COURT HAS A MISSION
Winner of the 2022 Regional Theatre Tony Award, Court Theatre reimagines classic theatre to illuminate our current times. In residence at the University of Chicago and on Chicago’s historic South Side, we engage our audiences with intimate and provocative experiences that inspire deeper exploration of the enduring questions that confront humanity and connect us as people.
Court Theatre defines classic theatre as texts from any culture, tradition, or era that resonate throughout time and speak to our present moment.
COURT IS THE CENTER FOR CLASSIC THEATRE
Now in its 70th season, Court Theatre was founded in 1955 as an amateur outdoor summer theatre at the University of Chicago. In 1971, classics professor Nicholas Rudall assumed the role of director and conceived Court’s tradition of translating and adapting classic texts for contemporary audiences; the theatre was then established as a professional company with Actors’ Equity Association in 1975. In 1981, Court built its current home, the intimate, 251-seat Abelson Auditorium, and in 1983 the theatre incorporated as an independent nonprofit organization. Charles Newell led the theatre as Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director from 1994 through June 2024. The Office of the Provost at the University of Chicago is currently conducting a comprehensive search for Court Theatre’s next Artistic Director.
In 2013, Court established the Center for Classic Theatre at the University of Chicago to deeply explore what it means for a professional theatre to be in residence at a major university. Court is dedicated to the curation of large-scale, interdisciplinary theatrical experiences that fully access the amazing intellectual resources that surround the theatre at the University of Chicago.
What does the Center for Classic Theatre mean for Court Theatre audiences? Great productions that are informed by the richness of a great university. More world premiere translations and adaptations like Invisible Man, Native Son, and The Good Book. A theatre vigorously embedded in the fabric of the community. And above all, it means ambitious, exciting theatrical events.
Photo of Jacqueline Williams, Kareem Bandealy, Emjoy Gavino, and Erik Hellman by Michael Brosilow.