performance, actual tickets are picked up at the box office), you can order online at the website below or call the number below.

There's also 50 $15 tickets available for Wednesday matinee and evening performances, can be purchased up to a week in advance by calling the box office.

The theater is very small, 200-250 people, so there are really not any bad seats in the house although our seats in row B were just a little too close.

Dinner options nearby:

Bistro 110, 110 E. Pearson, is right across the street

NoMi in the Park Hyatt, 800 N. Michigan, has a $45 pre-theatre menu from 5:30-6:30

Several options on Rush Street including Carmine's, Rosebud on Rush, Giordano's

After the show, I found several options that were open until midnight on Friday and Saturday that are walkable-Cheesecake Factory, Grand Lux Cafe, Carmine's

Leave a Comment

Theme: Theater
Phone: 312-337-0665
Address: 821 N. Michigan Avenue
Directions: Michigan and Pearson in the Water Tower WaterWorks, just south of Water Tower Place, across the street from the Water Tower
Website: www.lookingglasstheatre.org

Nightlife Spot: Chicago Shakespeare Theater-Navy Pier

I've seen a handful of plays at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, all have been of high quality and enjoyable.

There are 2 different theater spaces, the main stage for the major performances such as Hamlet or MacBeth and the smaller upstairs space for other offerings. Some of the productions are family friendly, like the current production of Seussical The Musical which is running through August 20, 2006.

If you park at Navy Pier, be sure and get your parking ticket validated by the theater for a 40% discount, the restaurant validation only deducts $2 from the whopping $20 parking fee.

There are some dining options on Navy Pier but they are not, in my opinion, the best that Chicago has to offer. Dining elsewhere in Chicago and then going to Navy Pier is your best option but if you want to eat at Navy Pier you can choose from a food court, several tourist oriented restaurants like Joe's Be Bop Cafe or Bubba Gump's or Riva's which I hear has good food but is a little overpriced.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Theater
Dress Code: Theater patrons in Chicago are fairly casual, you'll see anything from shorts to suits depending on where they were earlier in the day.
Address: Navy Pier
Website: www.chicagoshakes.com

Nightlife Spot: Drury Lane-Water Tower

Drury Lane Water Tower is the newest downtown Chicago Theater, opened in 2005. The theater is located just behind Water Tower Place, a half block off Michigan Avenue, right in the heart of the tourist zone. It's a small venue, 549 seats, so there really aren't any bad seats in the theater.

Currently playing is Altar Boyz which will be running through January 6, 2008 and has received very good reviews from the local critics. For same day half price tickets, you might be able to get them at Hot Tix, there's a location near the theater located in the Pumping Station, 163 E. Pearson, across the street from Water Tower Place.

If you want to eat before or after the show, there are lots of restaurants in the vicinity including Bistro 110, Saloon Steakhouse, Grill on the Alley, Gino's East, Rosebud Steakhouse and Cheescake Factory. For a quick bite, located inside Water Tower Place is Foodlife. A couple of blocks away on Rush Street, there's Carmine's, Rosebud on Rush, Le Colonial, Giordano's, Gibson's, Hugo's Frog Bar and Tavern on Rush. For high end dining, you might conside Spiaggia or NoMi.

There is a 2nd Drury Lane theater located in Oakbrook, a western suburb of Chicago, so make sure you are getting tickets for the correct location.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Theater
Dress Code: Chicago theater patrons tend to wear anything from jeans to suits and dresses but the crowd we saw was skewed more towards casual clothes.
Phone: 312-642-2000
Address: 175 E. Chestnut
Directions: Check the website for discounted parking information
Website: http://www.drurylanewatertower.com/theatre.html

Nightlife Spot: Theater

The Royal George Theater is in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, there are several theater spaces that comprise the Royal George.

We went to see Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit which is running through December 2, 2007 in the Cabaret Theater, it was a funny spoof of many of the current and long playing Broadway shows. If you don't see a lot of Broadway type plays, you might not get the jokes, but if you've seen the heavy hitters like Les Miserables, Lion King and Mamma Mia you should enjoy this.

The Cabaret Theater is a very small venue, 196 seats, so there isn't really a bad seat in the house. I was able to get 1/2 price tickets online at Hottix on the day of the performance for a Saturday night.

We didn't have time to eat before the show but I've seen high marks for BOKA at 1729 N. Halsted or Landmark Grill at 1633 N. Halsted.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Theater
Dress Code: I saw everything from jeans to smart casual, this is a small neighborhood theater so too dressy and you'd probably feel a bit overdressed
Address: 1641 N. Halsted
Directions: Halsted, 1/2 block north of North Avenue
Website: http://www.theroyalgeorgetheatre.com/royalgeorge/default.asp

Nightlife Spot: Auditorium

The Auditorium Theater, designed by architects Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, is known for its architectural integrity and perfect acoustics.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Theater
Website: http://auditoriumtheatre.org/wb/

Nightlife Spot: Park West

Park West is one of the nicer venues in Chicago to see a concert. There is a small area where people can stand but the majority of the venue is tables and chairs or more comfortable booths.

If you are looking for a place to grab a bite near there, Geja's Cafe is on the same block (see my restaurant tips for a review) or there is a place called Zia's which I haven't tried.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Concert
Address: Armitage
Directions: Armitage and Clark

Nightlife Spot: Live Music-other

Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island was voted the #1 concert venue in Chicagoland but I suspect the folks that voted it #1 weren't standing around with a garbage bag on their head waiting for the ominous skies to burst forth with torrential rains! On a cool summer evening though, this might be the ideal venue for those people who thought to buy tickets when they 1st went on sale, you get a nice breeze from Lake Michigan, a beautiful view of Soldier Field lit up in the evening, a view of the Chicago Skyline.

Our seats were in row S, Section 202, seats 3-4 and I literally watched the entire show on the jumbotrons that flank the stage as the band was just too far away. Section 201 was even worse as the seats curve around and you have more of a side view of the stage. None of the seats are covered.

The website listed all the weird restrictions on what you could bring into the show, you could bring food but only in certain kinds of containers, no beverages in bottles or cans, I think that all that leaves is juice boxes....It looked like they had a full bar, $7 beers, alcoholic slushy drinks in bong shaped glasses.

Skip the VIP parking, it's either a short walk or a short trolley ride from the parking that is included with the tickets. The parking was not marked at all from Lake Shore Drive so print out directions from the website. Getting out after the show was a lot quicker than I expected.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Live Music
Dress Code: Dress for the weather, if it looks like rain, bring a rain coat or hope you get lucky and score one of the cool Charter One rain ponchos. It's close to the Lake so the shows earlier in the season will be cooler, later in the season warmer, than the temps out in the suburbs or away from the Lake

Nightlife Spot: Various

Frequently in the Friday section of the Chicago Tribune (probably also the Sun Times and the Reader) you will see ads for free movie screenings before the film is in general release. I had never paid much attention to them since you usually have to go to a bookstore to get the passes but I saw one for "Finding Neverland" that they were handing out at the Border's I pass by every morning so I went and grabbed a free pass for my husband and me.

We arrived about a 1/2 hour early and most of the seats were either already filled or reserved by others sitting there, one guy even brought tape!!!! So we ended up in the 3rd row, not such a horrible thing when it's Johnny Depp that you are watching :-)

Leave a Comment

Theme: Other