This company was founded in 1985 as American Blues Theatre, and its first several seasons featured productions of such works as Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape; Rick Cleveland’s Bad Moon; and Monsters and Monsters II, collections of commissioned monologues by Chicago playwrights including Douglas Post, Dwight Okits, David Mamet, and Pauls Killen.
In March 1997, the theater changed its name to American Theater Company. Among its most notable productions: Mamet’s American Buffalo, Oleanna, and Speed-the-Plow; a re-imagining of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!; and a repertory of African American and Caucasian productions of True West and Topdog/Underdog (first Caucasian cast) in collaboration with Congo Square. The company’s outreach initiatives include American Mosaic, a ninth grade residency in six Chicago public schools; and The Chicago Chronicle, in which eight professional playwrights collaborated with teenagers to create a documentary style play from interviews with people in Logan Square.
American Theater Company Information
- Public Transportation: Good (steps from bus 11 at North Lincoln Avenue/West Byron Street; a 2-minute walk from bus 50 at North Damen Avenue/West Byron Street; and a 4-minute walk from bus 80 and the Brown Subway Line at the Irving Park Station)
- Handicapped Accessibility: Good
- Performances/Programs: 5 shows per season
- Ticket Prices: $40–$50 depending on date. Student Rush tickets $10 (sold a half-hour before curtain); preview performances are pay-as-you-can at the door, though it’s regular price if you want reserved seating
- Subscriptions: 5-Show ($125–$160); 4-Show ($110–$130); Flex-Pass ($125 – 3 Tickets).
