Palmer House hosting tribute ‘Night’ to Empire Room stars

Chicago’s historic Palmer House Hilton is throwing open the doors to its iconic Empire Room on Nov. 26 for “The Night That Never Was,” a tribute concert event to four of the one-time music venue’s legendary performers.

Dinner, dancing, and the music of the Great American Songbook courtesy of the City Lights Orchestra and headliner Linda Clifford, along with singers Dakota Horvath, Erin Boheme and Denise Tomasello, will pay tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Peggy Lee — four artists who performed in the Chicago showroom over the course of their careers.

The Empire Room opened as a supper club in 1933, and became one of the most acclaimed showrooms in the country. Other artists who performed there include Harry Belafonte, Louis Armstrong, Carol Channing, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, Sonny and Cher, Eartha Kitt, Maurice Chevalier and Liberace, among hundreds others. The room will be configured to recreate the glory days of its nightclub atmosphere.

“The Empire Room holds so much profound significance in its history,” said Ken Price, the hotel’s director of public relations/resident historian, in a prepared statement. “We take pride in continuing the story of this treasured venue by allowing guests today to experience a taste of its magnificence. We look forward to preserving its history for many generations to come.”

The Palmer House is located at 17 E. Monroe. Doors open at 6 p.m., followed by a three-course dinner, performances and dancing.

Tickets, $125-$175 are available online at www.palmerhousehiltonhotel.com/empire-room-series2016/.